A flag for true unity
The recent row over the ROC flag and what it represents comes amid growing calls by civic groups to rectify Taiwan's status, re-name government enterprises and emphasize the overall perception of Taiwan as a purely Taiwanese entity.
Flags, names and anthems are merely mediums through which the meaning of a nation is passed.
Much like a religious icon, a flag is merely a colorful banner, no different from a tablecloth or a rug, until it is imbued with deep meaning and symbolism by the people for which it flies as a binding symbol of unity based on shared values, ideals and a common experience.
The old KMT party flag and party song, much like 50 years of KMT domestic and foreign policy, represent the positive sentiments of only one group of people on a very colorful island.
It would be foolish of the pan-blue camp to suggest that these symbols represent modern Taiwan in any form.
On another front, internationally, the ROC flag is recognized as the symbol of a renegade province, a pariah state, a troublemaker and of the former government of China that lost a civil war, subjugated a people and turned its back on the UN with extravagant claims of being "free China" and the farcical "protector of 5,000 years of Chinese culture."
The people of Taiwan have a long tradition of casting their unlucky gods and idols into the river and starting anew. It is hoped that the people of Taiwan can cast away the old symbols of oppression and idols of the Chiang regimes that have silenced the voice of Taiwan to the world and confined this vibrant culture into the dark corner of a "one China" policy.
A referendum law, as discussed briefly by key DPP leaders several months ago, has the power to be the vehicle through which the people can express how they wish to be symbolized and by which name they would like to be addressed.
A referendum law may be viewed by many people as risky or irresponsible for the fact that it could force China's hand, an option the PRC is not ready to implement in order to contain what it terms "creeping independence," and thereby causing regional instability and chaos.
The fact is, nothing scares China and the pan-blue camp more than allowing the people of Taiwan to stand up.
The best defense against China's missile threat and an unequal political unification is a clear mandate from the people defining who and what they are and how they should be recognized and represented.
The people of Taiwan deserve to exercise their right to choose their symbols of representation.
I hope there will be a day when a symbol that is held dear by all Taiwanese can freely flutter above all of the island's public buildings, memorials and internationally sanctioned sporting events, in support of island-wide unity not merely unification.
A.D. Kerslake
Seattle, Washington
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