Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Strong backbone can thwart China

Yeomin Yoon

A nation existing globally respects what other nations think, and appropriates other nations’ perceptions of itself. The element that a nation wants to see most in its international image is respect, something the People’s Republic of China seems to be craving.

Criteria of respect for nations are historically and culturally variant, but one primary, essential criterion has become universal since the end of the Cold War: a respect for human rights.

How the government of a nation treats its people and how they treat one another has become an essential measure of that nation’s respectability. A nation might be powerful and, hence, feared or depended on; it might be rich and favored as a trade partner.

Inspired by the Velvet Revolution

Vincent Chen 陳建志

Disregarding China’s reaction, a large delegation of 89 members led by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil arrived in Taiwan on Aug. 30, in an unprecedented formal exchange between the two nations.

As the delegation had a tight schedule, Vystrcil’s two public speeches — at National Chengchi University on Aug. 31 and at the Legislative Yuan on Sept. 2 — received much of the spotlight.

‘Asian NATO’ presents opportunity

Yao Chung-yuan 姚中原

During the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum’s third leadership summit on Aug. 31, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said that the US wants to partner with the other members of the Quadrilaterial Security Dialogue — Australia, India and Japan — to establish an organization similar to NATO, to “respond to ... any potential challenge from China.”

He said that the US’ purpose is to work with these nations and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region to “create a critical mass around the shared values and interest of those parties,” and possibly attract more countries to establish an alliance comparable to NATO.

Prosecutor calls for stricter espionage laws

Taipei Times

Pointing to lenient sentences handed out in national security cases, Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Hsing Tai-chao (邢泰釗) on Thursday called for stricter measures to deter espionage in Taiwan.

Hsing, a former Taipei district chief prosecutor, said that a review of more than 200 national security cases showed that none of the convicted defendants received a sentence of more than five years in prison.

Cases of people working on behalf of China to infiltrate government and military positions to obtain top-level and classified materials to undermine Taiwan’s security are a serious concern that erodes public confidence in the nation’s leadership, he said.

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