President Chen Shui-bian (
For the sake of the dignity of the Taiwanese people, Chen refused this humiliating arrangement and instead took the westward route to the South American nation. He also decided not to transit through the US on his way home.
It's rough for Taiwan to follow it's own road, but as an independent state whose national sovereignty has often been oppressed, this is the path that we have to take sooner or later and -- the sooner the better.
Of course, the US humiliation of Chen was a result of Chinese pressure and a desire by the US to teach Taiwan a lesson. China has repeatedly attempted to besiege, oppress and isolate Taiwan with the ultimate goal of annexing it.
China has had conflicts not only with Taiwan, but with almost all of its regional neighbors. Today, with the help of Taiwanese businesspeople who do not have their country's best interests at heart, China's economic strength is on the rise and breaking through the US' "island chain" in the western Pacific Ocean has become Beijing's ultimate goal. Due to its geographic position, Taiwan has become China's first target.
When the Soviet Union was still strong, then-US president Ronald Reagan publicly fought against it, calling it an "evil empire." Reagan stood by his democratic principles and opposed appeasement of the communists, bravely confronting the Soviet Union even though the arms competition was a heavy burden on the US Treasury.
Thanks to Reagan's steady leadership, the Soviet Union finally collapsed. And the US is now the world's only superpower mainly thanks to Reagan's stewardship.
Today, China has replaced the Soviet Union to become another evil empire. Its vicious methods are even worse than those of its predecessor. Communist China ignores universal values such as human rights, the rule of law, democracy and freedom.
It follows the traditional demagogic path of oriental empires. Domestically, it is implementing autocratic and dictatorial rule over unarmed civilians. Externally, it is striving to expand its territory to gain world hegemony. Due to its brutal and warlike nature, communist China has become a new source of chaos. Unfortunately, none of today's democratic leaders dare to follow Reagan's example and treat it as an evil empire.
US President George W. Bush's government has been playing along with China in order to gain minor benefits. It has treated democratic Taiwan as a servant who is always at its beck and call.
The Bush administration cannot compare to the Reagan administration. Is the Statue of Liberty standing in New York Harbor simply a decoration?
Kuo Cheng-deng is the director of the Graduate Institute of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at National Yang-Ming University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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