Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

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.

Taiwan is ‘cornerstone’: ex-US admiral

Taipei Times

If influence in the Indo-Pacific region is one of the US’ core interests, then Taiwan serves as a cornerstone of US economic and security influence in the region, former US Indo-Pacific Command commander admiral Phillip Davidson said on Thursday.

“China’s ... strategy is to supplant the US leadership role in the international order ... and they’ve long said ... that they intend to do that by 2050,” Davidson told the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit in Washington.

Davidson said he had previously told US Senate hearings on China’s military activities and possible threats in the Indo-Pacific region that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could happen within the next 10 years, or even the next six years.

More Articles...