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
On Sept. 3 in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rolled out a parade of new weapons in PLA service that threaten Taiwan — some of that Taiwan is addressing with added and new military investments and some of which it cannot, having to rely on the initiative of allies like the United States. The CCP’s goal of replacing US leadership on the global stage was advanced by the military parade, but also by China hosting in Tianjin an August 31-Sept. 1 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which since 2001 has specialized
In an article published by the Harvard Kennedy School, renowned historian of modern China Rana Mitter used a structured question-and-answer format to deepen the understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and China. Mitter highlights the differences between the repressive and authoritarian People’s Republic of China and the vibrant democracy that exists in Taiwan, saying that Taiwan and China “have had an interconnected relationship that has been both close and contentious at times.” However, his description of the history — before and after 1945 — contains significant flaws. First, he writes that “Taiwan was always broadly regarded by the imperial dynasties of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stop at nothing to weaken Taiwan’s sovereignty, going as far as to create complete falsehoods. That the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never ruled Taiwan is an objective fact. To refute this, Beijing has tried to assert “jurisdiction” over Taiwan, pointing to its military exercises around the nation as “proof.” That is an outright lie: If the PRC had jurisdiction over Taiwan, it could simply have issued decrees. Instead, it needs to perform a show of force around the nation to demonstrate its fantasy. Its actions prove the exact opposite of its assertions. A
A large part of the discourse about Taiwan as a sovereign, independent nation has centered on conventions of international law and international agreements between outside powers — such as between the US, UK, Russia, the Republic of China (ROC) and Japan at the end of World War II, and between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since recognition of the PRC as the sole representative of China at the UN. Internationally, the narrative on the PRC and Taiwan has changed considerably since the days of the first term of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic
RSS