Chiang Kai-shek humor
The more China suppresses democracy in Hong Kong, the further Taiwan will distance itself from Beijing.” (“HK experience a warning for Taiwan,” Sept. 4, page 8).
One can only hope that the citizens of the de facto country called Taiwan will do so.
One small area in which Taiwanese can further distance themselves from utterly undemocratic China is in the tolerance of political humor and satire.
A trend has recently emerged in which statues of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) are artistically or otherwise enhanced (“High-school graduates protest removal of decorations from Chiang Kai-shek statue,” June 24, page 3; “Chiang Kai-shek statues in Keelung park vandalized,” Aug. 29, page 3).
There are two points for discussion.
First, for a German, it is quite perplexing to see statues of a former dictator sprinkled around an entire country. It is simply unimaginable for even one statue of Adolf Hitler to remain anywhere in a public space in Germany — it would be a national scandal. Chiang was not quite as bad as Hitler, but he still was a dictator with blood on his hands, and to rank dictators according to badness would be a strange exercise anyway. Therefore, the wholesale removal of his statues from public places would seem appropriate.
Second, if the statues remain for some reason, then officials should perhaps be more tolerant if these statues become the subject of angry or even humorous decorations.
After all, a democracy is not just about the right to vote — people have the right to vote in China, Russia and even Zimbabwe.
A true democracy has several other essential features.
It not only enforces majority rule, but also lets minorities participate in the decisionmaking process (“Indigenous matters,” July 30, page 12). It has a truly independent police and court system (“Judiciary still needs a cleaning up,” Oct. 19, 2013, page 8) that respects and enforces non-negotiable human rights, such as the right to life (“Executions not the answer,” May 25, page 8), the right to assemble (“Forum organizer for Sunflower movement indicted,” Sept. 4, page 3), and the right to freedom of expression (“Repressing dissent kills democracy,” July 31, 2013, page 8). Also, it has a truly independent media, which is hardly true anywhere in the world anymore, not even on the Internet (“After 24 years of browsing, examining how the Web lost its way,” Aug. 29, page 9).
Therefore, in many democratic countries, public opinion and the media use facts and opinions, but also humor to criticize and ridicule those in power. So, if the government does not want to remove its dictatorial souvenirs, maybe there should be an amnesty for those who poke fun at them?
Now, how dare a foreigner tell Taiwanese what to do with statues? Accepting criticism in a dignified manner, even from foreigners, is one of the hallmarks of true democracy (“Racism is rife in Taiwan,” July 5, page 8), so there you go.
Bruno Walther
Taipei
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
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
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.