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Puma Shen addresses German hearing

Taipei Times

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), whom China has listed as “wanted” for promoting Taiwanese independence, on Wednesday addressed a hearing of a German parliamentary committee, speaking about his efforts to combat disinformation.

Shen was one of six experts invited to speak at a hearing of the Bundestag’s Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid on the topic “Disinformation by Autocratic States Aiming to Undermine Democracy and Threaten Human Rights,” information posted online by the lower house of the German federal parliament showed.

After the hearing, Shen told reporters that he was invited to address the committee in his role as a lawmaker and an expert on combating disinformation.

The CCP’s mask slips again

Taipei Times Editorial

Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday last week shared a news article on social media about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, adding that “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off.” The previous day in the Japanese House of Representatives, Takaichi said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a situation threatening Japan’s survival,” a reference to a legal legal term introduced in 2015 that allows the prime minister to deploy the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

The violent nature of Xue’s comments is notable in that it came from a diplomat, especially one stationed in the country to which he was directing his ire. The Japanese government called it “extremely inappropriate,” while Beijing tried to distance itself by characterizing the post as “personal.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said that Xue’s comments, and similar remarks from Chinese officials, risked stirring up anti-Japanese sentiment among Chinese, and that it “cannot be treated as an isolated incident or just a personal remark.” US Ambassador to Japan George Glass wrote on X: “The mask slips — again.”

Taiwan’s shifting optics at APEC

Edwin Yang 楊聰榮

When presidential adviser Lin Hsin-i (林信義), Taiwan’s envoy to this year’s APEC summit in South Korea, arrived at the opening session on Friday last week, the official broadcast screen bore the name “Taiwan.” Also featured were the national flag, the labels “major economic partner” and “chips sector competitor,” as well as population and GDP statistics of 23.3 million and US$805 billion.

It is more than just a new look — it is an open acknowledgement of Taiwan’s economic strength and technological standing. As host, South Korea has delivered a tactful and economically minded framing, reflecting the pragmatic recognition of Taiwan’s role amid a global supply chain restructuring and growing geopolitical risks.

Indigeneity and transitional justice

Chou Hui-min 周惠民

In 2022, the Constitutional Court ruled that the exclusion of Pingpu from the Indigenous Peoples Status Act (原住民身分法) was unconstitutional — a delayed reckoning with a forgotten history. On Oct. 17, the Legislative Yuan passed its third reading of the Pingpu Indigenous People’s Identity Act (平鋪原住民族群身分法). It was a long-awaited response to a 20-year struggle for recognition from Pingpu groups and a milestone in Taiwan’s transitional justice process.

The question is whether legal recognition could truly provide genuine protection of rights. There is discussion on the likelihood of this separate legal framework — which acknowledges identity first and leaves rights to be debated later — creating a second-tier indigenous class. The decoupling of identity and rights would be a low-budget form of recognition at best. The acid test for the credibility of the legal changes would be what happens in the education system. The recognition of Pingpu groups brings three major challenges — and opportunities for reform — for education in Taiwan:

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