China’s internet censors have taken the unusual step of scrubbing an editorial from one of its own official newspapers after the piece prompted outrage online for suggesting Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was prone to “emotional” and “extreme” political views because she is unmarried and without children. In a 2012 Facebook post, Tsai noted that her singledom prevents her from “fighting a double war” between her work in politics and household duties.
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The piece, written by Wang Weixing, a member of the Association of Relations across the Taiwan Straits, was published on Monday in the International Herald Leader, a paper under Beijing’s mouthpiece, Xinhua news agency.
In response, the MAC pointed out that in President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) inaugural speech she stated her administration’s commitment to strengthening regional peace and stability and emphasized the importance of fostering closer economic links with other Asian countries.
Taiwan’s new government has no schedule for re-starting trade talks with China, Economics Minister Lee Chih-kung said yesterday, adding that the pro-independence ruling party first wanted to pass a law governing oversight of all negotiations with Beijing. But Beijing has always seen the island as a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
“Establishing a memorial on Netaji will deepen people to people relationship between India and Taiwan because millions of Netaji’s admirers still draw inspiration from him”, he said.
But Ma warned that only affirmation of the political foundation that embodies the one-China principle can ensure continued and institutionalized exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. But previous criticisms were not in such personal terms.
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This instance, in the larger picture exemplifies just another misguided trope that female politicians are subjected to the trope of women not being successful leaders owing to their perceived lack of reason.
