Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Beijing’s backfiring Huang debacle

Taipei Times Editorial

The video of 16-year-old Taiwanese Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), of the South Korean pop group TWICE, apologizing for displaying a Republic of China (ROC) flag on a variety show might seem like just another example of a Taiwanese being bullied by China, but few other examples have stirred such a backlash or highlighted Beijing’s hypocrisy and backwardness in such shocking detail.

Synchronized elections fuel gap issue

Taipei Times Editorial

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to form a Cabinet before president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) takes office on May 20, “lest the government be left idling.”

The call might seem reasonable, but the important question is: What role would the outgoing president play in a new government formed by public opinion?

Flush away the “1992 consensus”

Taipei Times Editorial

It is ironic looking back on how self-congratulatory President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was when he in November last year patted himself on the back for having mentioned the Republic of China (ROC) and the phrase “one China, with each side having its own interpretation” at his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).

Tsai faces tough task to achieve true reform

Peng Ming-min 彭明敏

When Westerners see someone taking on a position of responsibility which results in themselves being left to deal with a pile of insoluble problems, they often say: “I do not envy him/her.”

When Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first contested a presidential election in 2012, a senior economist issued a warning, saying that if Taiwan really wanted reform, it must be prepared to sacrifice itself. Tsai responded by saying that Taiwan’s democracy was mature, and that there was no need to exaggerate. The economist said she was too naive and did not have a sufficient understanding of Chinese. I agree completely.

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