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5,000 years is enough

Your editorial was excellent as usual (Chen has a historic opportunity, Oct. 6, page 8). However, one aspect of Taiwan's relationship to China needs to be clarified.

Taiwan was conquered and occupied by force by the "Qing Dynasty," according to Chinese history. Japanese history and literature more accurately call this the "Qing nation."

The difference is Chinese as a whole were taught to think of "China" as a continuous empire, to be united by any means, as even now touted by China and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) alike. This thinking benefits the rulers, but is detrimental to the people.

As a matter of fact, the "Qing nation" was not a typical Chinese empire of the Han race. Even Chinese history says "China" was conquered by a barbaric outside race. Therefore, Taiwan is no more "Chinese territory" than other regions conquered by the "Qing nation," such as Korea, Mongolia and indeed "China," as it was then occupied by ethnic Han people. The truth is, Han China never occupied Taiwan. Therefore, the world can no more claim Taiwan to be part of China than Korea or Mongolia or many southeast Asian territories.

After Sun Yat-sen's (孫中山)Chinese revolution, the Qing nation was destroyed. "China" had a window of opportunity to modernize and to civilize. But alas, with this great Chinese empire mentality and thinking that guns [now missiles] can get whatever the rulers want, war after war was waged by warlords like Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Mao Zedong (毛澤東), both with the ambition to "unify" China. And the Chinese people endured a century and more of misery.

The KMT fell because its own failed imperial ambition to "unify" China was the main reason China remained backward and poor, and it became a fertile ground to breed communism. The truth is China will never be great until its ruler begins to respect every Chinese and their rights and wishes. Most of these wishes will be benign and peaceful if they have been taught the truth and learned to tell right from wrong.

For that matter, all Chinese should respect Taiwanese too, and respect their rights and differences, as well as our shared wishes of peace and prosperity. Wielding guns, missiles and crooked ideology can only cause more resentment and stronger resistance from Taiwan.

Taiwanese will get over another hurdle and become more democratic and secure by discarding this 5,000-year-old monster dragon of imperialism. The December legislative elections, if Taiwanese can be educated and taught the truth, will put this crooked ideology of "unification" back into its cage of 12 percent representation of Mainlander population, excluding the small percentage of Mainlanders who identify with Taiwan.

Chen Ming-chung
Chicago, Illinois
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