Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Cold War memories help build ties

Liberty Times Editorial

On June 22, Lithuania became the first country in the EU to announce that it would donate COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan. Its shipment of 20,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Taiwan on Saturday last week, two months ahead of its due date. On July 16, Slovakia announced it would donate 10,000 vaccine doses to Taiwan, and is planning to send a large delegation here next month. On Monday last week, the Czech Cabinet followed suit by announcing a donation of 30,000 doses to Taiwan.

In addition to being EU member states, Lithuania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have their Cold War history in common. These countries existed within a communist-ruled region of eastern Europe, either occupied or controlled by the Soviet Union. Now that these countries are stepping forward to help Taiwan, this opportunity should be seized to bolster ties with them.

‘Greater China’ is a harmful myth

James Lee 李牮斯

We all had a similar experience when we were kids: “Broccoli or spinach?” mom asked.

“Spinach,” I would respond, not knowing that any vegetables aside from the two presented greens were available. Mom’s trick influenced her kids to eat healthy.

Choice of words can influence human thinking and actions, and even shape people’s perceptions of the world.

Formal ties with US would lift Taiwan’s status: You

Taipei Times

Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, right, talks during an online interview with media personality Frances Huang in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times

Taiwan’s status would be normalized if the US resumed diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) said yesterday, adding that the issue of Taiwan’s identity has been gaining attention worldwide.

Following the treason money

Taipei Times Editorial

It speaks volumes about what is considered normal in Taiwan that a retired general — Kao An-kuo (高安國) in this case — could call on military officers not only to surrender to China, but also to overthrow the nation’s democratically elected government, and Taiwanese could throw up their hands and say: “We’ve heard this all before.”

Kao regularly posts low-budget YouTube videos in which he is sitting behind a microphone in his military fatigues criticizing the government and spreading disinformation, for example, on alleged deaths after COVID-19 vaccinations and that the government was sacrificing Taiwanese lives by rejecting Beijing’s offers of Chinese vaccines.

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