The brightest light is shared
The problem for President Chen Shui-bian (
Now Chen and Lee have become intelligent in a social way, admirable in commanding universal respect, and wealthy in a non-monetary sense. They share an ability to give to others in unequal shares that which was not accorded them, but through diligence and luck became available for them to distribute. And they did give, giving power to the people of Taiwan. They did not covet it for themselves, as the KMT would like to do and the CCP has done.
This is the issue that keeps the CCP (there is no government in China other than the CCP) from embracing Chen today. It cannot love a man who loves his people in such a way as to empower them. If the CCP were to in any fashion accept Chen, it would be the end of their tyranny. That which Lee and Chen have given to Taiwan is the brightest light.
The CCP and even the KMT are beside themselves fuming. The KMT wants to hide the light, as if embarrassed. The CCP is more sinister, as it wants to snuff out the light and all who would wish to remember it.
This method of handling the birth of a true democratic culture is shameful. This is like watching the CCP with its finger jammed into a hole in a dam, and the KMT trying to collect all the feathers from a pillow that has been ripped open in a strong breeze. The changes that have occurred in Taiwan cannot be turned back. The US and the world must change their perceptions and actions to avoid disaster. There is no going back to the cage.
The US must stop playing the farmer with a basket who is trying to catch all the apples that would fall from a tree in a storm. Different mechanisms must be found or developed to safeguard the freedom of the Taiwanese.
My suggestions would be to start with documentaries released to public broadcasters worldwide, full-page ads proclaiming the plight of the Taiwanese in major newspapers around the globe, 30-second spots on US television, petitions with lots of signatures from Taiwanese inside and outside of Taiwan to the Taiwan Caucus in the US Congress, the UN, and other world organizations.
Get creative, Taiwan! You created an economic miracle. Now see how many times and ways you can bring the issue of Taiwan's sovereignty to the world's attention.
Bode Bliss
Cleveland, Ohio
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