Hope for democracy
The downfall of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime to a moribund state could be explained by its persistent practice of an intolerant, one-party dictatorship, which is invariably associated with corruption and conflicts of interests — affecting Chinese while it was in China, and now the Taiwanese.
The rule of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), well-groomed by the KMT hierarchy, still shows characteristics of a quasi-dictatorship. It is in conflict with the interests of most Taiwanese. Thus, shoe-throwing protests by discontented individuals evolved into the well-organized Sunflower movement beginning in March last year, followed by the stunning defeat of the party in the nine-in-one elections eight months later.
Ma’s erroneous second term has been an easy target for the media, which reconfirmed his glaring incompetency, blatant abuse of the judicial system in silencing opponents, long-term abuse of embezzled public assets and unjustified political persecution of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Ma is no longer capable of leading the party, and the downfall of the KMT has continued unabated toward next month’s presidential and legislative elections.
Furthermore, the party’s China-centric mentality harms Taiwan and prevents it from formulating a coherent campaign platform that could challenge the presentation of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The hastily arranged meeting between Ma and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore on Nov. 7 only proved that the KMT is still conspiring with China, trying to reverse the course of democracy. Respect for equal rights and self determination for Taiwanese was not on the agenda. It could have been solved in a short time, since it is already printed in the UN Charter, which also prohibits the act of targeting Taiwan with more than 1,000 missiles.
Recent polls show that Tsai and her enthusiastic followers are leading in the race for the presidency by an unprecedented margin. They will most likely succeed and establish an advanced democracy. On that glorious day, the brave Taiwanese must pay homage to their immigrant and native forebears, who for 400 years struggled to live with human dignity in their homeland.
Taiwan’s democracy must be treasured and preserved by maintaining the peace across the Taiwan Strait. Moreover, Taiwan should get relief from the long-term Chinese military threat and international isolation — which is a vestige of the Chinese Civil War, in which Taiwanese were not involved — to remedy the currently imperfect democracy.
Facing the incessant Chinese threat, the majority of Taiwanese firmly believe that they should not take such abuse. They deserve equal human rights and the right to decide their own future, which is enjoyed by people of many free nations. Therefore they are now trying their best to remove the harmful democracy imposters created by the KMT.
Beijing does not need Taiwan to inflate China’s superpower status. Its goal could be easily achieved by directing its efforts to readjusting its economy, solving the problems of rampant corruption and the serious pollution of air, water and food.
Hopefully, in the near future, China will embrace the benefits of democracy, which was advocated by former Chinese premier Zhao Ziyang (趙紫陽) and innumerable students during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. China must also renounce the military threat against Taiwan and become a peacemaker instead of a troublemaker. Only then will it be able to extend genuine friendship across the Taiwan Strait.
Shane Yeun, Joseph Tiun, Timothy Ann and Todd Kue
Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania
ARATS-Hitler debate
China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) should know all about the woes caused by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
Hitler was elected by popular franchise, but later imposed a ruthless one-party dictatorship upon Germans; a system not all that dissimilar to the ruthless one-party dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party — which has over the decades murdered more people than Hitler and Josef Stalin combined.
When did Chen become an authority on democracy?
Gavan Duffy
Australia
End the sea of red
In the run-up to the general election, in almost every outdoor campaign gathering, a feature that ubiquitously stands out is an array of cheap, red plastic chairs. This scene is unique and reflects, to some extent, Taiwanese culture and taste.
Understandingly, red is a symbol of fortune. However, like many other things in Taiwan, the mere focus on fortune obscures values, harmony and aesthetics. In a gathering, the main theme is about people, not about the chairs, which blatantly steal the show.
The chair thing for Taiwanese outdoor activities might be trivial, but it is idiosyncratic. Perhaps Taiwanese consumers and chairmakers should take note of it.
Ji Charng Yang
Columbus, Ohio
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