Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Lai has a vision on Taiwan’s key issues

Wang Chih-chien 汪志堅

Not long ago, Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate William Lai (賴清德) published an article titled “My Plan to Preserve Peace in the Taiwan Strait” in the Wall Street Journal, proposing a “four-pillar plan” for peace and prosperity — including bolstering Taiwan’s military deterrence, treating economic security as national security, developing partnerships with the world’s democracies, and steady and principled cross-strait leadership.

The four pillars’ careful arguments are straightforward and show Lai’s stature, while highlighting the major drawbacks of other candidates who lack the core ideas of national development.

Chinese rules designed for power

Yu Kung 愚工

China’s counter-espionage Law amended on Saturday last week and Foreign Investment Law enacted on Jan. 1 last year were designed to work together.

Article 4, Paragraph 3 of the Counter-Espionage Law gives a broad definition of acts of espionage, ie: “Activities carried out, instigated or funded by foreign institutions, organizations and individuals other than espionage organizations and their representatives, or in which domestic institutions, organizations or individuals collude, to steal, pry into, purchase or illegally provide state secrets, intelligence and other documents, data, materials or items related to national security, or in which state employees are incited, enticed, coerced or bought over to turn traitor.”

The KMT’s evergreen money tree

Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), the great businessman, has humbled himself twice seeking the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) nomination for presidential elections.

With regret and frustration, Gou must be confused as to why he failed. He could not swallow his pride. Doubtless he has the ability to lead the nation and make policy. When he met then-US president Donald Trump in the White House, he even wore a special baseball cap emblazoned with the Republic of China and US flags, showing his acute global perspective. And he is clearly up to handling cross-strait relations: He has met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). What is it about Gou that makes him any less prepared to take on these tasks than former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) four years ago, or New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) this time around? With his tail between his legs, the only thing Gou can do is grumble that fate was simply not on his side.

AIT says office expansion is show of ‘commitment’

Taipei Times

A proposed expansion to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) compound in Taipei aims to reinforce the US’ “rock-solid commitment to Taiwan,” the AIT said on Wednesday.

“Due to the United States and Taiwan’s strong relationship, AIT plans to increase its staff to further support commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan,” an AIT spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.

“The vacant land adjacent to AIT presents an extraordinary opportunity to provide for AIT’s long-term future growth in a single, central, and secure location and reinforces America’s rock-solid commitment to Taiwan,” they said.

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