Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

What’s truly special about Taiwan

William R. stimson

My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market.

Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table.

Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property.

The big surprise came when I peeled and bit into one of them this morning. It might not have looked like anything special, but it was. The taste took me right back to my childhood on the Isle of Pines, Cuba.

Peace in Strait indispensable: summit

Taipei Times

US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday reiterated the importance of cross-strait peace and stability during their first-ever trilateral summit at the White House in Washington.

“We affirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity, recognize that there is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and call for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,” the leaders said in a joint statement.

The TRA at 45: The path forward

Lin Tzu-yao and Cathy Fang 林子堯

Today marks the 45th anniversary of the day the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) was signed into law. The relationship between Taiwan and the US has evolved from the geopolitical turmoil of the time, marked by major Taiwanese tech companies establishing factories in the US, high-ranking Taiwanese military officials visiting the US and unprecedented arms sales to Taiwan.

What was once a one-sided dependence has metamorphosed into a mutually beneficial partnership. However, given the “asymmetrical” nature of cross-strait relations, especially the power disparity and China’s coercive tactics against Taiwan, it is essential and pressing to envision and enhance bilateral relations beyond the TRA, while acknowledging the challenges that lie ahead.

Building an ‘island of resilience’

The Liberty Times Editorial

On Wednesday morning last week, an earthquake off the east coast, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, was felt across the country, but Hualien County was hit the worst.

As of Sunday, 13 people have died and more than 1,000 have been injured.

The quake was almost as powerful as 1999’s devastating 921 Earthquake, making it the strongest to strike Taiwan in the past 25 years.

Taiwan’s geographical location is such that it experiences frequent earthquakes that cause losses to property and lives. By withstanding one such test after another, the government and society have learned and strengthened their resilience against disasters. For example, Taiwan has continually enhanced the earthquake resilience of buildings and infrastructure.

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