News brief: NewsWeek,
7-21-2020: Once military
conflict breaks out - A slight plurality of 31 percent assigned
blame to Chinese President Xi Jinping, while 30 percent of respondents said they
believed both Xi and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen were responsible and 24
percent blamed Tsai. Daily Mail, 7-22-2020: China has
made several 'simulated' military attacks on Taiwan.
Daily Express
(UK) 7-21-2020:
WAR will break out between
China and the US in the South China Sea if Beijing violates the alliance
agreement between America and Taiwan.
Bloomberg 7-20-2020:
Beijing is no doubt waiting
to see the outcome of the U.S. presidential election before taking any more
significant actions. National Interest 7-18-2020:
This will be
much more
difficult and
costly than Hong
Kong has been,
but make no
mistake: for
these (CCP) people,
that cost is
deemed as
necessary and
they will gladly
pay it. Unless
the United
States binds
itself to
protect the
independence of
Taiwan on pain
of war, Taiwan
is next.
Asia
Times, 7-20-2020: US tech giants exposed if China takes
Taiwan ... Even an unsuccessful invasion of Taiwan would cause a supply chain disruption. Fox News 7-16-2020:
US appears to change
policy on Beijing’s ‘unlawful’ actions in the South China Sea and thus opens
the legal floodgates to a potential military response.ecns.cn 7-17-2020: China:
Two sides of Taiwan
Strait should jointly safeguard China's sovereignty
over the islands and reefs in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters,Foreign
Affairs, 7-8-2020: Given how little Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong has
cost it to date, we are concerned that Beijing will draw the wrong
conclusions about the costs of future coercion against Taiwan. FoxNews 7-8-2020:
The passage
of a national
security law on Hong
Kong has put Taiwan on edge, with pro-democracy
activists fearing that Beijing will
soon have the self-ruled island in its crosshairs. Washington
Post 7-7-2020: The Hong Kong security law could be China’s blueprint
to deal with the ‘Taiwan problem'...China has
arguably moved a step closer to preparing for war with the
island democracy
. National Interest 7-6-2020:
China and Taiwan Could Be Headed Towards a Showdown... New York Times, 7-2-2020: The
possibility of a military conflict between China and Taiwan remains remote,
experts say, because the costs for Beijing would be extraordinary, including
significant casualties and damage to its international standing. Yet the two
sides are moving farther and farther apart, with little appetite for
compromise. USA Today 7-5-2020: Taiwan has never been more important to American
interests. LOWY institute 7-9-2020: Xi isn’t such a realist when it comes to Taiwan.
Beijing views Taiwan in largely political terms – preoccupied with “the
great trend of history” towards unification. NewsWeek
6-5-2020: If Washington does not act comprehensively and urgently, it could be
Hong Kong today and Taiwan next.The
diplomat 6-3-2020:
the 3 flashpoints
(Taiwan, HK, S. China Sea)
that could turn a
US-China cold war hot
... dangerously close to a tipping point
where even a
small action would serve as a catalyst that lets
slip the dogs of war. Express
(UK), 6-3-2020: South China Sea warning: All-out war fears erupt as Beijing
rejects Taiwan peace plan.
Financial
Times 6-3-2020 : shrill rhetoric would make many believe that an assault on Taiwan could
be imminent... Washington
Post, 5-30-2020:
The threat, China's vows
to 'smash' any Taiwan independence move as Trump weighs sanctions, raised the
prospect of a regional conflict that could draw in the United States......the rapid
deterioration in relations, already at their worst in decades.Economist:
5-29-2020 How far will China go? China has launched rule by fear not just
over Hong Kong, but also over the South China Sea and Taiwan.
L.A.
Times 5-20-2020: the ruling Democratic
Progressive Party advocates Taiwan’s formal independence, something
Beijing says it will use force to prevent.
Foreign Policy 5-20-2020: Taiwan
would reject being ruled by China in the same way Hong Kong is now.
The Guardian, 5-20-2020: Beijing also responded swiftly to Tsai’s speech and
said China would never leave any room for “Taiwan independence separatist
activities”. Washington Post, 5-21-20: As U.S.-China
rhetoric grows harsher, new risks emerge with Taiwan drawn into the mix.
Financial Times 5-19-2020 : Taiwan fears uptick in military threat from
China in wake of coronavirus epidemic. New York Times,
5-12-2020, Pew Research Center:
(Taiwanese) 52%
support closer economic ties with China, only 36% favor closer political
ties.
Foreign Policy 5-15-2020: Beijing
were to interpret ...... coronavirus as a uniquely advantageous moment, a
Chinese military strike on Taiwan at this moment is unlikely... ...
but a low level of
risk is not the same as zero risk.
New York Times 5-19-2020: US is
Using Taiwan as a Pressure Point (TSMC in Arizona ...) in
Tech Fight With China. Nikkei news Japan ( Nihon
keizai shinbun, 日本経済新聞 ) , 5-20-2020: TSMC to Arizona may weaken Taiwan's security. DailyMail
UK, France 24 ,
4-20-2020: CoronaVirus: WHO chief hits back (by "Taiwan didn't report
any human-to-human transmission," , "Taiwan's email was only seeking further
information.") at
Trump's claims
(White
House 4-15-2020: WHO kept Taiwan's lead from the public). FOXnews 4-9-2020, CNBC 4-8-20:
WHO chief addresses death threats, racist insults
from Taiwan.
The China Times,
4-10-2020
editorial :
Taiwanese Cyber bullying notorious worldwide.Guardian UK, 3-28-2020: U.S.
increases support for Taiwan internationally by a new law Taipei Act, China
threatens to strike back. Reuters
2-26-2020:
Taiwan should continue to
show goodwill to China during coronavirus outbreak and not give Beijing an
excuse to attack the island as a way of relieving “internal pressure”
...
Chinese public opinion believes people in
Taiwan lack sympathy about China’s virus outbreak...L.A. Times 1-10-2020 ~ 1-11-2020:
Taiwan's president
sweeps to reelection, setting the stage for chilly
relations with China .
Bloomberg 1-9-2020:
Slow income growth and aging society post challenge ahead, Taiwanese
income-per-person, income per capita, lowest of Four Tigers. WSJ (Wall Street Journal)
9-20-2019: It’s clearly a big win for
China having the two largest allies of Taiwan in the Pacific drop so quickly... New York Times
9-20-2019: As Taiwan Loses
Influence, China Gains Ground in Race With U.S. ;WEF <Travel
and tourism competitiveness report> of 2019 shows
Taiwan had the sub-region's largest decline in competitiveness, Taiwan
ranks 10th in Asia, Taiwan's
prioritization of travel & tourism ranks world No.75;L. A. Times, 8-1-2019:
The indefinite suspension
(Chinese individual tourists to TW)
is likely to
prove a major economic hit to Taiwan, as
well as a blow to cultural interplay.Daily Mail (UK)
4-1-2019: Taiwan
blasts China for "reckless and provocative" incursion by 2 fighter jets
across a largely respected line dividing the 2 sides in the Taiwan Straits.
Japan Times, 4-1-2019:
China's move also comes less than a week after the U.S. sent ships through the
strait ( mission was unusual) — the third
time in as many months...those sailings have likely been interpreted by China as
implicit support for self-ruled Taiwan. Reuters 2-25-2019: US Navy ships
... riling China.
ABC.net Australia: Chinese fighter jets cross Taiwan Strait after
Tsai urges Pacific pushback against Beijing.New York Times 1-19-2019: Most
of Taiwan’s 23 million people are in favor of maintaining the island’s de
facto independence without taking any formal moves that might bring a
military response from China. Le Monde France 1-2-2019: Le
président chinois « n’exclut pas » la force pour récupérer Taïwan.
BBC UK 1-2-2019: The US is by far
Taiwan's only ally...most other countries seem happy to accept the current
ambiguity... New York Times 11-28-2018: Will Taiwan Be the First Domino to Fall to China?
New York Times, 11-23-2018: China said the results
(Taiwan votes in elections) reflected a desire of Taiwanese for better
relations with the mainland...
Economic growth, employment and pension
reforms were among key issues in the elections.
Le Monde (France), 11-24-2018: A Taïwan, des élections sous influence chinoise.Washington Post, 8-20-2018: Taiwan's precarious
role in the China-US spat (Trump adm.'s Taiwan policy is unpredictable...
situation is undeniably risky for Taiwan);
CBS
News 11-14-2018:
If the United States had to
fight China in a war over Taiwan, Americans could face a decisive military
defeat. / National Defense Strategy
Commission
; Annual Report to US Congress (
Military and Security Developments Involving the PRC ),
8-17-2018:
Much of Beijing’s defense budget is
focused on developing the capability to unify Taiwan by force;
USA Today 5-18-2018: Xi
JinPing has signaled that China will seek to reclaim its historical
properties by 2049.
Freebeacon 5-17-2018 : 2020—the
deadline that [Chinese supreme leader] Xi Jinping has given the [People's
Liberation Army] to be ready to invade Taiwan. The US subcommittee
hearing (4-17-2018) Rep. Ted Soho,
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific:
Seems likely Xi will force the issue (unification) in his life time.
Bloomberg
3-14-2018: Trump's "Taiwan card"
(to annoy
China when needed)
is China's real worry.
Deutsche Welle 3-17-2018: China has reacted
angrily to the bill (Trump signed <Taiwan Travel Act> which paves way for
official exchanges with Taiwan, and identifies
indirectly
(?) Taiwan as a country
― "visits to a country by United States cabinet members
...".)
Bloomberg news 3-14-2018: Taiwan will suffer even more, as it gets
caught in the middle between a stronger China and a inward-looking
US... New York Times at 10-19-2017: China's Xi
(in 19th CP
Congress Speech) "called for the
return of
Taiwan, a
self-governing
island, to
mainland Chinese
control", only
“with patriots playing the principal role.”..."the line that won the loudest
applause" ―― "We will
never allow anyone, any organization, or any political party, at any time or
in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China".
FreeBeacon
at 10-19-2017 : "China’s
Xi Jinping Slams the Door on Taiwanese Appeals for Independence.".
Spiegel
Germany, 1-9-2017, Global
Times of China:
"There is no room for negotiations" ("Es
gibt keinen Raum für Verhandlungen").
Le
Monde Diplomatique of France, Mai 2016, depicted Taiwan (click
for details ! )
as a
trembling sweating rat ,
turning its back on an approaching huge cat (China), lifting high the banner "$O$"
.
New York Times at 11-4-2017:
Chinese
aircraft routinely
probe Taiwan’s airspace ... aircraft carriertraversed
the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan's
travel & tourism
-
10th
in Asia
World Economic Forum (WEF) <Travel
and tourism competitiveness report>released at 9-4-2019 shows
Taiwan had the sub-region's largest
decline in competitiveness from 30th
down to 37th.
Taiwan ranks
No.10 among Asian countries.
for details : click
tourism
WEF travel & tourism
category
Taiwan's rankings and/or score
comparison
prioritization of travel and
tourism
No75
Singapore No.6 , Hong Kong
No. 11
Natural & cultural resources
No.58 score 2.6
China No.1, score 6.0 ,
France No.2, 5.0,
Spain No.3, 5.7, Japan
No.7, 5.3, Indonesia No.18,
Thailand No.21, Korea No.24,
Vietnam No.26, Malaysia No.31,
HK No.40, Philippines No.46,
Sri Lanka No.52, Nepal No.56
Natural resources
No. 87
Hong Kong No. 42, Singapore
No.120
cultural resources & business
travel
No. 36 score 2.6
China No1, score 7.0
price competitiveness
No. 78
China 5.7
Health & Hygiene
No.43, score 6
score worse than Korea, Japan,
Mongolia
international openness
No. 60
only better than China, Mongolia
Safety & security
No. 26
human resource & labor market:
Taiwan No.18
ps: Compared to the report of 2017, Taiwan significantly tightened
visa requirements (37th down
to 119th), waning cultural
resources and business
travel (26th to 36th) and
recalibrated figures showing
a drastic reduction in
protected areas (20th to
118th).
According to
World Economic Forum (WEF) <Travel
and tourism competitiveness report>(released at 4-6-2017),
Taiwan's
most important indexes for
promoting tourism, like "Attractiveness
of Natural Assets" (parks, beaches,
mountains, wildlife, etc) ranks
world
No.87, "Natural Resources" ranks
No.55, "Environmental Sustainability" ranks No.75 (No.69
in 2015), "Price Competitiveness"
ranks
No. 46, "Hotel Price Index" ranks No.
89 (82 in 2015), Taiwan got "n/a" on China's world top 5 indexes such as
"World
heritage natural sites" as well as
"World heritage cultural sites".
comment
Taiwan travel and tourism, No.1 on
internet, pls. click for details
Taiwan's
soft power
vs.
Asia's soft power
Till 2020,
Taiwan has not been included in Monocle's Soft Power survey ranking list,
so Taiwan's soft power is behind Asian's "world top 20" nations
, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand,
China, India, UAE.
for details : click
Soft
Power
world best surveys
Taiwan's rankings
in top 25~30 list
comparison with
other Asia & Pacific countries
2019/2020
Top 30 SOFT POWER by Portland
failed
No. 8 Japan, No.9 Australia,
No. 17 New Zealand, No. 19
S Korea, No. 21
Singapore, No. 27 China
Japan, Australia,
New Zealand,
S.
Korea, Singapore,
China, UAE ,
India, etc, were in the top 25
list
★
According to a survey of 2020,
Singapore ranks No.1, Japan No.7, Korea
No. 9 on "enterprise", Japan ranks
No. 5, China No.10 on "engagement",
Korea ranks No. 5 on "digital", Japan
ranks No.6, China No. 8 on "culture", No
any Asian country ranks top 10 on
"education" and "govt."
★
Best Countries overall in 2020: 1 Swiss 2 Canada 3 Japan
4 Germany 5 Australia 6 UK 7 USA 8 Sweden 9 Nederland
10 Norway 11 NZ 12 France 13 Denmark 14 Finland 15 China
16 Singapore 17 Italy 18 Austria 19 Spain 20 Korea 21
Luxembourg 22 UAE 23 Russia 24 Portugal 25 India 26
Thailand 27 Greece 28 Brazil 29 Israel 30 Qatar 31 Saudi
Arabia 32 Malaysia 33 Mexico 34 Poland 35 Turkey
◆
Taiwan’s Military Is a Hollow Shell.
US Defense Department officials have privately expressed dismal
assessments regarding Taiwan's current force level and reserve system.
◆
armor, mechanized infantry, and artillery
units are always in desperate shortage of enlisted soldiers
◆
few front-line units have more than 80 percent of their positions filled
/
Foreign
Policy, 2-15-2020;
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/15/china-threat-invasion-conscription-taiwans-military-is-a-hollow-shell/
◆
Politicians in our country are
afraid to discuss these issues with the public because they
believe our people are not willing to sacrifice... /
Financial Times
(UK), 7-12-2020 Full text:
www.ft.com/content/92029f49-3e9a-47b7-b967-2af823f185cd
◆
Taiwan's active force down to under 200,000 (the exact number is
classified). The nearly two million reservists exist in name only... /
New York times, 5-18-2017
◆ The ROC
(Taiwan) Armed Forces number approximately 300,000,
and reserves reportedly total 3,870,000.
/
Wikipedia,
May 2020
strategy
◆
To against the threats of cyber warfare,
cognitive warfare, and ‘unrestricted’ warfare from China , we
( Taiwan ) work to bolster our defense capabilities, future combat capacity
development will also emphasize mobility, countermeasures, and
non-traditional, asymmetrical capabilities (unconventional arms)” /
Taiwan president inauguration speech, Voice of American, 5-20-2020
◆
so called asymmetrical capabilities in
Taiwan is only skin-deep
/
United
Daily
,
editorial, 6-6-2020
firepower
◆
China
has
ｎｕｃｌｅａｒ ｂｏｍｂ ，Neutron
bomb，
hydrogen bomb, Taiwan has none of those. /
Next
TV news, 5-8-2020
◆
Three Taiwanese presidents Lee (李登輝後期)、Chen(陳水扁)、Tsai(蔡英文)
squandering those "bonus for peace" and underestimating the demand of
national defense, lead to shortage of arms-deal budget. /
United
Daily
,
editorial, 6-6-2020
◆
Taiwan military strength is ranked No. 26 , China PLA No. 3
/
Global FirePower, 2020
◆
A major obstacle is that countries that might sell it the most
sophisticated weaponry are increasingly reluctant to do so for fear of
provoking China, ... /
New York times, 11-4-2017
military
logistics system
◆
Taiwan
lacks
enough supplement of all items of military equipments /
United
Daily
(聯合報 社評),
opinion,
5-
7- 2020
morale
◆
Policies put forward by the Kuomintang and the independence-leaning
Democratic Progressive Party have left the military understaffed and in
a state of low morale... /
New York times, 5-18-2017
◆
Taiwan fears uptick in military threat from China in wake of
coronavirus epidemic ... /
Financial Times
5-19-2020
discipline
◆
The
practice of judicial system has proved not as good as military criminal
code to educate and train the military discipline. A soldier's
洪仲丘 'torture
to death"
sparks massive protest around 2013,
the military court was hence no longer to judge the troops .
