At the founding of the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps last month, we used a slogan of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石): “We shall win against communism, we shall build the nation” (反共必勝,建國必勝).
This may seem out of pace with the times, but is just a bit of sarcasm aimed at the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Our anti-communism is different from the KMT’s autocratic anti-communism. It is the continuation of the democratic anti-communism proposed by the late activist Lei Chen (雷震), who fought against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) tyranny in the name of freedom, democracy and human rights. We are not following former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) “three noes” policy — no contact, no compromise and no negotiation — in dealing with the CCP. Instead, we try to find ways of fighting communism while maintaining contact with a rising China.
However, we must have an adequate understanding of the CCP to achieve our goal. According to an old saying, if you know both sides, you will win a hundred battles. We can’t deal blindly with the CCP and should therefore oppose extemporaneous contacts with China because not only do such contacts not promote anti-communism, they imply an acceptance of China’s united front tactics. A cold war with peaceful contacts is better than violent conflict. Fighting the CCP while maintaining contact implies fighting its united front tactics, which we must make efforts to understand.
So how do we fight the CCP while maintaining contact? One example is Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) recent trip to China. A Hong Kong-based reporter told me Chen left a good impression on Chinese intellectuals, as she spoke properly and politely and showed clarity of thought. Of course, not calling for Taiwanese independence could be regarded as one way of proper behavior. Nevertheless, she managed to preserve the current status of Taiwan’s sovereignty, completely outperforming her KMT counterparts.
The World Games in Kaohsiung were a great success and once again reflected the sovereignty of Taiwan. Not only did the Games display true Taiwanese values, they also won over World Games Association chairman Ron Froehlich. The most important goal of our anti-united front strategies are to win over middle-of-the road individuals confused by the CCP.
The CCP made concessions to Chen because her status was higher than that of the KMT chairman, and this is the result of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) self-deprecation. Of course, Chen and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should not be complacent, but should continue to raise the status of Taiwan — not their individual status or the status of the DPP. If we rush into contacts with China, Taiwan’s status is bound to be reduced. Instead, we should adopt a gradual approach. Be it in dialogue at a distance or in face-to-face meetings, we must manifest Taiwan’s sovereignty and the values of freedom, democracy and human rights.
As Chinese deceived by the CCP take a belligerent attitude toward Taiwanese independence, the promotion of self-determination to address freedom and human rights would facilitate winning the support of Chinese who also want democratic rights.
The DPP should work out a set of strategies to deal with China while it is still in opposition. Even if it makes mistakes, losses would be minimal. However, the DPP should respect different voices and not be so quick to accuse people of being traitors or spies, nor should it rely on past qualifications and refuse to hear other opinions. Our common goal is to safeguard Taiwan, so we should work together despite our different approaches and strategies lest the CCP or Ma sow discord and disunity.
Paul Lin is a political commentator.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
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