20 April 2023
Context Is Open to Interpretation, Too
Taiwan is no longer ‘The Orphan of Asia’ as depicted in a 1983 mandarin Chinese pop song that gave expression to the Taiwanese’ feelings of betrayal and abandonment, after the US ‘recognize[d] the Government of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] as the sole legal Government of China’ in 1979 and withdrew its troops from the island. Today Taiwan is one of the most discussed geopolitical hotspots. In this contribution, I aim to take the discussion of Taiwan’s legal status forward in response to Wu and Lin’s outright rejection of the Resolution’s bearing on the Taiwan question, by drawing attention to the complexity of the context in which the Resolution was adopted. Continue reading >>
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14 April 2023
Taiwan and the Myth of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758
At the United Nations (UN) press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on 27 March 2023, critical and long-overdue questions resurfaced. With the Secretary General portrayed as a champion for democratic values, why has the UN shut the door on Taiwan, the most democratic country in Asia? Why are citizens of Taiwan not even allowed to enter the premises of the United Nations? Questions as such touch upon the scope and application of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, and the implications of China’s persistent strategy to inflate and distort it. Continue reading >>
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03 Dezember 2022
A Constitution’s Hollow Promise
On 26 November 2022, the Taiwanese people had their authentic constitutional voice heard for the first time in history by casting votes in a referendum on a constitutional amendment that would lower the age of voting from 20 to 18, and that of candidacy from 23 to 18 except as otherwise provided by the Constitution or legislation. Given that Taiwan’s current Constitution was adopted by a Constituent National Assembly in China in 1946 when Japan still held sovereignty over Taiwan de jure and all the previous constitutional amendments were adopted without receiving direct approval from the Taiwanese people, the holding of referendum itself is historic. Yet, this latest round of constitutional reform on Taiwan’s road towards an ever more democratic politics ends up as a damp squib. Continue reading >>
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18 Oktober 2022
Is Taiwan a State?
Taiwan just celebrated its national day on 10 October 2022. In her speech, President Tsai Ing-wen traced the Republic of China’s resettling in Taiwan in 1949, to its democratization in the 1980s and 1990s, the latter of which transformed it into the Republic of China (Taiwan). Tsai also cautioned the People’s Republic of Chinas (the PRC) “attempts to erase the sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan) have threatened the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region.” In contrast, in its “White Paper on Taiwan Question and the Unification of China in a New Era,” the PRC reiterated its longstanding position that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and cited United Nations (UN) Resolution 2758 to advance its so-called “One China Principle” internationally. Continue reading >>
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21 April 2021
Legislative/Judicial Deference versus NGOs/Citizens Activism: Taiwan’s Successful Fight Against Covid-19
Except for a minor hospital cluster infection in late January 2021, there has been no sign of community spreading. Compared to what has been going on globally with three million death, Taiwan’s control of Covid-19 pandemic is a miraculous success, particularly given its barred access to the World Health Organization and its geographic proximity and economic close ties with China. Notably, this success has been achieved without issuance of any emergency order for lockdowns, shelter in place, business closure, or school suspension. People’s daily lives have been kept without substantial interruption. Because of this, Taiwan’s legal and regulatory responses with the Covid-19 pandemic was praised as the least restrictive in the world. Continue reading >>
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22 April 2020
Taiwan’s Proactive Prevention of COVID-19 under Constitutionalism
On December 31, 2019, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) sent the above message via email to the International Health Regulations (IHR) focal point under the World Health Organization (WHO). In the meantime, Taiwan also initiated COVID-19 epidemic prevention measures. This article endeavors to explain Taiwan’s emergency command and response system, to summarize Taiwan’s current regulatory actions against the epidemic outbreak, and to provide a few remarks on the emergency measures undertaken from the perspective of constitutionalism. Continue reading >>
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21 März 2020