/
The China Times, 7-17-2020,
editorial
budget
◆
High personnel expense pushes aside the
logistics and maintenance budget, the govt. needs to plan
special budge to purchase arms. /
The China Times, 7-17-2020,
editorial
world's
most livable cities ... include
Taiwan's ?
Till 2020,
Taiwan has not been included in the top ranking list of
the world's most livable cities
subtotal number : Singapore ( 2 ), Hong Kong ( 3 ), Japan ( 2 ),
Korea ( 3 ), China ( 4 ), Malaysia ( 1 ), Taiwan ( 0 )
★
In
<Nature Index> ,
"2019 Tables: Institutions,
about 32 universities in China, 8
universities in Korea, 6 Hong Kong universities, 9 univ. in Japan,
2 universities in India, 2 in Singapore, one in Saudi Arabia
ranked higher than all Taiwan's
"We
call ourselves the Republic of China, Taiwan", president Tsai has told BBC
UK at Jan. 15, 2020, but later BBC changed it to "the Republic of China
(Taiwan)". Tsai in her inauguration speech at 5-20-2020
reiterated that Taiwan calls for stability in China relations but would
reject being ruled by China in the same way Hong Kong is now (semiautonomy),
and announced TW
will revise the constitution which
may be interpreted by
Beijing as a ploy to formalize Taiwan's independence. Beijing responded
immediately that China would never leave any room for “Taiwan
independence separatist activities”. Reuters
5-22-2020: In
the annual meeting of China’s parliament,
there was no mention of the word
"peaceful" in front of “reunification”, departing from the standard
expression Chinese leaders have used for at least four decades,
an
apparent policy shift that comes as ties with Taipei continue on a downward
spiral. While analysts believe an invasion is unlikely, Chinese state media point out China’s military might
has been able to effectively overwhelm the Taiwan military and deter the US.
According to
Reuters
2-26-2020, excuses to attack Taiwan might
include
relieving “internal pressure” ,
Taiwan's lacking sympathy about China’s virus outbreak
(
91.5% of Chinese and
95 percent of Taiwanese population is of Han
descent, who
have relations, investments and inseparable
linkages with their relatives in mainland ; Over two million
Taiwanese live in China, and over 20 per cent have married there.).China
issued an "Ultimatum" ("Don't say I didn't tell u") in Nov. 2019 to Hong Kongers, then passed National Security Law for HK in May 2020, similarly,
China's state-run media shouted same "Ultimatum" to Taiwan in April 2020.
( Taiwan zipped its mouth about
Chinese president Xi
offered an ultimatum in January 2019 to Taiwan to come to the table for
unification talks or face annexation by force.
) Financial Times (UK), 5-19-2020 : Taiwan fears uptick in military threat from
China in wake of coronavirus epidemic. After "poking the
bear (China)" for a few years, Taiwan in Fox News
at 5-27-2020 warns Taiwan is next on Chinese agenda ( military actions ) and
asks for international support.
★
The
People's Republic of China (PRC)
has identified
that
Taiwan
as part of its territory
and its
most important core interest, since the Kuomintang (Nationalists
or KMT)
government retreated to the island in 1949 following defeat in the Chinese
civil war.China has traditionally used a double
strategy
of
“carrot
and
stick”
towards
Taiwan, on
one hand,
it has vowed to
reunite this "breakaway province" by force if necessary,
and
has been ramping up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan
since president Tsai I.W.
(2016 ~)
refused to recognise the "1992 consensus" a
'pseudo'-agreement
made by Taiwan's KMT party and the Chinese Communist Party, that proclaimed
"the existence of only one China ”, but “ with different interpretations ” (being
free to decide which side was legitimate.).
In
early 2019,
CCP Xi openly equates One Country Two Systems with the 1992 Consensus to
eliminate other interpretations. Under China's political development and strengthening its trade ties to our
allies,
Taiwan is diplomatically isolated, has only 15 formal relation allies till
middle of 2020
(Taiwan lost Salvador etc 3 allies
within half yr. China rankled TW president's visit to NASA - LA Times
8-20-2018),
most of them are little, unknown countries. On the other hand,
China
took the strategy
" Allowance
of economic benefits to Taiwan"("讓利",
such as
◆
charming Taiwan by offering preferential treatment in a soft
power bid / le monde
diplmatique may
2019;
◆
40% exports from Taiwan
to China
/ CTN 5-30-2020;
◆
mainland
China
remains
the
largest
market
outside
Taiwan
for
Taiwanese
workers
and
companies,
with
around
1
million
Taiwanese
working
there
/ German
Institute
for
Int'l
and
security
affairs,
2-7-2020
◆
encouraging tourists to
Taiwan. /
WEF <Travel
and tourism competitiveness report> of 2019 shows
Taiwan had the sub-region's largest
decline in competitiveness,
Taiwan's
overall score ranks 10th in Asia.
◆
L.A. Times, 8-1-2019:
The indefinite suspension
of individual travel visa is likely to
prove a major economic hit to Taiwan, as
well as a blow to cultural interplay. ) so that Taiwanese people may have higher
tendency toward unification with China, Taiwanese understood this
interdependence is unavoidable, but over-dependence is risky. Modern Diplomacy (EU) at 6-9-2020:
Roughly 26 percent of Taiwan’s trade is with
China, which is its largest trading partner. China has replaced US as No 1
destination for Taiwanese export accounting for approximately 40% of total
exports (Hong Kong included). New York Times
12-3-2019: Trade between China and Taiwan exceeded $181 billion in 2017,
up from about $35.5 billion in 1999.
To achieve the
goal of reducing dependence on China by increasing commerce with other Asian
countries, Taiwan needs to make more reforms to increase competition and
openness (heritage.org).
○
Taiwan is
the 7th largest economy in Asia. Global Wealth Report
(Credit
Suisse,
Oct.,
2018) shows Taiwanese wealth per adult, at USD
212,375, is
close
to
that
of
W.
Euro., (UK
USD
279,048, France USD
280,580) and
Singapore (USD 283,118
), Hong Kong (244,672),
but nation's share world wealth (1.3%) is less than USA(31%), Japan(7.5%),
China(16.4%) and Korea(2.2%). Singapore's
GDP per adult is more than 2 times Taiwan's. In
Global Wealth Report
of 2019, in terms of Wealth per Adult, Taiwan is behind other Asian countries like Hong Kong
(world No.2),
Australia
(4th),
NZ
(5th),
Singapore
(6th),
Japan. United Daily, editorial, 12-3-2019: The amount of average
regular monthly earnings of nationals of last year is NTD38,000
(USD1200)
which is NT100+ less than that of 2001.
★
Taiwan was one of the world's top producers of computer technology,
relying upon importation of key components and
advanced technology from the US (
e.g.,
semiconductor ) and Japan,
Taiwan's high-tech sector is falling behind
for lacking of key tech. and its low pay to attract university-educated talent.
(Taiwan lacks key tech. to make a large bus
/ CTN , 3-29-2017) Taiwan's
GDP per capita retreated successively in recent years, UDN
(1-28-2019)
reported
GDP per capita of
Shanghai, Beijing, GuangZhou and
SenZhen
all were closed to that of
Taiwan.
China's GDP from 2016 till 2018 each is about 23 times the number of Taiwan's, one province
(GD's GDP) alone is 2+ times Taiwan's (ref. to CTN, 3-14-2019).
Taiwan's
中研院
(Academic Sinica
'17)
warned that Taiwan
will fall into
“middle-income” limbo (15-30 countries will catch up with it)
in the next 10 years if it fails to deal with “three evil hands”, the law,
environmental assessments, and Taiwan-China relations.
★
country
GDP per capita
(USD)
Singapore
64
thousands
Hong Kong
48
thousands
South Korea
30+
thousands
Taiwan
just set up a goal USD 30 thousands to reach
★
The
United States, Taiwan's most important protector, takes the policy
"strategic
ambiguity"
――
“acknowledges” there is one China and Taiwan is part of China,
but has never officially “recognized” Taiwan as part of China. The US
Congress passed a law
("Taiwan Relations Act") to
commit
the US to defend Taiwan's sovereignty, and provide necessary 'defensive'
services.
Many countries
seem welcome this ambiguity.
But the U.S. does not have an “iron-clad” commitment to defend Taiwan
(www.chinausfocus.com, May 04 , 2018).
Japan's 読売新聞
(Yomiuri Shimbun) and
Singapore's Straits Times (4-24-2018)
comment that China must not intimidate Taiwan, while the
China-Taiwan
military balance
has tilted in favor of the
Chinese side,
a situation must
not occur in which the U. S. and China deepen their antagonism over Taiwan. Yomiuri Shimbun, Opinion,
6-22-2017 stated the US is the key to keep the peace and stability across
the Taiwan Strait ("米国は台湾の防衛力強化を担っており、台湾海峡の平和と安定のカギを握る"。). Economist 5-28-2020:
a suggestion in American law that America
might come to Taiwan's aid were the island to be attacked...... America
should make clear that doing so would be extremely dangerous.
Taiwan's leaders made an assumption that
American will always come to protect
this island, and
made a core policy to
resist Chinese PLA for 2 weeks only.
But, the New York Times at 11-4-2017 pointed out that
Taiwan’s
historical advantages (geography and the US support) in deterring a
potential attack has been “eroded or negated”
in that Chinese military is "more potent". Foreign
Policy (2-15-2020) describes Taiwan’s military is a 'Hollow Shell',
US Defense Department officials have privately expressed dismal
assessments regarding Taiwan's current force level and reserve system.
Washington Post at 1-5-2018 reported many senior officials regarded Taiwan as
a "roadblock to
Washington’s
smooth relations
with
China", "the turd in the
punchbowl".
★
However, China's
Global Times at 1-10-2018 stated "many forces" in the US are still supporting
Taiwan as a "leverage against China"
(Bloomberg 3-14-2018: some US
national security hawks,
VOAnews, 3-23-2018 :
John Bolton
(Trump's new National Security Adviser) has long argued that Washington can play a "Taiwan
card" to compel
Beijing's
attention for
its potentially
destabilizing
actions in East
Asia and the
South China Sea. ).
The
U.S. and Taiwan are seen
as heading in a direction that is getting perilously close to Chinese
red lines......
Bloomberg news 3-14-2018: In the future, Taiwan will suffer even more,
as it
gets caught in the middle between a stronger China and a
inward-looking US... The
LOWY Institute ( Australia ),
The
Interpreter,
6-16-2020
: treating Taiwan as a
conduit to frustrate Beijing imperils Taiwan’s security.
New York Times at
4-18-2018: Mr. Trump questioned why the US should be bound by
the One China policy if Beijing will not budge on trade ...
New York Times 9-5-2019: it would also be a catastrophe if Taiwan were blockaded or squashed
into submission, because Taiwan is the source of 90+
% of the most advanced
computer chips, and stands in the way of
any Chinese projection into the Pacific.
In May 2020, the US asked TSMC in Taiwan
to build a factory in Arizona as a
"Pressure Point" (N.Y. Times, 5-19-2020)
, which
Japan's日本経済新聞 ( Nikkei news, Nihon keizai shinbun )
points out may
weaken Taiwan's
security.
At 5-7-2020 Taiwan's intelligence chief stated we won't get involved
in dispute between the US and China
in Western Pacific near Taiwan.
United Daily's editorial (1-4-2020, 5-22-2020) worried Taiwan
functioning as a chess piece at front-line to block China in American's containment chessboard
may become
a sacrifice-piece or cannon fodder.
★
Till
May 2020,
the Chinese military has conducted a series of
provocative,
aggressive
operations, such as
dozens of PLAAF aircraft crossed the centerline twice.
New York Post, 4-15-2020:
the 12th time in the past three weeks that
American military planes had been detected near the area (Taiwan’s airspace).
The China Times 5-8-2020 editorial: US B-1B group came 3 times strategically. This likely
was interpreted by China as implicit support for a self-ruled Taiwan, riling
China.
CBS News 11-14-2018,
the National Defense Strategy Commission:
If
the United States had to fight China in a war over Taiwan, Americans could face
a decisive military defeat, or
struggle to win.
(
brief from
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-military-might-struggle-to-win-or-perhaps-lose-war-with-china-or-russia-report-says/)
The Australian, 5-18-2020, The Times (UK): In 2030,
American would be defeated in a sea war with China
and would struggle to stop an invasion of Taiwan, according to a series of
'eye-opening' war game carried out by the Pentagon. Express
(UK) 6-30-2020: China
attack on Taiwan will NOT be salvaged by US in major new warning.
The ROC on Taiwan,
has
most of the
characteristics of an independent state,
however, Taiwan's image and brand personality suffered
for getting benefits by any means ( as Confucius
analects : "窮斯濫"
) and
having some principal human rights problems
as below:
○
●
Ethics of Taiwan
politicians
: The
Liberty Times, editorial (7-21-2020) reports only 2.3% Taiwanese politicians are
trustworthy and have professional ethics,
according to a survey half year ago, 56% Taiwanese note
elected representatives (lawmakers, councilman, etc) care
their own interest, only 9.3% think they care "national interest".
Washington
Post (7-22-2020) reports: In a major speech in January 2019, Xi
(Chinese president) offered an ultimatum to Taiwan to come to the table for
unification talks or face annexation by force.
However, Taiwan's government was
tight-lipped
about this
ultimatum,
so that even famous commentator and
analyst
know
nothing about it,
otherwise pro-Independence Tsai I. W. may not easily continue in presidential
office in Jan. 2020,
because, according to National Interest (6-16-2020):
more than 60.3
percent of the respondents opposed Taiwan's independence if it is followed by
China’s military invasion...
○
●
corruption
:
United Daily, opinion, 8-3-2020:
Corruption in parliament seems never end.
Apple Daily, headline editorial,
8-3-2020
(https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/20200803/BQXMSWTYOVERHBPGLUKPXAA5LQ/)
lawmakers of same party shared
illegal benefits or covered each other, and usually won't disclose political
rivals' greasy palms, that's Taiwan's political culture and 'ecology'.
Liberty Times, 5-25-2020: Univ. presidents'
graft or malfeasance
was heard frequently.
Transparency International 1-29-2019: Taiwan
has stagnated in the Corruption Perspective Index rankings since 2011 with
its score 61~63 (dropped 2 spots this year), in contrast, South Korea
improved by 3 points in 2017. In
platform presentation at 12-25-2019, Nationalist Party Presidential
candidate Han criticized President Tsai has allowed top officials around
grow very corrupt, Tsai refuted KMT was more serious, People First Party
candidate Song said that speaking of corruption and unfair judiciary, KMT
and DPP are about the same. Apple Daily (12-7-2018) editorial : Taiwan's corruption is off the charts
by collusions between government officials and business owners,
furthermore, Taiwan's underworld going wild to assist government officials,
business and some
elected representatives (e.g., legislators) in corruption has been ahead of
most corrupt countries, e.g., China, Indonesia, Brazil, Philippines, Vietnam, the stinky
rotten food-chain crossing pan-Blue (Nationalist, KMT) and pan-Green (DPP)
resurges
after Taiwan's elections... Liberty Times, 1-12-2020, editorial: The
administration's rottenness (腐壞氣息)
smells already.
