I have been amused by the recent debate concerning open letters in this newspaper aiming at a comparison between Quebec and Taiwan. Some people found similarities (Letters, Feb. 24 and March 25) while others only underlined differences (Letters, March 2, 18, 20 and 22).
Of course comparing separatist movements and history in this manner might not seem to be really useful in understanding both situations. A crucial point was missed by all of the writers: both conflicts employ nationalism as a key mobilizing force in the interactions between Taiwan/China and Quebec/Canada.
Nationalism acting as a mobilizing force mainly emerges from an exterior threat and is essentially a reactive phenomenon. Hence the evolution of the national movements in Taiwan and Quebec depends directly on the distinctive political circumstances in China and Canada.
The main factor shaping political evolution in China and Canada in regard to their secessionist situations also impacts on the nationalistic variations in Taiwan and Quebec. The more a nation or a nationalist group proceeds with independence actions, the more forcefully a country reacts. China and Canada obviously react differently to nationalistic threats, yet in some respects they act alike when it comes to the Taiwanese and Quebec national identity movements.
For example, since the last national election in Canada it has been a high priority for the federal government to provide the right tools for federalists in Quebec to oppose independence because Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government needs to please Quebec's residents before the next provincial election.
Canada's domestic situation strongly differs from that of China, but the Chinese Communist Party also needs to positively influence Taiwan's short-term public opinion. An important presidential election will occur in Taiwan in 2008 and, as with previous elections, there is a good chance that China's behavior toward Taiwan will significantly influence the results in 2008.
Many of the political fluctuations in Canada could be understood by studying the domestic political variations in Quebec. This could hold true for the China/Taiwan conflict as well. Largely due to the behavior of the Chinese and Canadian governments, the nationalistic movements in Quebec and Taiwan have blossomed in recent years.
It would be of great value to follow up the Chinese and the Canadian responses to the rising trend toward nationalism, so that we could precisely evaluate their impact on Quebec and Taiwan. By studying both cases in their last 20 years of evolution we could, for both Quebec and Taiwan, learn a lot from the other's national movements.
Charles Labrecque
Montreal, Canada
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