As a critical event in this country's history, the 228 Incident of 1947 provides Taiwanese with an opportunity to reflect on both the violence and terror of that time and injustices that continue to this day.
The wholesale slaughter -- both arbitrary and strategic -- of tens of thousands of civilians and intellectuals by the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) armed forces ended an all-too-brief period in which Taiwanese freely believed that rule by "China" would be benevolent and enlightened.
The main causes of the 228 Incident were the government's corrupt and inept management, the looting of Taiwan's assets by the new administrators and the general oppression of Taiwanese people. A generation of Taiwanese came to distrust the KMT, cutting off politics from the people and elevating the most discreditable elements of society to positions of power.
Last year's 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally, which protested China's military posturing, was a milestone in Taiwan's political history. From one end of the island to the other, 2 million people formed a human chain in an affirmation of peace and democracy. The impact of the rally is thought to have tipped the presidential campaign in President Chen Shui-bian's (
Yesterday, in the face of continuing threats from Beijing, most recently manifested in its proposed "anti-secession law" (
The public is divided on the need for national independence, and therefore lacks a sense of crisis in the face of this anti-secession legislation. But the 228 Incident serves as a lesson of the bloody folly of assuming that outsiders know what is best for Taiwan.
For this reason, prior to the probable passage of the anti-secession legislation in March, the "oppose annexation, protect Taiwan" campaign is under way. This not only serves to remind Taiwanese of the consequences of the legislation, but also serves to warn China and announce to the international community that many Taiwanese do not intend to suffer unilateral determinations as to its fate.
The anti-secession legislation will more than likely be applied to Taiwanese nationals in China, and ordinary people and businesspeople may be victimized on the slightest pretext. Any statement and any action may be sufficient grounds for Taiwanese to be accused of fomenting secession.
In commemorating the 228 Incident this year, the Hand-in-Hand Taiwan Alliance's campaign represents the spirit of the new era. With the Lunar New Year direct charter flights and the bizarre 10-Point Agreement between Chen and People First Party Chairman James Soong (
The move to denounce the legislation and remind the public of China's ill will is therefore a welcome wake-up call at home, for China and for the international community.
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
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