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`Relatives' across the Strait must be watched

In about 1,000BC, the people of Polynesia began to reside in New Zealand. These Polynesians were the ancestors of the Maori people today. A small number of these Polynesians crossed the sea by chance and relocated to the Chatham islands in the Pacific Ocean, about 800km southeast of the New Zealand mainland. These people later called themselves the Morioris.

Because of the different climates and environments, the Maoris in the densely-populated North Island of New Zealand became fierce, warlike, well-organized and armed due to long-term competition and hardship. On the other hand, the Morioris lived a leisurely life in a noncompetitive, primitive and peaceful society thanks to the abundant resources on the Chatham islands.

Unfortunately, in October 1835, an Australian fishing boat discovered that the waters around the islands were excellent fishing grounds, and that those islands were full of sweet fruits. Those fishermen told the Maoris about this good news when they passed by the North Island. About 500 Maoris immediately sailed to the islands that November. Another 400 Maoris also arrived with weapons in December.

These invaders not only robbed the fishing grounds but also landed on the islands and occupied the Morioris' land. The number of the simple Morioris, around 2,000, would have been sufficient to resist the invasion of the 900-some Maoris. However, some of them advocated a peaceful solution while others acted in a cowardly manner and tried compromise with the invaders.

Never had they thought that these "relatives" from a faraway land would slaughter everyone they saw right after they landed. The bare-handed Morioris of all ages and both sexes were almost completely extinguished in the slaughter. A few survivors who hid in caves later accused the Maoris of lacking humanity. After 168 years, the small number of the Morioris left are still treated as slaves, or even banished to remote mountains.

This is a true story clearly stated in Jared Diamond's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies. I was in a heavy mood and wanted to cry after reading this book. Didn't the ancestors of Taiwanese and the island's former rulers from Japan also treat Taiwan's indigenous peoples in this way? They used much more "civilized" and "smarter" guns and poison gas to conquer Taiwan's Aborigines, and would not quit even after the Aborigines were forced to move into the mountains.

On the other hand, I wanted to scold and shout as I saw Chinese health authorities proclaiming at a World Health Organization meeting in Geneva last month that Beijing was taking good care of the health of Taiwanese. They are vicious liars in light of their outrageous attitude toward Taiwan's representatives at the meeting. Recently, they sought to downgrade Taiwan's status at the WTO and sent out submarines on spy missions. Beijing once conducted several missile tests over the Taiwan Strait in 1996 and has constantly tried to isolate the nation in the international community. What kind of "relatives" are the Chinese? Are they any different from the Maoris?

In the 21st century, we expect people to respect one another. They should choose their own countries through referendums under the principles of democracy and freedom. Only the Taiwanese themselves can take control of their society and fate. I hope that we can all learn something from history.

Peter Huang is the chairman of the Eastern Taiwan Society.

TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
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