○
● freedom
of speech
:
USA
Country Reports on Human Rights
practices, 3-11-2020:
Journalists said they faced pressure
from management to submit news stories to complement or support the content
of paid advertisements. <
Reporters
Sans Frontieres>
(RSF, France) , 4-18-2019:
Taiwan’s journalists are suffering
from a very
polarized media environment dominated by sensationalism and the
pursuit of profit. Although President Tsai Ing-wen has said she wants to
continue developing press freedom in Taiwan, few concrete measures have been
taken to improve journalists’ editorial independence and encourage media to
raise the quality of the public debate. Beijing is exploiting this weakness
by putting pressure on Taiwanese media owners, who often have business
interests on the mainland. ●
China Times,
editorial <中時社論>
, 3-9-2020:
Political power
forms threats (penalty fine and suspending the license) to certain media ... Secretly bullying
by (gov.-related) cyber force.●
UDN 12-7-2019 editorial: The number of fake news spread by Pan-Green coalition
(ruling party) is far more (and more vile) than that sent by ordinary people
●
Apple
Daily 3-29-2019 editorial opinion:
Democracy &
Freedom of speech is the bottom line
which should never be lost, the government should not create chilling
effect by fishing in trouble water. ● The
China Times 12-14-2019
editorial : the gov. seriously harmed free speech by investigating those
messages shared or published on the net by the masses● The
China Times 3-29-2019
headline news: Democracy on the surface, anti-democracy to the bone, is
not allowed.
●
US Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices released at 3-13-2019:
the impact of the concentration
of media ownership on freedom of the press, self-censorship continued.
●
N.Y. Times 12-3-2019:
Social media platforms are another key battleground
(Chn-TW): Nearly 90
percent of Taiwan’s population is
active
on them, and traditional news outlets have
been known to republish fake posts without fact-checking. According to Reuters,
Chinese government agencies have paid Taiwanese news outlets to publish
pro-Beijing content.
○
● democracy
:
Reuters, New York
Times, 7-14-2020: Violence and protests inside the chamber are not unusual
in Taiwan.
New York Times,
1-11-2020: Taiwan’s
young and vibrant, if messy at times,
democratic society. Economist
EIU Democracy Index 2019 shows Taiwan is "Flawed democracy",
2019's overall score
is lower than 2015's and 2016's, the scores of "political culture",
"political participation" are low
(5.63, 6.11).
N.Y. Times
12-3-2019:
soft underbelly of
Taiwanese politics: patronage networks.
they continue to
allow
community leaders, farmers’ associations and even
organized-crime figures to buy votes.
<China Times>
2-26-2020,
editorial:
more and more uncontrolled admin. power and withered legislative power,
freedom of speech was suppressed by admin. and judicial power at all levels, ...as
for political culture, partisan, stand and ideology matter.
<Foreign
Policy>, 2015:
Taiwan politics belongs to
mega-corporations (not the people) and is
controlled by the political parties.
Apple
Daily, editorial, 12-14-2019: Taiwan gov. shows authoritarianism political
culture, ignoring and being hostile to those critics. Apple
Daily, editorial, 12-7-2019: in this bad election morality age, Taiwan
president becomes a low threshold, min. qualification criteria position, and
a laughingstock. <United Daily>
editorial 1-8-2020,
<UDN>
editorial (聯合報社論)
11-14-2019／Taiwan's democracy turns into grave 。
(民主設計的良意，如今變成私欲墳場
https://udn.com/news/story/11321/4163629)
<UDN> editorial,12-6-2018:
Taiwan's
democracy exists in
name only ...;
<United Daily News>,
editorial opinion,
6-23-2019: The
operation of democracy usually strays off most public-opinions, ...
fail to solve the adverse situation of reversing democracy; <United Daily News>,
Opinion,
3-7-2017:
Now it seems hard to keep Taiwan's
skin-deep
democracy ...
the people's "livelihood" was
sacrificed for politics ...
○
●
justice :
USA
Country Reports on Human Rights
practices, 3-11-2020:
Some political commentators and
academics, publicly questioned the impartiality of judges and
prosecutors involved in high profile, politically sensitive cases.
US Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices released at 3-13-2019 pointed out
that
justice ministry was
insufficiently independent and conducted politically motivated investigations of
politicians (in <Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government>
section), ... ●The
United Daily,
1-6-2020, editorial:
Taiwanese
don't trust law-enforcement because
of
government abusing power and playing with the law.
:
● The
United Daily,Focus, 11-30-2019:
The
prosecutors and Taiwan's 'FBI' were questioned a lot for years for their
political investigations and conducts ...in recent years, the judiciary
giving services to DPP almost became a routine...:●
UDN 10-20-2019: politics overrode justice
●
The Liberty Times, head-line news, 3-16-2019: Taiwan PM is not
satisfied with Judicial reform
●
The Liberty Times, head-page, The China Times, head-page, 12-8-2018:
Taiwan
P.M. (賴清德):
Taiwan has not
made significant progress on judicial reform, which is roiling with public
discontent;
●<The
United Daily>,
06-18-2016,
head page news:
Taiwan's prosecutors admit usually
following
order to conclude legal cases. ● <USA
Country Reports on Human Rights practices>, 2016-2018, public trust on Taiwan's judiciary system keeps falling down.
●
<United Daily>, opinion column, 12-16-2017: Taiwan's public voice
with a heavy heart :
The prosecutors should abide by the law too... don't be a political tool.
●
children
& women trafficking
:
US state government - 2019 Trafficking in persons report, Jun. 2019:
in the last five years, human traffickers
subject foreign men and women to forced labor and sex trafficking in Taiwan, and
traffickers subject local men and women to forced labor and local women and
children to sex trafficking. ... take advantage of Taiwan and foreign women’s
and children’s drug addictions to subject them to sex trafficking. Taiwan
traffickers increasingly use the internet, smartphone apps, livestreaming, and other such online
technologies to conduct recruitment activities,
often targeting child victims, and to mask their
identities from law enforcement.
●
pirate
:
Green
Peace, 5-2-2019: It remains our view that Taiwanese fisheries still
have many serious problems, both environmental and social, and that the need
for reform is clear and urgent.
Lowy
Institute & <the
interpreter>, 5-2-2019: Taiwan ...illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)
fishing...
Taiwan has so far refused to adopt the Work in Fishing Convention.
EU
warned in 2015 Taiwan with a yellow card for illegal fishing till 6 '19.
US state government - 2019 Trafficking in persons report, Jun. 2019: fishermen
working on Taiwan-flagged and -owned fishing vessels experience non- or
under-payment of wages, long working hours, physical abuse, lack of food or
medical care, denial of sleep, and poor living conditions while indebted to
complex, multinational brokerage networks. Migrant fishermen have reported
senior crewmembers employ such coercive tactics as threats of physical violence,
beatings, withholding of food and water, and pay deductions to retain their
labor.
Freedom
House, June 2019:
labor advocates report
poor implementation, citing ongoing mistreatment and abuse of foreign
fishermen on Taiwanese vessels.
● privacy :
The
United
Daily
News
(聯合報) ,
editorial, 3-31-2019
:
Taiwan is a backward country on
personal-data protection.
Taiwan
plans to
sell
general
public's
personal
data and
digital
human
rights
(e.g.,
people's
medical
health
data
without
giving
any
notice ), peep
at
whatever
on the
net
,
and
even
monitor
all the
citizens,
nothing
people would normally notice ...
(brief
https://udn.com/news/story/7338/3728815) ;
●
EU
General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR was given to effect at 5-25-2018,
Taiwan is far behind, even is going in an opposite way
/ Apple
Daily
蘋果日報, 5-28-2018,
National Taiwan University
Law School professor
林鈺雄
●secret
police :
The
United
Daily
News,
editorial opinion
(9-19-2018) :
"secret police"
(「東廠們」)
have been active around us
... The Liberty Times, head-page, The China Times, head-page, 12-8-2018:
Taiwan P.M.
(賴清德):
"Secret
Police event"
(「東廠事件」)
has seriously damaged
public trust on the government...;
UDN 11-3-2018, Intel. sys. (NSB) confirmed their
investigations of Facebook
and other's communities on the net.
All internet platform service providers in Taiwan were requested to hand in all users' personal information/data
(intel denied).
<Apple
Daily (蘋果日報)> 11-7-2018 editorial opinion: by whatever name
( "secret police" or "national security bureau") it is
called,
what
"it" did secretly
were always more than what it admitted.
●
Taiwan's
Intelligence and secret-agent systems keep on governing the country ... they're
true Prime Minister
(行政院長),
...So many
suspected political murder cases remain unsolved
(ref to
2018.7.26【政經看民視】 FTV,
"政經看民視", 7-26-2018;
SET(三立電視),
9-24-2013
"Secret agents govern the nation (特務治國)" www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBdZCdYrwF4;
Era TV,
年代電視,
9-22-2013;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1b4R2m6K3g;
"Secret
agent
systems
resurgence
to
control
the
nation
(特務復辟治國)"
●
fraud : United
Daily, 10-23-2019, editorial: Taiwanese telecom frauds run
wild the entire world to damage Taiwan's image. CTV
evening news, 12-14-2017, EBC TV, 4-9-2017, UDN opinion,
12-24-2017:
Taiwan is
notorious for its fraud crimes all over the world.quora,
4-16-2016:
Taiwan largely sees these telecom
frauds/phone scammers as an asset rather
than liability... China Times, 11-7-2017:
It's not easy for Taiwan to clean its bad name of 'fraud-crime empire'
because "Rome is not built in one day". (Asia
Association of Police Studies, secretary general)
●torture
& cruelty :
Taiwan is far behind and
keeps stalling
legislating a new law against torture and other
cruelty,
conclusively advised by
international review
panel
( Philip Alston, law
professor at New York University; Eibe Riedel, former member of the United Nations Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Jerome Cohen, law professor at New York
University; and Nisuke Ando, professor emeritus at Kyoto University, etc. ) (ref. to Apple Daily, headline, 12-9-2017)
Taiwan's
opposition party
vice
presidential candidate, NTU professor Lin
Ruey-Shiung,
was subject to electromagnetic wave attacks (French AFP
,Dec. 1, 2011 ,
Thailand's Bangkok Post, Dec. 3, 2011, Yahoo UK & Ireland,
etc. ),
Taiwan gov. denied this. ●
Liberty
Times
6-7-2019
:
Control
Yuan's new mission -
against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
/ Pavel Doubek
●
United Daily,
editorial, 5-6-2019: Control Yuan should work for underprivileged people,
not only cover their own politicians. ●
State violence and
white terror
(product of state
violence)
return in Taiwan (United Daily, opinion, 12-21-2017, 12-27-2017). Taiwan's Facebook
"Green terror" suppressed free expression...... (Wikipedia 2017, The China
Times, public opinion, 11-18-2017). The key-point is state
violence (Apple Daily, opinion, 8-16-2013).
●food
safety :
The
China Times,
10-20-2018 opinion (editorial) https://opinion.chinatimes.com/20181019003889-262101 :
Taiwan's food safety failed again and again,
Dioxin, Fipronil poison-eggs in last year, Nicarbazin illegal drug residue event
in this year.
Europe was very cautious about Fipronil event,
in contrast, Taiwan did
nothing about it. Even worse, Taiwan officials hide
Nicarbazin issue from Taiwanese people to
baby related business
―
indulge business to
retrieve problematic eggs and then resell them as promotion goods. Why do high-ranking officials always fudge Taiwanese people's
only, and humblest request ？?
(brief)
UDN,
2-17-2019:
Gov. did not declared poison eggs until almost sold out... ●
The China Times (中國時報), 2-28-2019,
opinion (editorial) questions Taiwan officials are trying
very hard to hide the
epidemic state
of Marek's virus in chicken eggs ...
●
drug base :
Taiwan is
narcotic drugs producing
& selling center of Asia
(The China Times <Want Weekly>, 9-18-2019).
Taiwan was already reduced to be a 'kingdom' of producing narcotic drugs.
(United Daily, headline news, 11-2-2017)
Philippine
President Duterte
...
blaming Taiwan-based
organised crime behind all this drug traffic... for using his country as a
shipping hub.
(Reuters,
9-27-2017, The Straits Times, 9-29-2017) Duterte: Triad
supplying illegal drugs to PH is based in Taiwan, not China (inquirer.net, 9-26-2017).
Taiwan is scandalous for
being a major drug
transit center & a major drug exporting country, part of Taiwanese
government including Judicial sys. refused to improve this issue.
(UDN Opinion, 11-6-2017, The China Times,
head-page & focus, 4-4-2017, The Liberty
Times, 5-12-2017)
●
exploitation
:
Freedom House, June 2019:
labor advocates report poor implementation, citing ongoing
mistreatment and abuse of foreign fishermen on Taiwanese vessels.
USA
Country Reports on Human Rights practices, March 3, 2017, 4-20-2018:
Exploitation
of foreign workers, official corruption, some media
self-censorship with regard to China, vote buying, etc
. US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released at 3-13-2019: Foreign
workers were most susceptible to forced labor, especially when serving as
crew members on Taiwan-flagged fishing vessels. Mistreatment and
poor working conditions for foreign fishermen remained common.
●
life protection
: The government
has not well taken
its fundamental responsibility of protecting the safety of people's life and property
-
why are there so
many tall buildings located on the fault-zone? why are poor
architectures everywhere on bad geologic grounds ? why are those
shit-hole politicians doing nothing and ignoring urban renewal so as to
risk millions of old houses and human beings?
(ps: may face death in 6
magnitude quake)
(full text:
https://udn.com/news/story/11321/2974813
聯合報社論／斷層帶上何以建了那麼多高樓？ 2-8-2018, https://udn.com/news/story/7338/2977079
勿讓軟腳樓成坑殺人命陷阱 2-9-2018,
https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/daily/20180209/37928659花蓮 都更 爛政客
2-9-2018)
●
life protection
(2)
:Taiwan is dishonest and 'cruel'
―
trying to hide, block, delay public-health news, e.g., poisoned eggs, PCV virus
vaccine, and Bird-flu more than one time (1-2-2018 UDN
udn.com/news/story/7266/2908720, Taiwan failed to solve food-safety issue, professors and MDs advised eating
at home.
(The China Times. 8-6-2016,
<食品不安全的年代如何自保>,
2016, etc.),
2012
BBC news :
www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/chinese_news/2012/03/120304_taiwan_birdflu_investigate)
,
not to
mention big issues.
●
The
China Times 5-9-2018 column :
This is an EVIL state
apparatus ...
The China Times 5-26-2018
column : The government likes to conceal bad news, put paper over the
cracks, e.g., air pollution, rupture of diplomatic relationships, ...http://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20180509000843-260109●
Taiwan
administration's policy led to air pollution, toxic pollution in the land
and sea
...
(The
China Times,
1-7-2018 台灣海陸空污染毒害，山海變色
http://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20180107000465-260114。Daily
Mail (UK) 7-14-2017 : Shocking
underwater video from Taiwan
shows ocean floor littered with plastic
(bottles) garbage)
●
●
transportation
safety United Daily News 1-20-2020: The death rate caused
by traffic accidents in Taiwan is 5 times that in Japan.
The SUN, BBC (UK)
2-13-2017: "BUS CRASH HORROR!" , Taiwan's tour bus "has come under fire
in recent months over safety standards"... MSN, Reuters,
EuroNews, Mirro(UK), NewsWeek, CNN, etc (2-4-2015) :"Taiwan has had a
poor
aviation safety record in recent years" , full text
Taiwan's aviation
safety
●
●
Labor rights
USA
Country Reports on Human Rights
practices, 3-11-2020:
The right to strike remained
highly regulated. Teachers, civil servants, and defense industry employees
do not have the right to strike. Workers in industries such as utilities,
hospital services, and telecommunication service providers are allowed to
strike only if they maintain basic services during the strike. Authorities
may prohibit, limit, or break up a strike during a disaster. For all
workers, the law divides labor disputes into “rights disputes” and
“adjustment disputes.” Workers are allowed to strike only in adjustment
disputes, which include issues such as compensation and working schedules.
The law forbids strikes in rights disputes related to violations of
collective agreements and employment contracts.
●
●
children
& women trafficking
:
US state government - 2019 Trafficking in persons report, Jun. 2019:
in the last five years, human traffickers
subject foreign men and women to forced labor and sex trafficking in Taiwan, and
traffickers subject local men and women to forced labor and local women and
children to sex trafficking. ... take advantage of Taiwan and foreign women’s
and children’s drug addictions to subject them to sex trafficking. Taiwan
traffickers increasingly use the internet, smartphone apps, livestreaming, and other such online
technologies to conduct recruitment activities,
often targeting child victims, and to mask their
identities from law enforcement.
illegal migrants
!
●
●
social
security
The
China Times, 2-25-2020 editorial:
Due to bad Income distribution,
Taiwan's social security (offender rate)
worsens.
●
●
discrimination
USA
Country Reports on Human Rights
practices, 3-11-2020: Activists for LGBTI rights said due to victims’ reluctance to lodge formal
complaints, discrimination against LGBTI persons was more widespread than
suggested by the number of court cases.There
was reported discrimination, including employment discrimination, against
persons with HIV/AIDS.
US Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices released at 3-13-2019
Foreign
and PRC-born
spouses were reportedly targets of social discrimination outside and, at times,
inside the home. Discrimination against LGBTI persons was more
widespread than suggested by the number of court cases. Employment
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS continues, Taipei officials
pressured a magazine reporter to drop an investigative report about the
city’s breach of personal information for more than 3,000 AIDS patients.
Taiwan
tried to
follow US academic
Joseph Nye's notion of applying power by persuasion and attraction rather
than coercion or force
to
deal with China and
expand its international space.
Brookings at 1-22-2018
commented that Increasing “soft power” is a low-cost, high-return strategy
for Taiwan.
However,
Taiwan's soft power performed worse than that of China and Asian's
Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, India, UAE.
Taiwan failed to be included in UK based Monocle's Soft Power list 2010 ~
2019 and Soft Power 30 by USC Center
on Public Diplomacy, 2017 ~ 2018.
Taiwan's
military hard power was reduced by half (the
number of active forces) and is in a state of low morale,
Taiwan's leader made a
defense strategy to
resist Chinese PLA for 2 weeks, and
made assumption that
then American sons and daughters will always risk
their lives to protect our home.
★Bloomberg news
3-14-2018: In the future, Taiwan will suffer even more, as it
gets caught
in the middle between a stronger China and a inward-looking US...
★
The
Interpreter
, The
LOWY Institute ( Australia ), 6-16-2020
: treating Taiwan as a conduit to
frustrate Beijing imperils Taiwan’s security.
Already many in China’s
party-state suspect that the US intends to promote Taiwan independence, ... The
risk here is that
U.S. policy encourages an overreaction from China, upsetting
the cross-straits status quo or whatever remains of it, and
then the United States abandons Taiwan to deal with the consequences. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/taiwan-s-wildcard
★ Bloomberg
news 10-19-2018: Taipei mayor says
Taiwan is "just a product on a shelf" for Trump
Washington Post,
8-20-2018: ★
Washington Post,
8-20-2018: Taiwan's
precarious role in the China-US spat !
(Trump adm.'s Taiwan
policy is unpredictable);
◆
Independent UK, 7-23-2019: China "ready to go to
war" if Taiwan tries to gain independence ( white paper
released by the Chinese gov.).
CNN 6-17-2019: mass protests
(in Hong Kong) emboldened anti-China elements in Taiwan.
Daily Mail (UK) 4-1-2019: Taiwan
blasts China for "reckless and provocative" incursion by 2 fighter jets
across a largely respected line dividing the 2 sides in the Taiwan Straits.
Japan Times, 4-1-2019:
China's move also comes less than a week after the U.S. sent ships through
the strait — the third time in as many months. Reuters 2-25-2019: US Navy ships
... riling China.
◆
New York Times at
4-18-2018: Mr. Trump questioned why the US should be bound by the One
China policy if Beijing
will not budge on trade ... The U.S. and Taiwan are seen as heading in a
direction that is getting perilously close to
Chinese
red lines...... (Taiwan president Tsai stated) " Many people
say we are pawns of other people ......"
◆
VOAnews, 3-23-2018 :
John Bolton (Trump's new National Security
Adviser) has long argued that Washington
can play a "Taiwan
card" to compel
Beijing's
attention for
its potentially
destabilizing
actions in East
Asia and the
South China Sea.
◆
<Foreign Policy> 12-14-2016 named Taiwan President Tsai as
one of leading thinkers of 2016 for "Poking the bear" ;
But, most likely, Taiwan is a leverage, a bargaining chip
between the US and China, not a true player at the game
◆
In Mar. 2018, Trump signed <Taiwan Travel
Act>, which paves way for official exchanges with Taiwan and
identifies
indirectly
(?) Taiwan as a country
― "visits to a country by United States cabinet members ...".
Deutsche Welle 3-17-2018: China has reacted
angrily to the bill.
Bloomberg news
3-14-2018: Trump's "Taiwan card" (to annoy
China when needed) is China's real worry.
◆
USA Today 5-18-2018: Xi
JinPing has signaled that China will seek to reclaim its historical
properties by 2049.
Freebeacon 5-17-2018 : 2020—the
deadline that [Chinese supreme leader] Xi Jinping has given the [People's
Liberation Army] to be ready to invade Taiwan.
◆
Global Times of China, March 2018: China
can defeated and occupied Taiwan within 100 hours
before the US and Japan taking actions.
◆ Taiwan Defense Secretary: can resist Chinese army for about 1+ week
(CTV 12-18-2016)
●●
pic. :
This websites group was ranked No.1 by keyword "introduction to Taiwan"
on Bing at 6-21-2020, 4-20-2020, 4-10-2020,
10-6-2019,
8-17-2019, 8-1-2019, 6-27-2019, 4-29-2019
pic. :
This websites group was ranked No.1 by keyword "introduction to Taiwan"
on Yahoo earch engine at 10-6-2019, 8-5-2019, 4-28-2019,
5-24-2018, 4-13-2018, 3-30-2018, 2-25-2018, 1-28-2018, 2-20-2018
pic. :
This websites group was ranked No.1 by keyword "introduction to Taiwan"
on Euro. MetaGER.de at
10-6-2019,
8-17-2019, 8-5-2019
pic. :
This websites group was ranked No.1 by keyword "introduction to Taiwan"
on Baidu of China at
10-6-2019,
8-4-2019
pic. :
This websites group was ranked No.1 by keyword "introduction to Taiwan"
on Yippy at 10-6-2019,
4-29-2019,
3-8-2019
pic. This
websites group was ranked No.1 on AOL at 4-29-2019
pic.
This website
was ranked No.2 on Lycos
by keyword "Introduction to Taiwan" at
3-8-2019; No.1 "introduction of Taiwan" on US WebCrawler
at 2-25-2018, 12-11-2017 (the upper 3 are ads.); No.2
"introduction to Taiwan" at 6-18-2018
pic. This
websites group was ranked No.1 on Hotbot at 3-8-2019,
No.2 "introduction to
Taiwan" on Yahoo Taiwan ,
3-8-2019
pic. :
This websites group was ranked No.2 "introduction of Taiwan"
and "introduction to Taiwan"
on Google at 6-18-2018, No.3 at 3-8-2019, 4-29-2019
pic. :
This websites group was ranked No.1 "introduction to Taiwan"
on Euro. MetaGer.de at 4-29-2019, 6-18-2018
●
Taiwan
Taiwan
Economy
○
●
United Daily, editorial, 11-5-2019:
Taiwan's economy is really back
to top of
Four Asian Tigers
(HK, Singapore, Korea, TW)? https://udn.com/news/story/11321/4144692○
●
BBC UK 1-2-2019 What's behind the
China-Taiwan divide? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34729538
The US is by far Taiwan's most important friend, and its only ally.
Given the huge divide between these two positions, most other countries seem
happy to accept the current ambiguity, whereby Taiwan has most of the
characteristics of an independent state, even if its legal status remains
unclear.
... links between the two peoples (ps: Chinese, Taiwanese) and economies
have grown sharply. Taiwanese companies have invested about $60bn (£40bn) in
China, and up to one million Taiwanese now live there, many running
Taiwanese factories.
Some Taiwanese worry their economy is now dependent on China. Others point
out that closer business ties makes Chinese military action less likely,
because of the cost to China's own economy...
●
Taiwan votes in
elections, Nov. 2018
●
New York Times, 11-23-2018:
Economic growth, employment and pension
reforms were among key issues in the elections...China said the results
(Taiwan elections) reflected a desire of Taiwanese for better
relations with the mainland...
●
Quartz , 11-25-2018 :
Taiwan’s elections have given Beijing much to
celebrate (https://qz.com/1473960/taiwans-elections-have-given-beijing-much-to-celebrate/)
●
Le Monde (France), 11-24-2018 : A Taïwan, des
élections sous influence chinoise
●
Wall Street Journal
,
11 25 2018:
A great virtue of Taiwan’s voters is that
they’re pragmatic, a useful trait for an island under threat of a Chinese
invasion. That pragmatism was on display in local elections Saturday that
rebuked President Tsai Ing-wen while refusing to ban nuclear power.
●
Reuters UK
, 11-26-2018:
Beijing told Reuters simply: “They’re really happy.”
●
SET news, Taiwan, 11-26-2018:
英國路透社一針見血，認為中國是這次選舉的最大贏家，而華盛頓郵報和法國世界報也都認為，中國是左右這次選舉的最大關鍵
●
New York times, 12-13-2016 : Today,
more
than
two-thirds
of
Taiwan’s
outward
foreign
direct
investment
is to
China,
which is
also
Taiwan’s
leading
trading
partner.
Taiwanese
has
emerged
a
consensus
that
some
degree
of
economic
interdependence
with
China is
unavoidable
but that
overdependence
is
risky.
Beijing’s
strategy
of
giving
Taiwanese
economic
benefits
so that
Taiwanese
will
become
more
inclined
toward
unification
has not
been
successful
...
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/world/asia
○
●
Washington
Post, 1-5-2018 : China is Taiwan’s largest trading partner and China is
Taiwan’s main destination for outbound investment; 40 percent of Taiwan’s
exports flow to China and a fifth of Taiwan’s gross domestic product derives
from its economic ties to the mainland.
○
●
Credit
Suisse,
Oct.
18,
2018
:
country
Wealth per adult(USD)
GDP per adult
Total wealth (bn)
Share of world wealth
quality
United States
403,974
81,425
98,154
31.0%
Good
Singapore
283,118
75,242
1,289
0.4 %
Satisfactory
France
280,580
55,668
13,883
4.4%
Good
United Kingdom
279,048
54,621
14,209
4.5%
Good
Japan
227,235
47,980
23,884
7.5%
Good
Germany
214,893
57,955
14,499
4.6%
Good
Taiwan
212,375
31,146
4,065
1.3 %
Satisfactory
China
47,810
12,147
51,874
16.4%
Good
Global Wealth Rpt.,
http://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/index.cfm?fileid=77A4E912-A32D-8E84-CC8C21144CEE52E2
Global Weaalth Databook,
http://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/index.cfm?fileid=777FDF0E-E060-F608-52DAF97E062CC35B
Taiwan
is
the
22nd-largest
economy
in
the
world,
and
its
high-tech
industry
plays
a
key
role
in
the
global
economy.
(Taiwan
has
a
developed
capitalist
economy
that
ranks
as
the
22th-largest
in
the
world
by
purchasing
power
parity
(PPP)
)
It
is
ranked
highly
in
terms
of
...
economic
freedom,
and
human
development...These
SMEs
usually
produce
products
on
an
original
equipment
manufacturer
(OEM)
or
original
design
manufacturer
(ODM)
basis,
resulting
in
less
resources
spent
on
research
and
development.
Due
to
the
emphasis
of
the
OEM/ODM
model,
companies
are
usually
unable
to
make
in-depth
assessments
for
investment,
production,
and
marketing
of
new
products,
instead
relying
upon
importation
of
key
components
and
advanced
technology
from
the
United
States
and
Japan.
/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan
○
●
BBC, UK,
6-14-2017:
Taiwan
has
become
one of
Asia's
big
traders.
It is
considered
to have
achieved
an
economic
miracle,
becoming
one of
the
world's
top
producers
of
computer
technology.
/
Taiwan
country
profile
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16164639
○
●
Credit
Suisse,
Nov.
15,
2017
:
Global Wealth report 2017, Country summary
Country
Mean wealth per Adult (USD)
Median wealth per Adult (USD)
Taiwan
188,081
87,257
Japan
225,057
123,724
Singapore
268,776
108,850
France
263,399
119,720
UK
278,038
102,641
Compared to the world as a whole, Taiwan has high average
wealth and only moderate wealth inequality.
http://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/index.cfm?fileid=A6E9E182-E39B-0353-6751EB076EF35159
Credit
Suisse,
Dec.
2016
:
Taiwan,
Asia
Tiger
-
Taiwan's
average
level
of
wealth,
at
USD
172,847,
is
well
above
that
of
most
countries
in
the
Asia-Pacific
region,
and
similar
to
that
of
Western Europe.( Taiwan's mean wealth per adult, at USD
172,847, is
about
same as
that
of
France USD244,400
or
Germany
USD185,175, Taiwan's median wealth per adult USD 63,134, is about in the same
level with France USD 99,923, Canada 96,664.)
●
United
Daily,
Opinion,
12-5-2017
:
The
average
monthly
salary
of
Taipei
employee
(in
the
amount
of
NT
43500)
is
behind
that
of
Beijing's
(rmb
9900,
equal
NT46000
),
Shanghai
is
at
the
third
(about
NT
43000).
/
智聯招聘survey.
●
Academia Sinica of Taiwan,
10-5-2017
: Taiwan
Economic
Competition and
Growth Strategy
Policy Proposal
(中央研究院《臺灣經濟競爭與成長策略政策建議書》)
The country will
fall into
“middle-income”
limbo in the
next decade if
it fails to deal
with “three evil
hands” that are
stalling the
economy ...
the
law,
environmental
assessments, and
Taiwan-China
relations—that
could leave
Taiwan stuck in
the so-called
“middle-income
trap” and see at
least 15 (-30)
countries catch
up with it in
the next 10
years.
Its
economic growth
rate has reduced
rapidly. In the
past ten years,
its average
economic growth
rate has dropped
to 3.82%, which
is lower than
other Asian
countries such
as South Korea
and Singapore.
●
Forbes 4-23-2017, "Taiwan's Once Mighty High-Tech Sector
Is Falling Behind Because Of Low Pay" :
Taiwan used to be an indispensable part of
the world high-tech supply chain. Now the island that derives a fifth of its
economy from the likes of PCs, tablets and smart phones for export is unsure how
long all that can sustain. The most often cited reason: Taiwan isn’t keeping up
in software, which in today’s terms means mobile apps and artificial
intelligence as well as the stuff Microsoft does for PCs....Pay
for university professors is too low to attract world-class people from overseas
to teach... https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2017/04/23/taiwans-once-mighty-high-tech-sector-is-falling-behind-because-of-low-pay/#204190537b43/Asia
/#BigBusiness
○○
●
The China Times, opinion, 11-7-2017, The
United Daily, opinion, 11-10-2017: Taiwan's industries are short of 5 core
elements : electricity and water supply, labor, land and talented persons.
○
●
Le Monde of France, Mai '16,
reported the
economies of both sides were complementary, now compete each other.
Taiwanese
are gradually being excluded from the Chinese chain of production and supply. (Mais les économies des deux rives, qui étaient complémentaires,
entrent désormais en concurrence.
Les entreprises taïwanaises
sont progressivement exclues de la mise en place d’une chaîne de production
et d’approvisionnement chinoise ... )
○
●
National Policy Foundation
,
7-16-2009
One problem of Taiwan's high tech
industry is lacking of key technology ... http://www.npf.org.tw/2/6142
○
●
People's Daily of China (international edition), 11-12-2017
:
China's GDP in 2016 is about 23 times the number of Taiwan's, five Chinese
provinces' (GuanDong, JiangSu, ShanDong, ZheJiang, HeNan ) GDPs topped Taiwan's GDP
already, in 3-5 years, 10 provinces might top Taiwan.
(brief , UDN, 11-13-2017)
China
26.3% Hong Kong 13.7% United States
12% Japan 7% EU
8.8%
(2016
est.)
China
19.1% Japan 17.6% United States
12.5% EU 10.6%
South
Korea
6.3%
(2016
est.)
○
Taiwan's
industries
Main industries
Electronics,
communications
and information
technology
products,
petroleum
refining,
armaments,
chemicals,
textiles, iron
and steel,
machinery,
cement, food
processing,
vehicles,
consumer
products,
pharmaceuticals
Agricultural:
Rice,
corn,
vegetables,
fruit,
tea;
pigs,
poultry,
beef,
milk;
fish
Natural:
Small
deposits
of coal,
natural
gas,
limestone,
marble,
and
asbestos
●
●
●
Taiwan
Taiwan
diplomatic isolation
○
●
Daily Mail (UK)
4-1-2019: Taiwan
blasts China for "reckless and provocative" incursion by 2 fighter jets
across a largely respected line dividing the 2 sides in the Taiwan Straits.
Japan Times, 4-1-2019:
China's move also comes less than a week after the U.S. sent ships through the
strait ( mission was unusual) — the third
time in as many months...those sailings have likely been interpreted by China as
implicit support for self-ruled Taiwan.
