Thu, Jun 21, 2007 page8

• Editorial: When being bad isn't bad

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  "We don't always have to be well-behaved. Sometimes we must be bad," National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) said in March when the US expressed opposition to President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) call for a new constitution.

  The US has faulted Taiwan's behavior again. One day after President Chen proposed that a referendum on the nation's bid to join the UN under the name "Taiwan" be held simultaneously with next year's presidential election, the US State Department said it was opposed to the proposal and urged the president to drop it.

  Back in March, Mark Chen also said: "We must sometimes say `no' to the United States."

  Indeed.

  Before anyone in the US State Department again points to Taiwan as being a "troublemaker," it's worth contemplating if being bad is really bad.

  If bad means Taiwan exercising its democratic rights and letting the voice of its people be heard, then, yes, let Taiwan be bad in the eyes of the US State Department.

  Taiwan is an independent state with its own government, a freely elected head of state and representatives, its own currency and national territory. It need not be told by the US -- nor anyone else for that matter -- what it can or cannot do. The Taiwanese government is answerable only to Taiwanese -- not the US, China or anybody else who does not have the right to vote in Taiwan.

  Taiwan has behaved like a good child for too long, dutifully fulfilling its role as a global citizen, carrying out humanitarian relief work, combating terrorism and cracking down on international money laundering despite the unjust treatment it receives from the international community.

  Enough is enough. Taiwan needs to step out and start making some noise to grab the world's attention. Doing so exercises the universal right to self-determination that is a hallmark of democracy.

  Silence is not golden in terms of Taiwan's plight. Just because a majority of the international community does not have the guts to stand up to China's despotism does not mean that Taiwan has to quietly accept this continuing injustice.

  What is there to fear in having the people of Taiwan raise their collective voice and make themselves heard?

  Former US congressman and recipient of the US' 1981 Presidential Medal of Freedom award Walter Judd once said: "People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote -- a very different thing."

  This is something that the US -- which has long trumpeted the message of democracy -- needs to think about.

  Taiwan values and appreciates the US' friendship. But at times, the US also has to know what being a friend means, and when to respect a friend's point of view.
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