Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Yaya in Taiwan voluntarily flies to PRC

Taipei Times

Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force.

The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning.

The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China.

Freedom of speech has its limits

Chen Yi-nan 陳逸南

Within the past week, several Chinese spouses of Taiwanese have stirred up controversy by advocating on social media for China to invade Taiwan. However, that kind of language does not fall under freedom of speech and expression as defined in the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Under Article 20 of the covenant, war propaganda and encouragement of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence are prohibited. That is a major exception to the general protections and stipulations listed in the preceding article, which states that everyone has the right to hold opinions without interference.

Using ‘Taiwan’ or ‘Chinese Taipei’

Taipei Times Editorial

US Representative Byron Donalds announced legislation that would mandate federal agencies to adopt “Taiwan” in place of “Chinese Taipei,” a statement on his page on the US House of Representatives’ Web site said.

“The legislation is a push to normalize the position of Taiwan as an autonomous country, although the official US stance is not to recognize or advocate for Taiwan’s independence,” The Hill reported on Saturday last week, adding that the US rarely uses the term “Chinese Taipei.”

“There is no reason why the United States, the greatest and most powerful nation on the globe, should allow communist China to dictate the name of one of our greatest international allies,” US Representative Mike Collins, a cosponsor of the bill, said in the statement.

KMT is unfit for democratic rule

Lee Min-yung 李敏勇

From 1949 to 1987, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) imposed 38 years of martial law in the name of resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after it fled to Taiwan, as it claimed to represent the Republic of China (ROC).

In 2000, the KMT lost the presidency after then-KMT vice chairman Lien Chan (連戰) competed against James Soong (宋楚瑜), who left the party to run as an independent candidate. Following this defeat, the KMT gradually shifted onto the pro-CCP path.

It is contradictory to change from being anti-CCP to pro-CCP. What was the reason for the party’s change in stance? In 2004, Lien and Soong ran on the same ticket, but after losing for the second time in a presidential election, the KMT thought it would never rule again.

More Articles...