Reuters 2-25-2019: US Navy ships
... riling China.
ABC.net Australia: Chinese fighter jets cross Taiwan Strait after
Tsai urges Pacific pushback against Beijing.
●
<Taiwan Travel Act>
(Trump signed at 3-16-2018):
◆
NHK Japan, 3-17-2018
The
legislation aims to encourage mutual visits between US and Taiwanese officials at all
levels.
(https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180317_08/)
◆
The
Diplomat,
3-3-2018
US Paves Way for
High-Level
Exchanges With Taiwan
(https://thediplomat.com/2018/03/us-paves-way-for-high-level-exchanges-with-taiwan/)
◆ New York Times,
3-17-2018
China’s Foreign Ministry said it had lodged “stern representations” with the
United States, saying the law sent a
“seriously wrong
signal” to the
forces of Taiwan
independence.
(https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/03/17/world/asia/17reuters-usa-taiwan-china.html
;
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-taiwan-china/china-says-resolutely-opposed-to-new-u-s-law-on-ties-with-taiwan-idUSKCN1GT0I9)
◆ Deutsche Welle, 3-17-2018 :
China has
reacted angrily
...
"severely
violate the
one-China
principle, the
political
foundation of
the China-US
relationship."
Taiwan ... calling it
a "friendly
move"
◆ Global Times of China, 2018: <Taiwan Travel Act> is a bill to
destroy Taiwan. ◆
People's Daily online (China
人民日報 海外版) 3-17-2018: "annoy
China, fool Taiwan !"("戲耍台灣
挑臖大陸")
◆
UDN Taiwan (台灣聯合報) 3-18-2018:
KMT Legislator : The US uses Taiwan as pawn to annoy China ... (
台恐成夾心餅干); Joseph Bosco
(former defense official): China won't win a general confrontation against the
US (translation).
○
●Washington Post,
1-5-2018: For
years, most analysts in the United States generally accepted the idea that
Taiwan’s status as a de facto independent democracy was unsustainable as China’s
economy and military rose to dominate Asia. Statesmen such as the late
Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew and Henry Kissinger both predicted that Taiwan’s
unification with China — under Chinese terms — was inevitable.
●Washington Post,
11-9-2017:
“Many have debated here in Taiwan
whether President Trump will trade Taiwan in exchange for China’s position in
North Korea,” ...... “But ... even if President Trump makes such an offer,
President Xi would say no: ‘Taiwan is not in your hands. It’s in mine.’”
The China Times, opinion,
11-11-2017: President
Xi thinks the advantage of Taiwan issue is in Beijing's side,
it's not necessary to trade anything for Taiwan with Washington.
○
●
New York
times,
12-13-2016:
In
Presidential
inaugural
speech,
Tsai
referred
to the
Constitution
of the
Republic
of China
and the
legislation
governing
cross-strait
relations,
both
imply
the
acceptance
of a
“one
China”
framework.
●
Yomiuri
Shimbun,
Japan,
Opinion,
5-22-2016
(読売新聞)
:
「台湾独立」志向の強い民進党の蔡英文主席が総統に就任した。台湾蔡新総統対中「現状維持」の意思示した
http://editorial.x-winz.net/ed-13620
(Tsia I.
W. with
strong
tendency
toward
"Taiwan
Independence"
expressed
"maintain
status
quo" in
her
Presidential
inaugural
speech
)
○○
○
●
Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan, Opinion, 6-22-2017
(読売新聞「社説」)
:
中国が台湾を孤立させる動きを強め、波風を立てている。軍事、経済両面での優位を背景にした圧力は、中台間の緊張を高めるだけだ。...中国の一連の外交攻勢は、台湾を自国の一部とする「一つの中国」原則を、台湾の蔡英文政権に認めさせる狙いだろう。...台湾の住民の間では、中国に政治的、経済的にのみ込まれることへの警戒感が強く、「中国離れ」が加速しているためだ。...米国は台湾の防衛力強化を担っており、台湾海峡の平和と安定のカギを握る。(The
US is the key to keep the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait)
○
●
Le
Monde diplomatique,
France, mai 2016: "politiL’Amérique
centrale lâche Taipei" /
Les deux rivaux du détroit de Formose
ne luttent pas à armes égales et, pour Taipei, l’isolement diplomatique
menace. (The two rivals of the
Taiwan Straits do not
fight on equal terms , the diplomatic isolation threatens Taiwan
)
○○
●
Singapore's
The
Straits
Times,
11-9-2017
:
Taiwan
is the
most
important
issue in
Sino-US
ties, Xi
tells
Trump
“The Taiwan issue is the most important, most
sensitive core issue in China-US relations, and concerns the political basis
of the China-US relationship,” ... China “hopes that the US side continues
to scrupulously abide by the ‘one China’ principle, and prevents
disturbances to the broader picture of China-US ties”, Xi added.
Trump told Xi that the United States government upheld and stuck to the “one
China” policy, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.
●
United
daily
News,
opinion
10-11-12017
:
In Fact,
President
Tsai
one-sided
abandoned
in 2016
"The
1992
Consensus"
(「九二共識」),
which
violates
her
promise
to
"maintain
the
cross-strait
status
quo"
https://udn.com/news/story/7338/2749610?from=udn-catelistnews_ch2
UDN
10-11-2017
: China
officially
responded
Tsai's
speech
at
Taiwan's
National
Day that
“Only by
adhering
to the
one-China
principle
and
opposing
Taiwan
independence
can
relations
between
the
sides
develop
with
peace
and
stability”.
UDN
opinion,
10-20-2017:
Chinese
leader
Xi's
"China
dream"
can't
come
true
without
retaking
Taiwan.
○
●
BBC -
Taiwan country profile 6-14-2017:
China
insists
that
nations
cannot
have
official
relations
with
both
China
and
Taiwan,
with the
result
that
Taiwan
has
formal
diplomatic
ties
with
only a
few
countries.
/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16164639
○
●
Spiegel
Germany, 1-9-2017,
<Donald
Trump:
Chinesische
Staatszeitung
warnt
USA
wegen
Umgang>
Die
staatliche
chinesische
Zeitung
"Global
Times"
hat den
künftigen
US-Präsidenten
Donald
Trump
gewarnt,
von der
"Ein-China-Politik"
abzurücken.
"Das
chinesische
Volk
würde
die
Regierung
auffordern,
sich zu
rächen",
hieß es
im
Leitartikel
des
Blattes,
das zum
Zentralorgan
der
Kommunistischen
Partei "Renmin
Ribao"
gehört.
"Es gibt
keinen
Raum für
Verhandlungen"
/ if "US
President
Donald
Trump to
abandon
the
one-China
policy."
"The
Chinese
people
would
call on
the
government
to take
revenge,"
"There
is no
room for
negotiations"
...
(Global
Times,
China)
○
●
US News, 10-9-2017:
Taiwan's relations
with Beijing have deteriorated sharply since Tsai, ... took office last
year, with China suspecting she wants to push for the island's formal
independence, a red line for Beijing. China
has cut off a regular dialogue mechanism with Taiwan, ramped up military
drills around
the island and stepped up int'l pressure to limit Taiwan's diplomatic
footprint.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-10-09/taiwan-president-tsai-pledges-to-defend-islands-freedoms
○
●
The
China
Times,
10-15-2017,
Wikipedia,
9-27-2017
:Taiwanese
premier
William
Lai
advocates
"Taiwan
independence
in
realistic
way ("務實台獨")”,
but
"Taiwan
was an
independent
country
called
the
Republic
of
China,
it had
no need
to
declare
independence."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan
○
●
Mexican
newspaper
El Sol
de Méxicoformer,
2008:
(former)
President
Ma:
the
China-Taiwan
relations
are
neither
between
two
Chinas
nor two
states.
It is a
special
relationship.
the
sovereignty
issues
between
the two
cannot
be
resolved
at
present,
the
"1992
Consensus",
currently
accepted
as a
temporary
measure
until a
solution
becomes
available.
○○
●Washington Post,
11-9-2017:
“Many have debated here in Taiwan
whether President Trump will trade Taiwan in exchange for China’s position in
North Korea,” ...... “But ... even if President Trump makes such an offer,
President Xi would say no: ‘Taiwan is not in your hands. It’s in mine.’”
The China Times, opinion,
11-11-2017: President
Xi thinks the advantage of Taiwan issue is in Beijing's side,
it's not necessary to trade anything for Taiwan with Washington.
○
●
The
United
Daily of
Taiwan,
11-12-2017,
commented
Trump Xi
meeting
―
one of 3
possibilities
is the
US may
break
the
pattern
"USA and
China
jointly
control
Taiwan"(「美中共管」),
China
may play
(or most
of)
the role
to
control
Taiwan.
●
Le Monde
diplomatique,
France,
"Taïwan en quête de souveraineté économique",
mai
2016:
selon laquelle il n’est pas nécessaire
de proclamer l’indépendance car Taïwan est déjà un Etat indépendant et
souverain. C’est certainement le sens qu’elle donne au « statu quo »
(
'it is
not
necessary
to
proclaim
independence
because
Taiwan
is
already
an
independent
and
sovereign
state.
This is
certainly
the
meaning
it gives
to
<status
quo>'
)
●
Financial
Times 5-19-2020 : Taiwan fears uptick in military threat from China in wake of
coronavirus epidemic, with
increasingly frequent incursions into airspace traditionally respected as a
safety buffer zone. Taipei was at additional risk from the escalating dispute
between the US and China.
Taiwan military vs. China military
Taiwan military
opinions
personnel
(
soldiers, officials )
◆
Taiwan’s Military Is a Hollow Shell.
US Defense Department officials have privately expressed dismal
assessments regarding Taiwan's current force level and reserve system.
◆
armor, mechanized infantry, and artillery
units are always in desperate shortage of enlisted soldiers
◆
few front-line units have more than 80 percent of their positions filled
/
Foreign
Policy, 2-15-2020
◆
Taiwan's active force down to under 200,000 (the exact number is
classified). The nearly two million reservists exist in name only... /
New York times, 5-18-2017
◆ The ROC
(Taiwan) Armed Forces number approximately 300,000,
and reserves reportedly total 3,870,000.
/
Wikipedia,
May 2020
strategy
◆
To against the threats of cyber warfare,
cognitive warfare, and ‘unrestricted’ warfare from China , we
( Taiwan
) work to bolster our defense capabilities, future combat capacity
development will also emphasize mobility, countermeasures, and
non-traditional, asymmetrical capabilities (unconventional arms)” /
Taiwan president inauguration speech, Voice of American, 5-20-2020
firepower
◆
China
has
ｎｕｃｌｅａｒ ｂｏｍｂ ，Neutron
bomb，
hydrogen bomb, Taiwan has none of those. /
Next
TV news, 5-8-2020
◆
Taiwan military strength is ranked No. 26 , China PLA No. 3
/
Global FirePower, 2020
◆
A major obstacle is that countries that might sell it the most
sophisticated weaponry are increasingly reluctant to do so for fear of
provoking China, ... /
New York times, 11-4-2017
military
logistics system
◆
Taiwan
lacks
enough supplement of all items of military equipments /
United
Daily
(聯合報 社評),
opinion,
5-
7- 2020
morale
◆
Policies put forward by the Kuomintang and the independence-leaning
Democratic Progressive Party have left the military understaffed and in
a state of low morale... /
New York times, 5-18-2017
◆
Taiwan fears uptick in military threat from China in wake of
coronavirus epidemic ... / Financial Times
5-19-2020
●
CNN 2-19-2020 exclusive interview with
Taiwanese president Tsai I. W. , CTN 5-2-2020: Tsai:
"What we are expecting is, after withstanding the first wave of Chinese
attacks ourselves, the rest of the world would stand up to exert strong
pressure on China" .... "Taiwan as an underdog facing down the
growing might of Beijing" ... But chinausfocus.com at May 04 , 2018
reported
Missouri State University
professor D. Hickey's comment :
the U.S. does not have an “iron-clad” commitment to defend Taiwan.
Reuters
2-26-2020:
Taiwan should continue to
show goodwill to China during coronavirus outbreak and not give Beijing an
excuse to attack the island as a way of relieving “internal pressure” ... Chinese public opinion believes people in
Taiwan lack sympathy about China’s virus outbreak... Reuters 5-22-2020:
In
the annual meeting of China’s parliament,
there was no mention of the word “peaceful” in front of
“reunification”, departing from the standard expression Chinese leaders have
used for at least four decades, an
apparent policy shift that comes as ties with Taipei continue on a downward
spiral. Foreign Policy
5-15-2020:
Beijing were to interpret ... coronavirus as a uniquely
advantageous moment, a Chinese military strike on Taiwan at this moment is
unlikely ... but a low level of risk is not the same as zero risk. National Post (Canada),
5-15-2020: China and the U.S. ramp up military activity near Taiwan...
◦
●China's
Military Power Report / annual Report to US Congress (2019),
5-2-2019
Military and Security Developments involving P.R.C. 2019
★
"China could use missile attacks and precision
air raids against air defence systems, including air bases,
radar sites, missiles, space assets, and communications
facilities to degrade Taiwan's defences, neutralise Taiwan's
leadership, or break the Taiwan people's resolve," ...
aljazeera news said at May 3, 2019 that
much of China's military doctrine is focused on self-ruled
Taiwan,
China might take if Beijing decides to use
military force on Taiwan, including a comprehensive campaign
"designed to force Taiwan to capitulate to unification, or
unification dialogue.
The Liberty Times suggests Taiwan taking
"asymmetric warfare". Apple Daily (headline news)
5-4-2019 said that the possibility of the blockade or a limited
war by PLA is smaller than that of air raid, rockets, or
amphibious landing. (see pic. right)
usni.org said at 2019/05/03 that Taiwan is the
primary focus of amphibious assault and sea-based missile launch
capability improvements made in 2018 by China’s People’s
Liberation Army (PLA), the PLA Navy and PLA Marine Corps.
●The
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence “Open Hearing on
China’s Worldwide Military Expansion.”, 5-17-2018
(1)
China's “infatuation with Taiwan” ?
a visceral nationalistic design ...“if Taiwan survives as a democracy [it]
undermines the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party”
(2) USA curb China ?
the US could soon be completely driven out of the Asia-Pacific region if Beijing
is allowed to continue on its current course unopposed.
(3)
Congressional hearing
recommended
deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Asia, showing strong support for Taiwan,
and exposing human rights abuses in China as immediate steps that could curb
Beijing
○
●
CBS news 11-14-2018:
U.S. military might "struggle to win, or perhaps lose" war with
China or Russia
the
National Defense Strategy Commission: "It might struggle to win, or
perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia." ...
"If the United States had to fight Russia in a Baltic contingency
or China in a war over Taiwan," the report warned. "Americans could face a
decisive military defeat." (
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-military-might-struggle-to-win-or-perhaps-lose-war-with-china-or-russia-report-says/)
○
●
Annual Report to US Congress (8-17-2018):
Military and Security Developments Involving
the People’s Republic of China 2018
https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018_China_Military_Power_Report.PDF
A new method was applied to make
these tables below:
○
●USA
Today 5-18-2018: Xi JinPing has signaled that China will seek to reclaim its
historical properties by 2049.
Freebeacon 5-17-2018 : 2020—the
deadline that [Chinese supreme leader] Xi Jinping has given the [People's
Liberation Army] to be ready to invade Taiwan.
○
●
Washington Post,
1-5-2018,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/01/05/can-china-really-take-over-taiwan/?utm_term=.e66214694331
Can China really
take over
Taiwan?
Xi commanded China’s military to become
“battle ready.”
......
threatening that
relations with
Taiwan will turn
“grave” because
Taiwan’s
government
refuses to
acknowledge that
the island is
part of China. A
leading Chinese
analyst predicts
that China has
accelerated its
timetable to
2020 for taking
over the island
by military
means......Taiwan
needs to increase its defense spending considerably...“the outcome of the game
[between China and Taiwan] is undecided".
○
●
The US subcommittee
hearing (4-17-2018) Rep. Ted Soho, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on
Asia and the Pacific:
Seems likely Xi will force the issue (unification) in his life time.
●
United States think tank the RAND Corporation,
Taiwan
News, 2-2-2018, Apple Daily 2-3-2018,
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3353460
Likelihood of successful
Chinese attack against Taiwan rising: RAND Corp. China's jets
and missiles can damage U.S. and Taiwan air bases
According
to RAND, which specializes in military affairs, the balance in the Taiwan Strait
has been moving in China’s favor as the communist country was continuing to make
progress in its preparations and training ...
