While Brian Shea's argument ("Taiwan can't be a model for China," June 1, Page 8) is reasonable, his conclusion is not convincing.
Shea contends that factors specific to Taiwan, such as its ethnic composition (politically powerful mainlanders and economically strong native Taiwanese), the US aid program and diplomatic setbacks in the 1970s helped push Taiwan toward democratization. It is true that Taiwan's domestic situation and international environment are not the same as those of China, but this is not reason enough to conclude that Taiwan cannot be a model for China.
First, Taiwan's democratization is a strong rebuttal of the argument that Confucianism is not conducive to democracy. After all, Taiwan is a Chinese society with strong Chinese culture and heritage. In this sense, the fact that Taiwan can democratize, demonstrates that other Chinese societies like Hong Kong, Singapore, and China can also.
Second, Shea mentions that Japan and Korea also democratized as a result of unique factors. But both Japan and Korea, like Taiwan, experienced strong US pressure, encouragement and support during democratization. They actually share this same "international factor." Saying that a country democratizes due to its uniqueness is like saying every country is just different. While true, this way of thinking is not very useful.
Finally, though I do not necessarily assume that China will follow Taiwan's steps and democratize after economic take-off and exposure to Western ideas, I do believe that Taiwan's peaceful transfer of power can serve as a model for China, as well as other authoritarian regimes. In fact, Taiwan's development experience is being seriously studied by China. For example, some methods used in Taiwan's local elections have been borrowed and adopted in the village elections in Chinese countryside.
Zhiqun Zhu
Columbia, South Carolina
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