Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Why embrace cynicism over hope?

Lo Ming-cheng 駱明正

Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) was recently invited to deliver an address at the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China’s (IPAC) annual summit, in the European Parliament building in Brussels.

On the world stage, the moment was hailed as a breakthrough. The Guardian and Reuters framed it as a rare opportunity for a top Taiwanese official to publicly defend its democracy and call for global support. Meanwhile, as predictable as clockwork, Hsiao’s visit drew China’s ire.

Beijing condemned IPAC as “merely a clique of anti-China elements” and accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government of colluding to stage “a farce.” This is a familiar dance: Taiwan reaches out; China pushes back.

Civil defense guide distribution starts

Taipei Times

The latest edition of the National Public Safety Guide is being mailed to all citizens starting today to foster public awareness of self-defense in the event of war or natural disasters, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.

“The guides will be disseminated to the public to enhance society’s overall understanding of threats and bolster defense awareness, demonstrating the government’s emphasis on people’s safety and its determination to pursue self-defense,” All-out Defense Mobilization Agency Director Shen Wei-chih (沈威志) said at the ministry’s news conference.

The nationwide distribution campaign was planned according to President Lai William’s (賴清德) Sept. 20 directive, he said, adding that the goal is to deliver all handbooks to Taiwan’s 9.83 million registered households by Jan. 5.

Tsai can enter doors closed to Lai

Laura Bonsaver

Since leaving office last year, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been journeying across continents. Her ability to connect with international audiences and foster goodwill toward her country continues to enhance understanding of Taiwan. It is possible because she can now walk through doors in Europe that are closed to President William Lai (賴清德).

Tsai last week gave a speech at the Berlin Freedom Conference, where, standing in front of civil society leaders, human rights advocates and political and business figures, she highlighted Taiwan’s indispensable global role and shared its experience as a model for democratic resilience against cognitive warfare and cyberattacks, reminding the European audience of the dangers their nations also face, which would only grow in the coming years.

KMT, TPP to blame for NCC paralysis

Taipei Times Editorial

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators once again collaborated to vote against the appointments of four new National Communications Commission (NCC) commissioners. This decision has further mired the already dysfunctional agency in uncertainty.

The commission, which regulates online media, broadcast media and telecommunications in the country, has not been able to rule on any case since December last year due to the inability to meet the quorum, which requires a minimum of four NCC members to be present. There are currently only three commissioners.

Some blamed former NCC chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) for the conundrum. It was Chen who restricted the quorum to 50 percent of the statutory number of members, instead of half of the current number of members.

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