Tainan Mayor William Lai’s (賴清德) declaration of support for Taiwanese independence during a question-and-answer session at the Tainan City Council last month was an expression of his opinion and a matter of freedom of speech.
There was nothing special about Lai’s monologue, as he merely reiterated the position stated in the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) 1999 Resolution on Taiwan’s Future, which declares that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state, whose name is the Republic of China (ROC), and that the nation’s future should be decided by Taiwanese. It emphasizes that the cross-strait problem must be resolved based on this fact.
Given the proximity to next year’s elections, it is only natural that Lai’s declaration has attracted so much attention. As expected, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) criticized the statement using the same tired cliches. However, in Taiwan such statements are common fare, because independence is a fact and Internet users are simply questioning his motives for raising the issue at this time.
Lai is probably the only person who knows the answer to that question. However, this is a public issue and in a diverse democratic society, there is nothing to stop interpretation, discussion and criticism. Some would perhaps say that he harbors ulterior motives and is intending to fight for power inside the DPP. This, of course, is one possibility.
Indeed, the dengue fever epidemic in Tainan is worrying, while Tainan City Council Speaker Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) remains at large as he enjoys the protection of his position. These are pressing issues, but that does not necessarily mean that they are the reasons Lai mentioned independence in an attempt to shift focus away from his problems. After all, these issues are all part of administrating a city, but they do not rise to the level of national politics.
Is Lai’s independence statement a fabrication or even a contradiction to DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) proposal of maintaining the “status quo?” Perhaps not.
The presidential and legislative campaign game that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is playing is unbearable to watch. Organizations of Taiwanese businesspeople investing in China — such as the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland and the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce — have established support groups for KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱). They call for unification at campaign rallies and one supporter even shouted: “Knock over [Legislative Speaker] Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).”
The scenes at the rallies have been beyond comprehension. The supporters seem to have forgotten that they will still have the ROC even if the KMT goes away and that they will still have Taiwan even if the ROC goes away. However, if Taiwan is unified with China, can they still call themselves “Taiwanese” businesspeople?
Moreover, the results of an opinion poll on the unification-independence issue conducted by TVBS in October 2013 showed that 64 percent of respondents supported maintaining the “status quo,” while 24 percent supported independence and 7 percent supported unification. When only given a single option for cross-strait relations, 71 percent supported independence, a new high, while 18 percent said they supported unification.
Put simply, maintaining the “status quo” was the “greatest common denominator,” while independence was the preferred option.
Looking at the ups and downs in the support of unification and independence as reflected in opinion polls over the past few years, it is not difficult to see that support for independence and Taiwanese awareness are becoming stronger.
For example, the results of a poll conducted by Taiwan Indicators Survey Research in February showed that 67.7 percent of respondents were opposed to unification, that 51.3 percent said Taiwan should become an independent nation and that 50.9 percent said the “status quo” referred to “one China, one Taiwan.”
In addition, 57.7 percent of pan-blue camp supporters were opposed to eventual unification. A cross analysis showed that the younger generation was more strongly opposed to unification — 84 percent of those in their 20s said they were against it.
The results of a poll conducted by Taiwan Brain Trust in July showed that in terms of the public’s stance on unification or independence, 76 percent of respondents said Taiwan is a de facto independent and sovereign state, the highest number in the past 20 months. The results showed that 69.5 percent of respondents said Taiwan should become an independent nation, while 13.7 percent said it should be unified with China.
It is still not possible to say whether Lai proposed the independence claim to follow up on the US’ and Japan’s recent recognition of Tsai’s proposal of “maintaining the status quo” and launch a two-pronged attack on Hung’s view that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait make up one China.”
Still, his statement has served as an effective reminder.
Tung Sen-lin is a former representative of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Translated by Eddy Chang
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