Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

KMT’s China trip fraught with danger

Taipei Times Editorials

It seems that every time Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) is preparing to lead a delegation to China, representing KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), a major diplomatic incident causes US-China tensions to soar.

In August last year, the point of contention between Washington and Beijing was then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. This time it is a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the US last week, which its military shot down off South Carolina on Saturday.

A spy balloon and Thucydides trap

Manik Mehta

For the average American, munching popcorn while watching television, the pictures on the screen appeared to be those of a “strange-looking moon,” while his wife thought it looked “more like a meteor.” They got the shock of their lives when the newsreader said it was a spy balloon that had come all the way from China across Canada to Montana.

After initially being reticent about the balloon — it was a surveillance airship — the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement admitting that “the airship is from China” used for meteorological research. The airship strayed away from its planned course caused by force majeure and entered US airspace, the foreign ministry tried to explain.

Warm Czech ties an opportunity

Chen Yung-chang 陳永昌

The telephone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Czech president-elect Petr Pavel on Monday last week was the first time a Taiwanese head of state has spoken directly with the leader of a European country. Following on from mutual visits between the speakers of the two countries’ parliaments and the mayors of their capital cities, the call shows that the friendship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic has grown closer.

However, a step that has yet to be taken is the establishment of direct flights between the countries.

Afghanistan shows China’s deficits

Sadiq Amini

China is the most populous country on the planet, with the second-largest economy and a growing military strength, all of which contribute to the perception that China is a challenger to the US for global leadership.

After the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the return to power of the Taliban in August 2021, many assumed that China would seek to fill the ensuing power vacuum.

However, that has not happened.

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