○
●
BBC,
12-3-2016
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34729538
The pivotal role of the US was most
clearly shown in 1996, when China conducted provocative missile tests to try and
influence Taiwan's first direct presidential election. In response, US President
Bill Clinton ordered the biggest display of US military power in Asia since the
Vietnam War, sending ships to the Taiwan Strait, and a clear message to
Beijing...
○
●
New York times, 11-4-2017: “(Taiwan)
needs to resist a Chinese military attack for two weeks and wait for help from
the United States...” ......Taiwan’s armed forces, by contrast (Chn), have
fallen way behind, struggling to recruit enough soldiers and sailors — and to
equip those they have. A major obstacle is that countries that might
sell it the most sophisticated weaponry are increasingly reluctant to do so for
fear of provoking China,...... US latest (summer 2017) arms sales " short of the
major systems that could give Taiwan a real edge."
○
●
US Dept of State, U.S. Relations With Taiwan 9-13-2017:
The United States insists on the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait
differences, opposes unilateral changes to the status quo by either side, and
encourages both sides to continue their constructive dialogue on the basis of
dignity and respect. /
https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35855.htm
○
●
New York times, 5-18-2017:
Beijing’s
belligerence
presents
an
existential
threat
to
Taiwan, Chinese
leaders
have
long
vowed to
take
Taiwan
by force
if they
deem
necessary
... For years, the political establishment in Taipei has delegated
responsibility for responding to Beijing to the United States.
Taiwan's
leaders
have
gutted
the
military
and
continued
to base
defense
planning
on the
assumption
that the
United
States
would
always
come to
the
rescue. Policies
put
forward
by the
Kuomintang
and the
independence-leaning
Democratic
Progressive
Party
have
left the
military
understaffed
and in a
state of
low
morale...
Taiwan's
active
force
down to
under
200,000
(the
exact
number
is
classified).
The
nearly
two
million
reservists
exist in
name
only...
Taiwan’s defense policies are largely a result of deep distrust between the
military and politicians. The military has struggled with wide-range scandals/
● Why China Can't Conquer Taiwan in a War
, 11-17-2017 Zachary Keck
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/why-china-cant-conquer-taiwan-war-23254
A new study by Michael Beckley
(Tufts University), published in the academic journal International Security argues that China’s neighbors
could thwart Chinese military aggression through anti-access/area denial
strategies with only minimal U.S. assistance. ... if China was far
more successful than the United States had been in those conflicts, Beijing’s
ability to execute an amphibious invasion is still far from certain. For
instance, Beckley notes that only ten percent of Taiwan’s coastlines are
suitable for an amphibious landing, which would allow Taipei to concentrate its
forces on a few key areas. Chinese forces trying to land would likely be
severely outnumbered...
○
○
●
The Heritage
Foundation, The
Index of U.S.
Military
Strength, 2017
China’s
provocative
behavior has
expanded to
include militarization
of islands that
it has built in
highly disputed
international
waters in the
South China Sea.
China has also
adopted
aggressive naval
tactics to
intimidate such
neighboring
countries as
Japan and the
Philippines... the 2017 Index concludes that the current U.S. military
force ... certainly would
be ill-equipped
to handle two
nearly
simultaneous
major regional
contingencies
... / http://index.heritage.org/military/2017/assessments/
○
●
<The
Chinese
Invasion
Threat>
by Ian Eastonct, Oct. 3, 2017
:
China has finalized a
clandestine plan to invade Taiwan in 2020 by launching missile attacks, blocking
the nation’s air and sea space, and carrying out amphibious landings,
Washington-based think tank Project 2049 Institute research fellow Ian Easton
said. ...China,
would "almost
certainly" fail in its full-scale invasion of Taiwan but its military
appears driven to prepare and carry out such an attack.
○
○
●
New York times, 10-19-2017:
https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20171019/china-xi-jinping-party-congress/dual/
○
Chinese president Xi
delivered the line that won the loudest
applause of his marathon speech: “We will never allow anyone, any organization,
or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of
Chinese territory from China.”
Apple Daily, 10-20-2017, "ShaoKang
Zhao Fax" column:
Only 800+ words (out of 32000+ words
in total) in Xi's speech at the 19th Communist party congress mentioned Taiwan,
Taiwan issue seems not so important to Xi JinPing.
○
●
国家政策研究基金会 NPF
National Policy
Foundation in Taipei,
Taiwan;
10-7-2017 CTN
The peace of Taiwan Strait before 2025 depends US military forces (台海安全 仍繫於美軍是否介入...最大的不確定性仍是「美軍是否介入」，且在2025年之前，美軍相對中共仍有明顯優勢，與其說押注與否，不如說是因「美軍不可測」的因子無法排除。)
/ http://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20171007000342-260119
●
●
New York
Times
4-1-2019: Taiwan
protests China jets crossing center of Taiwan Strait, a
provocation that seeks to alter the status quo ... an intentional act.
Taiwan News, 6-28-2019:
U.S. Senate passes pro-Taiwan defense bill calling for more patrols in
Taiwan Strait. Reuters 6-27-2019:
Canadian navy ships sailed
through Taian strait amid
tension with China (Such
passages upset China ...
In April, Beijing condemned a
French decision to send a
frigate through the Strait as
illegal)
Japan Times, 4-1-2019: the U.S. sent ships through the
strait
( mission was unusual) ...
UDN
7-28-2017, 11-20-2017,
Global times, 12-12-2017,
CTV 12-17-2017: China's
military terrorized Taiwan by aircraft-fighters routinely
flying around
("patrol circling")
Taiwan and passing
through 1st Island Chain...China fighters only
take 14 minutes to reach Taiwan from mainland
https://udn.com/news/story/10930/2610183
Apple Daily 1-18-2018: China's submarine
"patrol
circling"
at 1-11-2018
United
Daily survey at 11-20-2017 found the percentage of
Taiwanese having good perception on Chinese people and
communist government increased to 49% and 40%
pic.: Taiwan ( the white
color island on the map)
Population：23.54 million
Area：36,194
square
kilometers
Peoples：Han
Chinese (97%),
Aborigines (2%)
Languages
: mainly
Mandarin,
Taiwanese
●
Economist (special edition
2017): "Taiwan will turn into a tiger again "
●
Global Wealth Report &
Global Wealth Databook by
credit-suisse Research Institute, Nov. 2016: "Taiwan,
Asia Tiger"
●NY
Times 5-22-2017: Taiwan leader continued to base defense
planning
on the assumption that the United States would always
come to the rescue...
Taiwan
has reduced its
active force
(by half)
●NY Times
12-13-2016 In Taiwan president Tsai's inaugural speech,
Tsai referred to
the Constitution
of the Republic
of China and the
legislation
governing
cross-strait
relations, both
of which imply
the acceptance
of a “one China”
framework.
pic. left: ROC (Taiwan) national flag
can not be used in most places in the world,
since China's "one China" policy keeps suppressing Taiwan's
international space;
pic. right: Chinese Taipei flag for participating in
int'l events, e.g., Olympics Games.
●
●
●
China has finalized a
clandestine plan to invade Taiwan in 2020 by launching missile attacks, blocking
the nation’s air and sea space, and carrying out amphibious landings,
Washington-based think tank Project 2049 Institute research fellow Ian Easton
said.
●
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) raised doubts over
the time frame Easton asserted, saying that he did not think it is very precise.
●China,
according to the book <The Chinese Invasion Threat>, would "almost
certainly" fail in its full-scale invasion of Taiwan but its military
appears driven to prepare and carry out such an attack.
Annual Report to US Congress (2017):
Military and Security Developments Involving
the People’s Republic of China 2017
https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2017_China_Military_Power_Report.PDF
○
○
○
ps: Apple daily, 11-28-2017: Chinese air crafts flying to first island
chain include H-6K (轟 6K) bomber from Shaanxi, center of China.
Taiwan's interpreting China's military capacity should no longer be
limited to only their coastal (Taiwan Strait) military air force.
(brief
- author 林穎佑 faculty of int'l affairs graduate school, National
ChungCheng University)
○●
○
●
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS,UK, www.iiss.org), the
military balance 2018 press statement - The annual assessment of global military
capability and defence economics, 2-14-2018
In 2017 Beijing showcased more advanced military systems
... are challenging the global predominance of the United States and its allies
... https://www.iiss.org/en/publications/military-s-balance
China's modernisation of its armed forces is
processing faster than many experts expected ... (ref to Apple
Daily, opinion, 2-21-2018, "共軍非必勝 國軍非必敗")
○
★
●
Apple Daily,
12-19-2017
head-page, focus ; data
from Taiwan's national defense gov.
pic. left: China military capacity VS Taiwan;
pic. right: Chinese air force did lots of "patrol circling" (flying
around Taiwan and passing through 1st island chain ).
Source: Apple Daily News, head-page and focus news,
12-19-2017
○●
○
●
US
Annual Report to Congress,
2016
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Annual Report to Congress:
Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China
外國觀光旅客來台日均消費 source
from TW gov., Apple Daily, Aug., 2019
★
BBC, UK, 7-31-2019: the number of Chinese tourists (in time) in
2015 is about 4.18 million, dropped to 2.7 million on 2018
(https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/chinese-news-49178224
7-31-2019)
★
Telegraph, UK, 7-31-2019: China remains
the top source of tourists, with close to 2.5 million visiting last year
Chinese
visitors and tourists to Taiwan
(in millions) , Direct
flights between Chn and TW
began at 2008, DPP (Green)
in power from 2016
source: Asia Nikkei
4-30-2019, Taiwanese government
data 2018/2019
area
population人口
number of tourists
(person in time)
旅遊人次
times倍數
Hong Kong
7.3 million
65.1 million
1:9
Macau
0.65 million
35.9 million
1
: 55
Singapore
5.6 million
18.5 million
1
: 2.3
Taiwan
23
million
11.25 million
1
: 0.5
●
New
York Times, 7-31-2019, CNN
8-1-2019: China, an Eye on Elections,
rising cross-strait tensions, bans
solo tourists from heading to Taiwan. L.A. Times, 8-1-2019:
The indefinite suspension is likely to
prove a major economic hit to Taiwan, as
well as a blow to cultural interplay.
Independent UK 8-1-2019: It is a
blow for Taiwan’s tourism industry.
●
China remaining the top source of
tourists to Taiwan is because,
LA Times
at 8-1-2019 said that (1)
satisfying a curiosity, an important
channel for knowing Taiwan (2) flights
of no more than 2~3 hours (3) strong
cultural and deep historic connection
(4) religious, architectural and
cultural similarities, the result of
migration from China to Taiwan that
began hundreds of years ago (5) take
home new information from Taiwan’s
newspapers, news websites and television
channels, all free of censorship unlike
on the mainland (6)
stoking business.
●
Asia Nikkei
4-30-2019:
Since 2016, China has attempted to
punish Tsai (DPP) by reducing tour
groups to Taiwan, but inbound tourists
have steadily set records surpassing 11
millions for the first time last year...
●
The United Daily 3-7-2019: Taiwan's
tourism output value is suffering wallet
homicide ! the deficit of foreign
exchange is NT1728 billions, the deficit
of the number of tourists is 5570
thousands.
● Liberty Times 8-28-2019: Taiwan may loss
35,400 million dollars from the gross
annual value of tourism in the second
half of 2019. United Daily
(8-17-2019, editorial) : Very most part
of Taiwan's current tourism difficult
situation is caused by
cross-Taiwan-Strait policy.
United Daily (8-22-2019, editorial) :
Pension reform might be among key issues
in Taiwan's tourism, because public
servants, military and education field
no longer support domestic
travel as much as before.
United Daily (8-28-2019, Focus) : Visa-free and allowance can save
tourism? Lots of allowances were given to domestic tourists, but the
number of Taiwanese traveling overseas hit new high again and again.
United Daily (8-23-2019) : Taiwan
president Tsai: tourism won't go old
route, current policy is to balance
tourists flow, stimulate domestic
demand, increase consumption-amount,
satisfy tourist's appetite by bubble tea
and local cuisine. The
United Daily, editorial opinion,
7-15-2019 : An American economist Tyler
Cowen was surprised at that Taipei was
spinning its wheels, remains 85%
unchanged (making smallest differences
among Asian cities), motorcycles, small
lanes ... everywhere, in contrast,
GuangZhou city (廣州) has changed 90%, HK,
Seoul, Singapore made huge differences
only within 10 years ...
●
According to
World Economic Forum (WEF) <Travel
and tourism competitiveness report>(released at 4-6-2017),
Taiwan's
most important indexes for
promoting tourism, like "Attractiveness
of Natural Assets" (parks, beaches,
mountains, wildlife, etc)
ranks
world
No.87, "Natural Resources" ranks
No.55, "Environmental Sustainability" ranks No.75 (No.69
in 2015), "Price Competitiveness"
ranks
No. 46, "Hotel Price Index" ranks No.
89 (82 in 2015), Taiwan got "n/a" on China's strong indexes such as
"World
heritage natural sites" as well as "World heritage cultural sites"
(world top 5).
Taipei mayor Ko just mocked tourism of Hong Kong and Singapore,
however, they are very ahead in "Business Environment"
and "Ground & Port infrastructure"
(world top 2),
"Airport infrastructure" (world No.5 & 6 vs Taiwan no. 42 ), "Safety & security"
( No.5 and No.6 ) 。
Taiwan has excellent scores on "Mobile Network coverage", "ATM",
etc,
but those least likely are main attractiveness
to international sightseers that Taiwan
needs most. According to
government statistics "visitor arrivals
by purpose in 2016", only 7.61%
foreigners came for business,
conference, exhibition, most visitors
are for pleasure, so we should not focus
on WEF's overall score and ranking for
Taiwan.
●
●
Apple
Daily, opinion, 2-12-2018: lacking of
monument elements, mature cultural
creativity, and inexpensive tour-site
hotels ... shallow, careless,
low-end quality led to an extremely low
return visitor rate to Taiwan.
Apple
Daily, Headline news 1-15-2018:
Taiwan tourism collapsed like a
snow-slide,
the number of tourists to Kenting National Park(墾丁貓鼻頭)
dropped 59%, to Taroko National Gorge
(太魯閣) dropped 43%, etc, because of the
number of Chinese tourists declined a
lot and local people don't like those
sites - Apple Daily opinion
1-17-2018: expensive hotels, crowded
traffic, getting ripped-off by greedy
shops' ...
●
●
BBC UK, The SUN
(2-13-2017):
"Bus Crash Horror !"
-
Taiwan's "safety
standards need to be improved". A
few days later another fatal tour-bus
accident occurred.
Apple Daily, Opinion (2-15-2017): Such a
high casualty rate most likely was
ranked No.1 among all civilized states
in the world.
Taiwan's aviation safety -
MSN, Reuters,
EuroNews, Mirro(UK), NewsWeek, CNN, etc (2-4-2015) :"Taiwan has had a poor
aviation safety record in recent years"
●
●
People's Daily, the
major official newspaper of the ruling
Chinese Communist Party, ( Opinion/editorial 8-4-2016):
<Chinese tourists do not dare to visit Taiwan in the future without safety
assurance> / Taiwan tour disasters are sort of
man-made disasters ,
Taiwan tourism's major problems
include
loopholes in
law and regulation
、careless
mistakes in administration or
not-good-enough system of organization,
other
malpractices are traveling load-bearing
capacity 、road-traffic
safety
、aviation safety 、road
maintenance
、safety standard for tour
bus 、Modified
Automobiles/Fix-up tour bus、Low-end
tour groups
…
tragic accidents happening again and
again open
Pandora's
box, too many tourist victims reveal Taiwan tourism's problems, Taiwan authority
tried to do something (亡羊補牢)
each time a tragic accident occurred, but it seemed late and same kind of
tragedies
never cease. (《人民日報》8-4-2016
社論: 很多意外事故都存在著人禍
的影子，或是法規漏洞、管理疏失、或是體制不足。旅遊承載能力、道路安全、飛行安全、道路養護
、遊覽車安全標準、改裝車、低價團…一起起事故猶如打開了潘朵拉的盒子...
)
●
●
Business Insider (6-2015) introduced
some places for tourists:
◎ Hehuan Mountain and Ali Mountain are two top-rated scenic spots on TripAdvisor.
(阿里山等)
◎ Sun Moon Lake(日月潭)
◎ Kenting National Park(墾丁).
