Recently, “Taiwan” has become something of a catchphrase. Just when we thought all that talk about “loving Taiwan” that was popular during the terms of former presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had disappeared, it has become a new way of seeking redemption for one’s political sins.
Pan-blue parties, and even the Chinese Communist Party, are resorting to using it as a catchphrase more than the pan-green camp.
First, senior officials from President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) government, who have been failing terribly at everything lately, led by Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), have been falling over themselves to view Taiwanese director Chi Po-lin’s (齊柏林) documentary Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (看見台灣).
After seeing the documentary, they reportedly walked out of the cinema with tears in their eyes and it was even rumored that a special Cabinet meeting would be held in which the film would be the main discussion point.
Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏), who recently accused environmental groups and celebrity activists of being politically motivated, made a surprising move by saying that the agency is doing everything it can to save the environment.
One cannot help but wonder whether he has seen the destruction done to the beauty of nation’s east coast.
Of course, first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) and Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) were quick to join in and become promoters of environmental protection, boosting their political images in the process.
It is not only senior officials of local governments who are fond of watching the film. Senior Chinese officials have also said they want to listen to the different voices of Taiwan.
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) said that he has come to Taiwan to gain an understanding of what Taiwanese think.
Maybe there was something in the nation’s air that did not agree with him, because during his visit he yelled at a group of protesting students and asked them how many people they were actually capable of representing.
Of course, protesting students cannot represent the opinions of those who are treating people like Chen to dinner every night, including pan-blue politicians such as New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
It is remarkable that while Chen knows full well that he is wining and dining with legislators and others who wield executive power, he chooses to blame the failure of the cross-strait service trade agreement to pass in the legislature on protesting students.
I really do not see why Chen does not simply get his powerful friends to kick those who are against the agreement out of the legislature and then force a vote on the issue.
Do the government officials who have been in power for so long or those officials who view Taiwan as their “home away from home” really want to see the nation and hear what the Taiwanese have to say?
Is it really that difficult? Do they really have to see Taiwan from the skies above to see it clearly and be moved by it?
Surely, if these officials want to see the nation’s true life-force, all they have to do is turn on the television, flick through the papers, walk among the public and listen to what people are saying at protests.
Perhaps the hardest thing for politicians is to hear different voices and see different things.
However, apart from only agreeing with those who share their own viewpoints while ignoring those with diverging ideas, the current electoral system has also strengthened the warped view that the winner takes all. This has created a situation in which only winners have a voice.
However, a democracy monopolized by winners is not a true democracy and a Taiwan only made up of winners is not the whole Taiwan.
This is why civic movements develop rapidly once elections and democracy become more stable.
It is no longer enough to have the right to vote, and a counter reaction to the oppressive public opinion created by the electoral systems is now forming.
Just like Japanese, who have discovered that not all votes are created equal and are debating what to do about the fact that this has hurt the nation’s democracy and human rights, Taiwanese must realize that the only way to be seen and heard is by replacing “voters” with “citizens” and “civil society.”Hsu Yung-ming is an assistant professor of political science at Soochow University.
Translated by Drew Cameron
Two sets of economic data released last week by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) have drawn mixed reactions from the public: One on the nation’s economic performance in the first quarter of the year and the other on Taiwan’s household wealth distribution in 2021. GDP growth for the first quarter was faster than expected, at 6.51 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.93 percent and higher than the agency’s February estimate of 5.92 percent. It was also the highest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 8.07 percent, DGBAS data showed. The growth
In the intricate ballet of geopolitics, names signify more than mere identification: They embody history, culture and sovereignty. The recent decision by China to refer to Arunachal Pradesh as “Tsang Nan” or South Tibet, and to rename Tibet as “Xizang,” is a strategic move that extends beyond cartography into the realm of diplomatic signaling. This op-ed explores the implications of these actions and India’s potential response. Names are potent symbols in international relations, encapsulating the essence of a nation’s stance on territorial disputes. China’s choice to rename regions within Indian territory is not merely a linguistic exercise, but a symbolic assertion
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The international community, including Amnesty International, called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to prevent further loss of civilian lives and to ensure access to life-saving aid. Several protests have been organized around the world, including at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and many other universities in the US.
Every day since Oct. 7 last year, the world has watched an unprecedented wave of violence rain down on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories — more than 200 days of constant suffering and death in Gaza with just a seven-day pause. Many of us in the American expatriate community in Taiwan have been watching this tragedy unfold in horror. We know we are implicated with every US-made “dumb” bomb dropped on a civilian target and by the diplomatic cover our government gives to the Israeli government, which has only gotten more extreme with such impunity. Meantime, multicultural coalitions of US