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Taiwan is not an orphan nation in need of someone to adopt it. Taiwan is not a foundling nation wandering the streets of the world looking for a home. It is not even a poor waif of a nation unable to take care of itself in that same big, bad world. Finally, Taiwan is certainly not terra nullius, a nationless land that is open and waiting to be explored and possessed by those who dare. Taiwan is a mid-sized, democratic nation that by GDP, profitability, location and even microchip production punches far above its weight in its region and in international commerce.

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) sixth plenary session has ended and from all appearances, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has set the stage to rule for the rest of his life. Some might be tempted to declare that this calls for Xi to do a victory lap, but all is not well on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. To parody a line from Ya Got Trouble, a song from Broadway musical The Music Man: “There’s trouble in River City, (aka, Beijing). Trouble with a capital T, which rhymes with C for CCP.” Why? Taking control of a nation is always much

Anyone who has lived in Taiwan very long quickly sees that October is a month of posturing, irony and anomalies. This year’s October not only met that mark, but was rich in overtones and humor. Oct. 1 is the National Day of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), formally established in 1949, and so the month always begins with PRC posturing. This October, Chinese president Xi Jinping (習近平) reiterated China’s worn out claims on how it must reunite what really had never been united in the first place. As backstory, Xi’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in 1921, a

Anyone who has lived in Taiwan very long quickly sees that October is a month of posturing, irony and anomalies. This year’s October not only met that mark, but was rich in overtones and humor. Oct. 1 is the National Day of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), formally established in 1949, and so the month always begins with PRC posturing. This October, Chinese president Xi Jinping (習近平) reiterated China’s worn out claims on how it must reunite what really had never been united in the first place. As backstory, Xi’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in 1921, a

An old Latin adage reads: <i>Si vis pacem, para bellum</i>. Translated it means: “If you wish peace, then prepare for war.” This adage has many variants and claims to authorship, but what is most important is its message for a peaceful Taiwan. Why should Taiwan prepare for war? The reasons are many and obvious. Certainly, such preparation is not because Taiwan wants war or is a warlike nation. Instead, the answer is found in its neighbor, China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a one-party state, is ambitious and troubled — and that combination makes w...