Print

Mail

wiki links

Letters:

Taiwan's Irish lesson

Those in Taiwan who believe that the only way to jump-start the economy is to cave in to China's demands had better read recent Irish history.

1922: Ireland finally achieves its political independence after eight centuries of struggle against Britain. But the Irish economy remains just an appen-dage of Britain's; 90 percent of its exports (mainly cheap agricultural products and even cheaper labor) go to Britain.

1939: to underscore its political independence from Britain, President Eamon De Valera decides that Ireland will not take part in World War II. Britain retaliates by slapping a total economic embargo on Ireland, whose effect is extremely harsh, but no one talks about reunification. Instead, the government embarks on an ambitious program of economic development through diversified industrialization and mechanization of the agricultural sector first, and, after the war through developing the tourist industry.

Then, in order to underscore Ireland's separate cultural identity from Britain, the Gaelic language is introduced in the schools. For a few years the Irish have to eat bitterness, but the above reforms start to bear fruit: in 1950 per capita GDP is 84 percent higher than in 1939.

Today Ireland is known as the Gaelic tiger, with an annual per capita income of US$17,000 (higher than Taiwan's), a relatively diversified economy, a highly efficient educational system, an extremely strong national identity and membership in the EU and the UN.

Moral: pusillanimous Tai-wanese politicians (especially those in the DPP) should find inspiration from Ireland's success story in the pursuit of their own cultural identity and economic development and learn from the Irish how to concentrate on their own country's strengths, instead of relying on the whims of a hostile and dictatorial neighbor! Even better, the Taiwanese should learn from the Irish how to take pride in their own country!

George Dukes

Dublin, Ireland

Travel document quagmire

Taiwan's crisis of identity, insofar as it affects travel documents, continues to be quite problematic and has become an escalating social problem for the country. This chaotic situation harms the Taiwanese traveller who is already helplessly overexposed to the lurking dangers of Taiwan's diplomatic insecurity.

Without any de jure standing under international law, Taiwan-ese nationals are wrongfully deprived of any official consular protection under the Vienna Conventions and other laws of nations affecting Taiwan's status.

Under "one China," just how long will it be before the PRC will start requiring its diplomatic partners to only recognize the "Taiwan Compatriot Travel Document?" Just like the Qing Dynasty, China's rulers continue to claim that all "Chinese" are the subjects of the Beijing emperors, and the diplomatic world willingly kowtows to this imperial edict of "one China."

Chinese-Americans continue to have problems in China despite their US citizenship, and Taiwan nationals are too often just treated as "stateless persons" of China whenever they're visiting countries which only recognize the PRC.

Too many other countries just do not officially recognize the ROC passport. How long will it be before some innocent traveller is wrongfully arrested for a crime of passport fraud for holding an ROC passport? The people unquestionably want a "Taiwan passport," but just exactly how they will get such a legal travel document clearly raises the "Taiwan question."

While Taiwan's pragmatism within the international arena is often admirable, foreign ministry officials appear increasingly powerless to cope with the mounting political challenges of multiple travel documents for Taiwan. Something concrete must be done on behalf of the Taiwanese before the global situation becomes politically irreversible, but given the current choices for Taiwan voters, just who is going to do it right?

Jeff Geer

Las Vegas, Nevada
This story has been viewed 2739 times.