Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Xi’s best bet is friendliness

Taipei Times Editorial

Two days after Taiwanese ignored Beijing’s threats and elected William Lai (賴清德) as president, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in an article published in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Qiushi journal on Monday last week urged the party to do a better job winning the hearts of Taiwanese.

Xi outlined a strategy for the country’s “united front” tactics, saying that China must “develop and strengthen the patriotic, pro-unification forces in Taiwan, oppose the separatist acts of Taiwan independence and promote the complete reunification of the motherland.” He urged the CCP to redouble efforts to “stoke national awareness and patriotism” among Taiwanese.

Myanmar NUG upholds ‘one China’

Antonio Graceffo

Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), the democratic government-in-exile, on Jan. 2 issued its official position on China, pledging to “safeguard Chinese economic investments and other socioeconomic enterprises within Myanmar.” The document also stated that “the ‘one China principle’ will be upheld and supported in a sustained manner.”

Conflict in Myanmar has persisted for more than 70 years, during which the nation has been subjected to successive repressive military regimes, except for a brief period of democracy from 2015 until a military coup in February 2021. Following the coup, the intensity of the fighting has increased, with the emergence of new ethnic resistance armies and existing ones forming alliances. These groups are now executing coordinated strikes against the military. There is a glimmer of hope for the first time that the military might finally fall, and China is a significant stakeholder in the outcome of the war.

Taiwan’s celebrated democracy

Rup Narayan Da

The Democratic Progressive Party’s unprecedented third consecutive presidential election victory and winning of 51 seats in the Legislative Yuan, against 52 seats for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), is a resounding vindication of the democracy and sovereignty of 23 million freedom-loving Taiwanese, the bulk of whom were born after Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) regime evacuated to Taiwan in 1949.

The world’s democracies have also rejoiced in the festival of democracy and its triumph in Taiwan. Having failed to influence the election outcome through overt and covert means, Beijing made a virtue out of necessity, saying that it was an internal matter of China. It is high time that China sees the writing on the wall.

Missile command to be set up this year

Taipei Times

The armed forces are to set up the Republic of China Navy Sea Control Missile Command in Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) by the end of the year, a defense official said yesterday.

The command would be headed by a rear admiral instead of a captain, underscoring the expanding size and importance of the navy’s anti-ship missile forces, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The headquarters would be comprised of administrative buildings and barracks, but no missile depot, which would be built elsewhere, due to opposition from local residents who did not want the base to be a potential target for strikes should China attack, the official said.

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