In Taiwan, every movement that tries to instigate political or social reforms now is sure to identify itself as nonviolent, to the extent that the term has become something of a cliche. Nonetheless, nonviolence is indeed one school of thought among these movements, with academics and religious figures among its proponents.
Nobody likes violence, but some are doubtful about the practical applications of adherence to nonviolence in social reform movements. The doubters often ask how advocates of nonviolence would handle a situation in which a lunatic was running around the streets with a machine gun and shooting people on sight.
They also ask how they would respond if, instead of the lunatic, they were faced with a cruel and violent dictatorship that killed people at will.
Among all the radical social and political reforms that have changed the course of history, such as the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and the revolutions in China of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party, no matter whether they have led to weal or woe, none of them has succeeded by relying on nonviolence.
Moreover, those who attempted to bring about reforms through such movements often glorified the violence they employed by using such terms as “uprising,” “martyrdom” and “sacrifice.”
In this era, Taiwanese have woken up. Their demands for democracy on the home front and independence in the international arena have become increasingly vehement. When the UN was established after World War II, its membership consisted of 51 independent nations, but that number has since grown to 193.
Considered from the point of view of democracy and independence, how many of these countries gained their independence based on the principle of nonviolence?
China has deployed 1,500 missiles aimed at Taiwan and it has enacted its “Anti-Secession” Law as a pretext for using armed force. China has been rapidly expanding its already impressive military strength, and it has let it be known that it would not stop short of using military force to attack Taiwan. Can Taiwan respond to such threats by nonviolent means?
Taiwan’s democracy has been extolled as a “bloodless and peaceful revolution,” but that is a hugely inaccurate description.
The vast majority of people in Taiwan have been kept in the dark about how many enthusiastic upholders of democratic ideals were quietly oppressed, arrested, and even tortured and killed under the KMT dictatorship.
Taiwan’s democracy was founded on the blood of these countless and often nameless heroes.
Amid the current clashes between government authorities and popular movements in Taiwan, calls for “countering violence with violence” are starting to be heard on both sides of the political spectrum.
They are beginning to look like two trains speeding toward one another on a single track. Unfortunately, humans are living creatures and violence, be it for good or evil, is probably an irrepressible instinct of living things.
Peng Ming-min is a former presidential adviser.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with