The “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia quickly spread to Algeria, Mauritania, Egypt and Libya, as well as Bahrain, Iran and Yemen. Despite crackdowns by police and military using tanks and fighter jets, democratic awareness among the Arabic peoples has surged as they continue to fight a long-term battle.
The Jasmine Revolution has brought the democratic civic awareness of the Arab world more in line with the international trend toward democracy.
Chinese Internet users have also tried to launch a Jasmine Revolution in 13 cities across China. Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) responded by ordering a tightening of Internet censorship and surveillance. The Chinese government also put hundreds of protesters under house arrest.
Taiwan deepened its democracy, freedom, human rights and economic development to create a democratic miracle under former presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Products made in Taiwan achieved a better reputation internationally.
However, ever since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) came to power in 2008, his government has acted irresponsibly despite the fact that his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) holds a great legislative majority. Prices have skyrocketed, putting pressure on the public, while the unemployment rate has seen a sharp increase. With a government that only cares about big conglomerates, Taiwanese live in hardship with no hope in sight, and the lower class passes their poverty on to the next generation.
The government has also weakened our national defense, as key government officials ally themselves with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against Taiwan. It has also belittled the nation’s sovereignty. For example, Taiwan’s delegation to the Tokyo International Film Festival last year was bullied by the Chinese delegation, and taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君) was controversially disqualified during the Asian Games in China. More recently, the Philippines deported 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China on Feb. 2, while Ma has had nothing of merit to say.
Meanwhile, the government has interfered with the judiciary, and used political oppression against those with dissenting views. It has replaced Taiwanese history, geography and culture with Chinese in school textbooks, and tried to eliminate the languages of ethnic minorities. It has attempted to perpetuate its rule using vote-buying, gangsters, violence and even bullets. It has encouraged Chinese students to study in Taiwan, thus threatening to limit Taiwanese students’ educational and job opportunities.
The government has allowed politicians and big business to abuse residents in Dapu Borough (大埔) of Jhunan Township (竹南) in Miaoli County, and those who live on the land wanted for the Central Taiwan Science Park expansion project.
The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement will only bring disaster to this nation and her people, while further broadening the wealth gap. What is worse is that the government has allowed Chinese colonial rule in Taiwan, as low-level Chinese officials frequently visit for “inspection tours.”
The government has shaken the foundations of democratic Taiwan, bringing it to a dead-end in which the lower class is forced to pass poverty from generation to generation.
Taiwan’s situation today is not much better than that of the Arabic countries in the throes of the Jasmine Revolution. We must use our votes to oust Ma to save Taiwan and rebuild the country, perhaps through a “lily revolution.”
Chang Yeh-shen is vice chairman of the Northern Taiwan Society.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) recent visit to Beijing and her upcoming visit to Washington will serve as a high-level test of her diplomatic mettle. In Beijing, Cheng was received with symbolic gestures, a warm reception, and high-level access. In Washington, she will receive far less pomp and far sharper questions about the KMT’s vision for the future of Taiwan. Her challenge will be to persuade Washington that the KMT’s engagement with China can coexist with strong deterrence. Cheng’s April 7-12 visit to mainland China coincided with an intense period of conflict in Iran. Despite the strategic significance of Cheng’s trip,
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent the vast Asian chemicals industry into a tailspin. Deprived of the likes of Qatari natural gas and Saudi Arabian oil, the region’s fertilizer and plastics plants are slowing production or even shutting down. Everywhere except China, that is. In petrochemicals, China is unique. As well as a traditional industry that uses oil and gas as feedstock, it has parallel output that relies on its abundant domestic coal. Unsurprisingly, India and other regional powers want to copy and paste the Chinese method. This would not be easy — or climate friendly. The
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says he knows how to fix the problems facing Indonesia. Yet his economic mismanagement and authoritarian tendencies are steering the nation toward a familiar mix of currency instability and political chaos. The world’s fourth-most populous nation risks reversing the hard-won democratic and business reforms that came after the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. At that time, the rupiah collapsed and the political upheaval that followed forced former president Haji Mohamed Suharto from power. Prabowo’s administration is ignoring similar warning signs. That disconnect was apparent in a national address on Wednesday, when Prabowo projected the swagger that has
“Of course you can choose not to be Taiwanese, just do not stay here,” chairwoman of Taipei 101 operator Taipei Financial Center Corp Janet Chia (賈永婕) said in an online interview with local entertainer Tai Chih-yuan (邰智源), triggering intense discussion on social media, with politicians across party lines weighing in. In the interview, which was aired on May 14, Chia and Tai’s discussion over a meal in Taipei 101 covered Chia’s career change from entertainer to chairwoman and US climber Alex Honnold’s free solo climb up the Taipei 101 building. During the interview, Chia said, “Being on this land, we
RSS