9 nationall. parks, which make up 8.6% of its land. Taroko National Gorge
(太魯閣) alone is worth spending at least two days hiking its
numerous scenic trails.
◎ hot springs Beitou
outside of Taipei, and Jiaoxi in Yilan (北投宜蘭等溫泉)
◎◎
ps: [
Climate ]
tropical and
subtropical
climate zones,
Average
temperature for
northern Taiwan
: 21.7°C;
southern Taiwan:
24.1°C.
Jan. ~ Mar : may
downto 10°C.
June ~ August,
may up to 38°C
●
Michelin
GuideTaipei
was released at
4-10-2019,
Taiwanese cuisine was not valued very high,
only 4 restaurants won 1 star each, 3 starred chefs are from Hong Kong
(Canton)
and Macau.
The total number of stars and starred restaurants of Taiwan are much less than
those of Shanghai, HK, Macao, and Singapore, in both 2019 and 2018. Furthermore, unlike
those in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok,
Taiwan's night-market,
street food failed to won any Michelin star.
●The
China Times,
10-20-2018 opinion (editorial) https://opinion.chinatimes.com/20181019003889-262101 :
Taiwan's food safety failed again and again,
Dioxin, Fipronil poison-eggs in last year, Nicarbazin illegal drug residue event
in this year.
Europe was very cautious about Fipronil event, in contrast, Taiwan did
nothing about it. Even worse, Taiwan officials hide
Nicarbazin issue from Taiwanese people to
baby related business ― indulge business to
retrieve problematic eggs and then resell them as promotion goods..
Why do high-ranking officials always fudge Taiwanese people's
only, and humblest request ？?
(brief)
○
●
Food safety is
one of
biggest challenges to Taiwan /
The China Times. 8-6-2016,
an interview to Taiwan president Tsai I. W.
○
●
Chang
Gung Mem. Hospital Toxicology expert & professor Yin M.D. (殷宗海,
Doctor, Univ. of London ): Minimize the times of dining out to protect
your health ! ref to
book
<食品不安全的年代如何自保>,
2016.
○
●
MicroPlastics were found in 44% tap
water samples, medical circle believes it's a very serious environmental
pollution, since something bad, e.g., Dioxin, Bisphenol A (BPA), PAHs, heavy
metal elements, may be brought into food chain, and then are/were accumulated in
human body...... we better use purified water by RO machine for safety.
Furthermore, mussels, oysters, clams
(扇貝與蛤)
were also found some microplastics...... brief - headlines of Apple
Daily, United Daily, 9-26-2018.
○
● The China Times,
5-21-2018 :
Taiwan food safety became nothing but a slogan for the government's
relaxation of pesticide residue standards in these 2 years. TVBS,
9-12-2017 : Scholar (中興univ. professor 曾德賜) expressed the amount ( per hectare )
of application of pesticide in Taiwan was ranked world No.1, according to
India's study.
●
5 star hotel restaurants scandals -
A
book (江守山M.D.'s
"食在安心" (10-2014))
said many 5 star hotel restaurants don't wash vegetables ... some 5 star
hotels made sashimi raw fish slices by using fresh-water fishes, this may
increase the probability of getting cancer (for
details
台灣餐廳
or
台灣美食Taiwan
Night Markets ) ; Epoch Times (大紀元, 3-14-2017):Okura Prestige Tpe
(大倉久和, a 5 star hotel) sold expired frozen shrimps, molded taro (vegetable 芋)
etc;
SETN news ( 三立新聞 5-16-2016): Some 5 star hotels in northern Taiwan sold
black-hearted expired seafoods ; LTN (5-17-2016): 5 star hotels Ambassador
and Howard (國賓、福華)
clarified this news;
Apple Daily (蘋果日報 6-7-2016):
Sheraton (喜來登) 's
white shrimps contained bleaching agent
(漂白劑)，4
times higher than the legal standard，Ranina
(Spanner crabs
旭蟹) contained heavy medal Cadmium poisoning (重金屬镉) 14%
higher than the standard...;
Apple Daily (蘋果日報 7-2-'13):
Taiwan's tourist hotels' food ingredients expired 2 years,
only 3 out of 21 hotels passed the security check and sanitary examination etc
conducting by Taiwan Administration, e.g., Shangri-La's (tnn) did not separate
their cutting tools for cooked foods and raw foods;
FTV news, 5-18-2017: 13
ingredients / materials expired in a 5 star hotel in Taiwan; CTI TV news
(5-17-2017, 19:33): What can we eat in Taiwan? people are uneasy for
food here...
○
●
A big
gas-cylinder
LPG-explosion
in Fengjia (逢甲)
night market (known as largest
night-market business district in
Taiwan) proved again
man-made disasters
never cease, the China
Times (7-19-2017) lashed out all this
sort of night-market districts across
Taiwan have similar safety problem,
enforcement officials even don't know which is more important - grass-roots' making money or public
security.
○
●
Apple Daily, 11-20-2017 : Almost all
world countries are more and more strict with food safety, only Taiwan is more
and more relaxed in legislating for food safety. In this way, how
can Taiwan have a reputation on "fine food kingdom" ?
(breif)
/
by 邱致穎, chair, and
teacher of food science, TungHai University.
○
●
Taiwan is not included in EIU's Global
Food Security Index of 2017, China ranks No. 45 among 113 nations.
○
●
According
to The World's Best Restaurants (2017)
, Taiwan is not included in the list, Thailand got No.7, Singapore No.14, Japan
18th, HK 24th, Shanghai 41th. In total, 5 Japanese , 4 Chinese, 3
Singapore, 2 Thailand, 1 Korean, 1 India restaurant(s) entered top 100.
○
●
New York
Times, 2-24-2017:
Taipei
... has a street food scene as vibrant as that of Bangkok; restaurants that
specialize in both Taiwanese and regional cuisines from around China; thousands
of cheap and cheerful joints at which to drink cold beer with small plates and
quick stir-fries; .... ref to
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/travel/taipei-taiwan-restaurants-local.html
Dr. Joseph Nye advised that hard & soft power enable Taiwan to
deal with China and expand its international space. (Dec.
8, 2010)
However,
● Till 2019,
Taiwan has not been included in Monocle's Soft Power survey ranking list,
so Taiwan's soft power is behind Asian's "world top 20" nations
, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand,
China, India, UAE. Japan ranks No.3, Korea No.15, China No.19
in 2019.
Korea
ranks
19、14、11
in 2010,
2011,
2012,
and
No.17 in
2017/2018.
China is
No.19 ,
Japan
No. 4,
Singapore
No.22,
India
24, in
2017/2018.
Taiwan
keeps
failing
to enter
top 25
ranking
status
in
2013~2019.
●
The China Times,
headline news
at 12-24-2017: The total value of Taiwan's cultural & creative production
was far behind of that of Korea, Korea's value in publication is about 6 times
larger than Taiwan's, Film industry 6 times, TV 3.5 times, Advertising 3
times, Pop-music 6 times bigger than Taiwan's, Taiwan lacks of updated
related laws and policy
― no
focus, no direction, no institute, original creativity is not encouraged, the
industry field is divided, without integrated marketing......
●
The
China
Times,
8-15-2017
: The
output
value of
Taiwan's
cultural
&
creative
production
in '12 -
'13
declined
9.28%,
in
contrast,
Taiwan's
neighbor
countries
increased,
China
14.27%,
Malaysia,
Philippines
8+%,
Korea
0.65%
...
Taiwan's
cultural
&
creative
industry
even
failed
to
create a
"bubble",
the
reason
is
lacking
of
original
creativity.
●
UK based Monocle's Soft Power Survey 2010 ~
2017/2018: Taiwan has not been included in this global ranking list, Taiwan's soft power is behind Asian's
countries Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand,
China, India, UAE, all of them reached "world top 20" at least once.
●
Taiwan failed
to be listed in 2018's Soft Power 30 Study by USC Center
on Public Diplomacy in July 2018
and 2017's Soft Power 30 Study, compiled by PR company Portand
Communication and University of Southern California. Asian
countries, Japan(No.5), S. Korea(20), Singapore(21), China(27) are top 30.
The top 30
nations of 2018 are 1. UK, 2. France, 3. Germany, 4. US,
5. Japan, 6~30 are Canada, Swiss, Sweden, Nederlands, Australia, Denmark, Italy,
Norway, Spain, Finland, Belgium, Austria, NZ, Ireland, S Korea, Singapore,
Portugal, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Czech, China, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, 2017's Soft Power 30 Study, compiled by PR company Portland Communication and
University of Southern California: Taiwan also failed
to be in the list. The top
30 nations are 1 France 2 UK 3 USA 4 Germany 5
Canada 6 Japan 7 Swiss 8 Australia 9
Sweden 10 Holland 11 Denmark 12 Norway 13
Italy 14 Austria 15 Spain 16 Belgium
17 Finland 18 NZ 19 Ireland 20 Singapore
21 S. Korea 22 Portugal 23 Greece 24
Poland 25 China 26 Russia 27 Czech 28
Hungary 29 Brazil 30 Turkey.
●
Although Telegraph (Jan. 2017) mentioned
Taipei's
"pioneering creative
scene", however, in fact ......
Taiwan's
creativity
is poor
in film,
advertising,
architectures,
graphic
designs
...
e.g.,
Taiwan
usually
lost in
Cannes
Ads
Festivals,
the logo
of
Taiwan's
Economic
government
is quite
similar
to an
old
Canadian
logo ...
The
Liberty
Times at
4-6-2016
pointed
out
Taiwan's
government took the lead to plagiarize, and
ignored copy-rights, Taiwan becomes "an island of Plagiarism"
.
● US Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices released at 3-13-2019 pointed out
that
justice ministry was
insufficiently independent and conducted politically motivated investigations of
politicians (in <Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government>
section), the impact of the concentration of media ownership on freedom of the
press, particularly among companies with People’s Republic of China (PRC)
investment, self-censorship continued. Journalists said they faced
pressure from management to submit news stories to complement or support the
content of paid advertisements. Critics said product placement under the guise
of news reporting undercut objective journalism, restricted journalists’
freedom, and undermined public trust in the media. Victims of rape and
domestic violence did not report the crime for fear of social stigmatization,
and various nongovernmental organization (NGO) and academic studies estimated
the total number of sexual assaults was seven to 10 times higher than the number
reported to police. Some abused women chose not to report incidents to police
due to social pressure not to disgrace their families. NGOs raised
concerns about online sexual exploitation of children. Foreign and PRC-born
spouses were reportedly targets of social discrimination outside and, at times,
inside the home. Discrimination against LGBTI persons was more
widespread
than
suggested
by the
number
of court
cases.
Employment
discrimination
against
persons
with
HIV/AIDS
continues,
Taipei
officials
pressured
a
magazine
reporter
to drop
an
investigative
report
about
the
city’s
breach
of
personal
information
for more
than
3,000
AIDS
patients.
Labor
laws do
not
cover
domestic
household
workers,
leaving
them
vulnerable
to labor
exploitation.
Foreign
workers
were
most
susceptible
to
forced
labor,
especially
when
serving
as crew
members
on
Taiwan-flagged
fishing
vessels.
Mistreatment
and poor
working
conditions
for
foreign
fishermen
remained
common.
Foreign
fishermen
recruited
offshore
were not
entitled
to the
same
labor
rights,
wages,
insurance,
and
pensions
as those
recruited
locally.
Some
labor
brokers
charged
foreign
workers
exorbitant
recruitment
fees and
used
debts
incurred
from
these
fees in
the
source
country
as tools
of
coercion
to
subject
the
workers
to debt
bondage.
●
United
States
Department
of State
Country
Reports
on Human
Rights
Practices
released
in 2017,
2018:
Principal
human
rights
problems
reported
during
the year
were
exploitation
of
foreign
workers,
including
foreign
crewmembers
on
long-haul
fishing
vessels
and
household
caregivers;
domestic
violence;
and
official
corruption.
Other
human
rights
concerns
during
the year
included
vote
buying;
violations
of legal
working
hours;
lack of
barrier-free
spaces
and
accessible
transportation
systems
for
persons
with
disabilities,
particularly
outside
Taipei;
gender-biased
sex
selection;
and a
rise in
child
abuse.
/
https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/265586.pdf
●
<Transparency
International>,
Germany, 1-25-2017:
Taiwan retreated in Corruption Perceptions Index,
Taiwan
received
score
61, one
point
less
than the
previous
year, on
the
Corruption
Perceptions
Index
for 2016
published
by
Transparency
International.
Singapore got the highest score (84) and highest ranking (No.7) among
Asian countries, Hong Kong at No.15 with 77 points and Japan at No.20 with 72 points.
The main threat
to media freedom comes from China, which has been exerting growing economic and
political pressure on the Taiwanese media. The editorial line of some
privately-owned media has changed radically and it is no longer rare to find
media outlets taking a line similar to the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda.
Journalistic independence has also been threatened by Taiwanese officials who
have interfered directly in the editorial policies of the state-owned media.
● <Reporters
Sans Frontieres>
(RSF, France) , 4-18-2019:
Taiwan’s journalists are suffering
from a very polarized media environment dominated by sensationalism and the
pursuit of profit. Although President Tsai Ing-wen has said she wants to
continue developing press freedom in Taiwan, few concrete measures have been
taken to improve journalists’ editorial independence and encourage media to
raise the quality of the public debate. Beijing is exploiting this weakness
by putting pressure on Taiwanese media owners, who often have business
interests on the mainland. Beijing is also suspected of orchestrating online
disinformation campaigns – a threat that could lead to questionable
retaliatory measures by Taiwan such as refusing visas to Chinese journalists
regarded as hostile.
Taiwan ranks No. 42 in the 2019
World Press Freedom Index.
●
US Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices released at 3-13-2019
:
the impact of the concentration of media ownership on freedom of the press,
particularly among companies with People’s Republic of China (PRC) investment,
self-censorship continued. Journalists said they faced pressure from
management to submit news stories to complement or support the content of paid
advertisements. Critics said product placement under the guise of news reporting
undercut objective journalism, restricted journalists’ freedom, and undermined
public trust in the media. Taipei officials pressured a magazine reporter
to drop an investigative report about the city’s breach of personal information
for more than 3,000 AIDS patients.
●
China Times 3-29-2019 headline news: Defend 100% freedom of
speech! Democracy on the surface, anti-democracy to the bone is not
allowed. Apple
Daily 3-29-2019 editorial opinion:
Democracy &
Freedom of speech is the bottom line
which should never be lost, the government should not create chilling
effect by fishing in trouble water.
●
United
States
Department
of State
Country
Reports
on Human
Rights
Practices
for 2016,
released at
March 3, 2017, 4-20-2018
:
Human
rights
concerns
during
the year
included
some
media
self-censorship
with
regard
to
China.
○
●
<United Daily
(聯合報)>
11-2-2018, headline news :
National Security Bureau confirmed their investigation of Facebook
and other communities on the net, for monitoring, controlling and
collecting "controversial information" including those "influence
national security",
"blacken
("詆譭", a term of Martial Law period / UDN,
11-3-2018)
president", "disrupt social stability",
"distort policy" and
"disturb national mechanism",
"fight governmental prestige", "influence public mind and morale";
UDN 11-3-2018:
all internet service
providers in Taiwan were requested to hand in all users' personal information.
UDN critiques pointed out "Big Brother is watching you" almost for sure lead
to "Chilling Effect". ps: Intel. sys. suspectedly
controls free expression of some websites not related to China.
pic. left: KMT
legislator : all internet service providers in Taiwan were invited by
the government and requested to hand in all users' personal information.
Taiwan's intelligence
"National Security Bureau"
has been doing overall monitors on all Taiwanese.
The head of NSB
expressed that investigations
and monitoring will be used to those criticizing and blackening Taiwan
president. KMT press conference criticized NSB was
infringing
Taiwanese rights and interests.
Where is freedom of
expression ?
UDN 11-3-2018 headline
news :
Top target media communities that
Taiwan's FBI has been monitoring are
(1) Facebook , (2) Youtube (3) LINE
pic. left: Taiwan president Tsai I. W.
clarified that democratic Taiwan
would no way go back to
Martial Law Period , my Facebook
is a best example, where is filled with encouragements, critiques, and
free
discussions concerning public issues.....
The main threat
to media freedom comes from China, which has been exerting growing economic and
political pressure on the Taiwanese media. The editorial line of some
privately-owned media has changed radically and it is no longer rare to find
media outlets taking a line similar to the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda.
Journalistic independence has also been threatened by Taiwanese officials who
have interfered directly in the editorial policies of the state-owned media.
