Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Make Taiwan a tough nut to crack

Taipei Times Editorials

Robert Tsao (曹興誠), founder of major chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp, has unveiled plans to donate NT$3 billion (US$97.1 million) in a bid to boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities in the event of a Chinese invasion.

As part of his efforts to help Taiwanese civilians prepare for war, the semiconductor magnate would be donating NT$600 million to the private Kuma Academy to help train 3 million “black bear warriors” in the next three years, while another NT$400 million would be used to train 300,000 “marksmen” with shooting skills. After passing tests, these civilians would work alongside the military and provide support during wartime.

Underreaction to Chinese threat

Huang Yu-hsiu 黃郁琇

Music reflects the personality of a nation’s people. When I was studying abroad, I noticed a difference in the musical styles of Taiwanese and Westerners. It seems to me that most of the music played on Western radio or TV has a lively rhythm and positive lyrics, whereas the music in Taiwan commonly has melancholy tones and sad lyrics. Taiwanese singers lament their misfortunes and destinies, as well as their misery and uselessness. Even love songs are filled with self-devaluing and worthless sentiments.

Perhaps this is due to the history of colonization, as well as the White Terror of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule, which led to a sense of learned helplessness that permeates Taiwanese culture, psychology and music.

Chips give Taiwan an edge that it needs to use

Yang Chung-yueh 楊宗岳

Washington’s China policy usually oscillates between containment and engagement. Prior to former US president Donald Trump’s trade dispute with China, the US placed greater emphasis on cooperation than competition with China, especially at the economic level, as it believed that the mutual benefit of cooperation would benefit Americans.

Since the start of the dispute, mutually beneficial trade has gradually been replaced with competition, undermining the basis for cooperation between the countries. Now, US-China competition has evolved into a technology war that is defining the direction of relations between the two powers for the foreseeable future.

Tuvalu vows to ‘stand firm’ with Taiwan: Natano

Taipei Times

President Tsai Ing-wen, front left, and Tuvaluan Prime Minister Kausea Natano, front center, review an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: CNA

Visiting Tuvaluan Prime Minister Kausea Natano yesterday said his country would “stand firm to remain a lasting and loyal ally” of Taiwan.

Natano made the pledge at a ceremony in Taipei marking his first visit to Taiwan as prime minister since taking office in 2019.

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