○
●
Wikipedia
Wikipedia reference
('參考文獻')
recorded
that
in the summer of 2017, a "Green Terror on Facebook" triggered concerns
and public anger in
Taiwan. All Taiwanese mass media reported that
politicians
and online personalities said they had been denied access to their Facebook accounts after writing criticisms of Pan-Green coalition,
the ruling political party (DPP).
The China Times,
opinion,
at 11-18-2017
criticized
that
Taiwan president Tsai I. W. gave tacit permission to Facebook (Taiwan) to block
content concerning anti Taiwan-independence (brief, http://opinion.chinatimes.com/20171118000516-262114).
Taiwan
administration
has not
responded
or
denied
this
severely
critiques
till
middle
of Dec.
2017.
Taiwan state apparatus
fully
support freedom of expression & democracy !
You can scream as loud
as you want
The louder you scream, the more I enjoy ...
◆
Taiwan's Apple Daily,
editorial, 6-16-2020: Taiwan's politics still intervene
or
meddle
media. ◆
Apple Daily,
editorial,
12-14-2019 :
Since DPP took office in 2016, political culture of
authoritarianism (威權式政治文化)
gradually showed up in Taiwan.
◆
United Daily, editorial,
6-23-2019:
mega-data became politician's instrument to control public opinions
◆
China Times,
editorial 3-9-2020
The gov. suppressed freedom of speech by 4 layers:
1、 Political power
forms threats (penalty fine and suspending the license) to certain media。
2、 Secretly bullying
by internet army, cyber force ... and so on
State violence and
white terror (product of state
violence) return in Taiwan (United Daily, opinion, 12-21-2017, 12-27-2017).
This is an EVIL state
apparatus (column, CTN, 5-9-2018)
http://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20180509000843-260109
Abusing power to invade citizen's rights,
going old route of anti-democracy are their nature
(United Daily,
opinion, 12-20-2017).
https://udn.com/news/story/11321/2886710
ref to https://udn.com/news/story/11321/2897025。http://udn.com/news/story/7338/2179800。
damaged web-pages of
the site
dirty attacks !
free speech is worse ever in the past 20 years ! prime
suspects are ... ?
New form attacks happened at 11-20-2018 ... each char. being typed
in took a long time (seconds, even 10+ minutes, or forever) to be
shown on the screen while updating my web-pages concerning Taiwan
judicial systems and prosecutors... attacks last ...
●
Liberty
Times,
Apple
Daily,
China
Times,
6-18-2018,
FocusTaiwan
6-17-2018
(http://focustaiwan.tw/news/acs/201806170010.aspx)
:
China
has
higher
favorable
than
unfavorable
rating
in
Taiwan:
poll
/
A survey
conducted
by the
Taiwanese
Public
Opinion
Foundation
(台灣民意基金會)
found
China
with a
48.8
percent
favorability
rating
among
respondents
and a
43.9
percent
unfavorability
rating,
the
first
time a
majority
of
respondents
in the
annual
poll saw
China
favorably.
○
●
New York times,
12-13-2016:
As
Taiwanese
identity
has
consolidated,
with
more
than 90
percent
of
Taiwanese
believing
they are
in some
way
“Taiwanese,”
/
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13
○
●
brookings.edu,
9-12-2016
“Taiwan’s
China
Dilemma,”
https://www.brookings.edu/events/taiwans-china-dilemma/
Shirley
Lin’s
new
book,
“Taiwan’s
China
Dilemma,”
explores
a
conundrum:
Despite
a shared
culture,
and even
as
Taiwan’s
economic
interdependence
with
China
deepened
in the
1990s
and
2000s,
the
island’s
people
felt an
increasingly
strong
identity
with
Taiwan
itself.
These
contradictory
trends
only
continued
during
Ma Ying-jeou’s
presidency,
and will
certainly
shape
the
environment
in which
leaders
in both
Beijing
and
Taipei
attempt
to
define
and
manage
the
cross-Strait
relationship
○
●
BBC,
12-3-2016
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34729538
Officially, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
still favours eventual independence for Taiwan, while the KMT favours eventual
re-unification. Opinion polls show only a small minority of Taiwanese support
pursuing one or the other at the moment, with most preferring to stick with the
current middle ground.
○
○
●
Apple Daily,
opinion, 10-11-2017: Only 5- % Taiwanese
favour
independence or unification, about 70% in total are for conditional independence
and conditional unification.
○
●
Washington Post,
1-2-2017, The Taiwanese see themselves as Taiwanese, not as Chinese :
the Taiwanese
are not willing
to pursue
independence at
all costs. Many
are concerned
with the
economy.
When asked to
choose between
formal
independence or
maintaining
economic ties
with China,
83 percent chose
bread over
romance. /
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/01/02/yes-taiwan-wants-one-china-but-which-china-does-it-want/?utm_term=.8d999292eabd
○
Some significant polls:
Percentage of Taiwanese residents who consider
themselves ?
Survey
Taiwanese
Chinese
Both Taiwanese and Chinese
NCCU, Jan. 2015
60.6%
3.5%
32.5%
TVBS poll centre, Oct. 2012
75%
15%
not an option here
TVBS poll centre, Oct. 2012
55%
3%
37%
Common Wealth Magazine, Dec. 2009
62%
8%
22%
Executive Yuan, Taiwan Admin., April, 2008
67.1%
13.6%
15.2%
source : Wikipedia
Wa
(59%: TWese, 34%: both)
Washington Post, 1-2-2017, The
Taiwanese see themselves as Taiwanese, not as Chinese
https://sites.duke.edu/austinwang/2015/11/06/monkey-cage-article-how-taiwanese-view-the-future-of-the-cross-strait/
Austin Horng-En Wang, Monkey Cage article: How Taiwanese view the
future of the Cross-strait, PhD Candidate, Department of Political
Science, Duke University
Washington Post, 1-2-2017,
The Taiwanese see themselves as Taiwanese, not as Chinese
https://sites.duke.edu/austinwang/2015/11/06/monkey-cage-article-how-taiwanese-view-the-future-of-the-cross-strait/
Austin Horng-En Wang, Monkey Cage article: How Taiwanese view the
future of the Cross-strait, PhD Candidate, Department of Political
Science, Duke University
Washington Post, 1-2-2017,
The Taiwanese see themselves as Taiwanese, not as Chinese, source : Niou
pic. : United Daily News survey/poll at 11-20-2017
found "the table has turned" - The percentage of Taiwanese having good
impression on Chinese people increased to 49%, good social perception on
communist Chinese government increased to 40%.
United Daily News,
opinion at 11-20-2017: The
percentage
of Taiwanese are willing to work in mainland China increased to 40%.
ps: at the same time, China terrorized Taiwan with military force
(aircrafts etc) routinely flying around Taiwan in entire year of 2017 (UDN,
11-20-2017)
pic. Apple Daily, 4-20-2018,
headline news : a Survey poll by 台灣民主基金會
☉ Taiwanese fight for independence - 55%
yes, 35.9 % no, 9.1% others
☉
Taiwanese fight against Chinese military force for unification -
67.7% yes, 24.9 % no, 7.4 % others
China Times, 4-21-2018,
Opinion: Taiwan National Security Survey conducted by Duke University
and NCCU of Taiwan
at about the same time found that once China-Taiwan war happens ...
☉ more than 60% Taiwanese yield or give up & run away (逆來順受或投降逃跑)
☉ The highest percentage of giving up & escaping goes to youth group
(age < 39), about 30+ %, aged 40+ is about 10%.
☉ 80% Taiwanese assumed the US army will come to rescue, otherwise the
percentage of fighting people will drop, however, according to a seminar
in Washington DC in 2017,
only 18% American people support US military force getting involved in
the war.
PS: Apple Daily News, opinion, 3-22-2018: according to latest survey by
<台灣民意基金會>, 38.3% Taiwanese people are for Taiwan independence, 20.1% for
unification with mainland China, 24.1% for current status, 75% regard
themselves as Taiwanese, 9.7% Chinese, 10.4% both. As for China's
latest policy - 31 items to benefit Taiwanese ("惠(對)台31項措施"),
41.9% think it as a trick for unification, 30.1% China's nice move.
●
●
Taiwan
Taiwanese women
○
●
US Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices released at 3-13-2019 pointed out
that Victims of rape and domestic violence did not report the crime for
fear of social stigmatization, and various nongovernmental organization (NGO)
and academic studies estimated the total number of sexual assaults was seven to
10 times higher than the number reported to police. Some abused
women chose not to report incidents to police due to social pressure not to
disgrace their families.
<The United Daily
>, 3-16-2018: Taiwan's gender equality
- A long long way to go !
●The US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
, released at 3-3-2017, 4-20-2018: Rape and Domestic Violence
(
spousal rape, and domestic violence). Many victims did not report the crime for
fear of social stigmatization, and various nongovernmental organization (NGO)
and academic studies estimated that the total number of sexual assaults was
seven to 10 times the number reported to police.
Women were promoted less frequently, occupied fewer management positions, and
worked for lower pay than men, earning on average 83 percent of their male
counterparts’ income...
○
● Amnesty
International (The London-based
organization), 2.25.2015: The organization
concerns Taiwan's gender discrimination. Taiwan’s passage of the
Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the
enactment of laws to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by 2017 were important
starts, but still have to be fully implemented.
→women
in Taiwan
●
●
Taiwan
Taiwan universities
○
○
Wikipedia :
It
(Taiwan) is ranked highly in terms of ... public education, economic freedom,
and human development. The country benefits from a highly skilled
workforce and is among the most highly educated countries in the world with one
of the highest percentages of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree.
/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan
However, Taiwan's education system has serious
problems as below:
●
Apple Daily, 7-26-2018 : Taiwan University kept falling down 64
positions within 5 years.
TIMES Higher Education
major univ. of Taiwan
world univ rankings 2020
2018
rankings
2017 rankings
2016 rankings
2015
2014
2013
National Taiwan University (台灣大學)
120
198
195
167
155
142
134
National Tsing Hua University (清華大學)
351-400
301~350
251~300
251~300
251~275
251~275
226~250
National Chiao Tung University (交通大學)
501-600
401~500
401~500
301~350
276~300
251~275
251~275
National Cheng Kung University (成功大學)
601-800
501~600
401~500
401~500
351~400
301~350
301~350
●
●
Taiwan government damages university
autonomy - rejecting the president selected by NTU committee.
Apple Daily
4-29-2018 head page, United Daily news 4-29-2018 :
Taipei mayor Ko : a dummy made
this policy to seriously harm university autonomy, former president Ma:
ridiculous ! is Taiwan a civilized and legal society ? president
Tsai : respect the educational gov. decision. Hong Kong City
University president: The gov. damaged university autonomy, is lower
than the warlord 100 yrs ago, and is not qualified to have international
recognition. Taiwan University : express regrets and strong
objections.
●
For recent years, Taiwan failed to solve
its educational problems which are numerous and
disorderly, even chaos (紛亂如麻),
such as
Taiwan University's world ranks were
falling down, the brain drain ( the outflow
of talent ), jobless college students, students graduated from
technical and vocational education systems can not meet society demands,
politics impeding lectures, learning activities,
and textbook contents. / UDN opinion, 12-9-2017.
●
Too many fake scholar papers produced.
Lousy conducts and bad ethics in Taiwan's academic circle
happened again and again, but never be handled
seriously,
some careless-done fake scholarly papers are either ignorant or extremely
audacious, some are even fraud-crimes. Only legal punishments can stop
all these, Taiwan government should take
hard line now.
○
●
The China Times 2-8-2018: UK's
Times Higher Education showed
Taiwan's National Taiwan University fell back 2 positions (24th in 2017,
26th now) in Asia's ranking list.
Singapore's
national univ.
and China's Tsing Hua
U., Beijing Univ are top 3.
●
The United Daily 10-17-2017 : Taiwan
University's world ranks were falling down year by year.
National Taiwan University's world ranks in
recent yrs.
ranking sys
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
National Chiao Tung University (交通大學) in Shanghai China
173
163
154
141
125
121
QS
76
68
70
76
82
80
TIMES Higher Education
198
195
167
155
142
134
○
●
Apple Daily
10-17-2017: Taiwan University retreated 50 positions and lost a not-best-known
university 蘭州大學 (LanZhou univ.) of China in <Nature Index 2017 Tables>. The annual budges
of NTU and LU (蘭大) are about the same.
Nature Index 2017
Tables
ranks
country
university
1
USA
Harvard
2
USA
Stanford
3(+1)
USA
MIT
9(+2)
CHN
Beijing University
86(+20)
CHN
LanZhou univ.
(蘭州大學)
148(-50)
Taiwan
National Taiwan University
199(-35)
Taiwan
National Tsing Hua University Taiwan
280(+37)
Taiwan
National Chiao Tung University
431(+24)
Taiwan
National Cheng Kung University
438(n/a)
Taiwan
National Central University
448(+35)
Taiwan
National
Taiwan Normal University, Taipei
○
○
Academic circle lacks ethics / UDN 1-11-2017
http://udn.com/news/story/7338/2222591
Accomplice structure to fake scholarly papers
/ China Times 11-19-2016 http://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20161119000399-260109
NTU should not be too snobby / The Liberty Times
11-25-2016 http://talk.ltn.com.tw/article/paper/1055359
Scholar : Only heavy punishment stops fake papers / UDN
11-19-2016 https://udn.com/news/story/10586/2115844
Strange phenomenon
in academic circle /11-19-2016 UDN https://udn.com/news/story/10586/2115842
Faking papers is a long-time
malpractice / UDN 11-21-2016
https://udn.com/news/story/6885/2118616
○
●
The China Times, 7-20-2017: Lousy students with totally 38
score in entrance examination are good enough to be freshmen of Taiwan's
university, it's an international joke !
●
Forbes 4-23-2017, "Taiwan's Once Mighty High-Tech Sector
Is Falling Behind Because Of Low Pay" : Pay for university professors is
too low to attract world-class people from overseas to teach. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2017/04/23/taiwans-once-mighty-high-tech-sector-is-falling-behind-because-of-low-pay/#204190537b43/Asia
/#BigBusiness
○
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech)
5
501–600
China Medical University, Taiwan
○
○
● http://www.webometrics.info/en/Asia/TAIWAN
July 2017 Edition: 2017.2.1
Taiwan rank
world rank
Taiwan's
university
impact rank
openness
excellence rank
1
86
National Taiwan University
113
175
118
2
253
National Chiao Tung University
184
359
383
3
264
National Cheng Kung University
262
534
319
4
294
National Tsing Hua University Taiwan
264
532
359
5
432
National Central University
575
340
508
○
○ ● Taiwan's universities
were not included in the following ranking lists, those universities in
China, Japan, S. Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore were included.
World University Rankings 2018
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QS_World_University_Rankings
QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of
university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS)
QS University Rankings: Asia — Top 10
2009-2016
1
SingaporeNational University of Singapore
2
Hong KongThe University of Hong Kong
3
SingaporeNanyang Technological University
4
Hong KongThe Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
5
ChinaTsinghua University
6
South Korea Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
7
Hong KongThe City University of Hong Kong
8
Hong KongThe Chinese University of Hong Kong
9
ChinaPeking University
10
South KoreaSeoul National University
QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2018 — Top 10
2016-2018
United States
Stanford University
United States
University of California, Los Angeles
United States
Harvard University
Australia
The University of Sydney
United States
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
United Kingdom
University of Cambridge
Australia
University of Melbourne
United Kingdom
University of Oxford
United States
University of California, Berkeley
China
Tsinghua University
●
●
Taiwan
Taiwan's medical services
○
●
New York Post
4-25-2020 : Taiwan deals with CovID-19 with "a
lot more authoritarian.", "almost everyone is tracked.".
Taiwanese govt.
responded at 4-28-2020 that Taiwanese would like to cooperate with our
policy. But the
truth is Taiwan's "Big Brother" already sneaked into numerous families in
the name of
Epidemic
Prevention,
by
an
introduction of Taiwan
Wa
PS: Apple Daily News, opinion, 3-22-2018: according to latest survey by
<台灣民意基金會>, 38.3% Taiwanese people are for Taiwan independence, 20.1% for
unification with mainland China, 24.1% for current status, 75% regard
themselves as Taiwanese, 9.7% Chinese, 10.4% both. As for China's
latest policy - 31 items to benefit Taiwanese ("惠(對)台31項措施"),
41.9% think it as a trick for unification, 30.1% China's nice move.