As China increases the pressure on Taiwan, remarks by pan-green camp politicians regarding the need to develop friendlier relations with Beijing — such as being “pro-China,” “friendly with China,” “having peaceful relations with,” or “understanding” China — have sparked controversy not only among Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters, but also in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which used the remarks as an opportunity to mock its opponent.
It was indeed not the best time to offer an olive branch to Beijing. Nevertheless, it showed that Taiwan has no intention of antagonizing China as it moves toward becoming an independent and sovereign nation.
From calling Beijing a “fake government” and promoting anti-communism to leaning toward and fawning on China, and allowing the nation to become dependent on it — indeed cleaving onto China — the KMT’s approach to China has changed drastically over the years.
Its flip-flopping deserves more criticism than the remarks by DPP politicians, who need to remember the reasons they got elected.
From the time Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) made “retaking the mainland” a national goal to the time of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), who promoted a policy of “uniting China with the Three Principles of the People” and, more recently, the compromise approach of “one China, with each side having its own interpretation of what that means” — which does not allow Taiwan to have a different interpretation — it is clear that today’s KMT only wants to rule Taiwan as a representative of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The KMT is the source of most of the problems between Taiwan and China; and the China factor is the reason Taiwan has not become a normalized nation.
The PRC should know that the reason the Republic of China (ROC) has remained a government in exile since it moved to Taiwan in 1949 is its connection with China. If China allowed Taiwan to become an independent nation, the PRC would also be an intact nation.
A small nation, an independent Taiwan would be similar to Japan or South Korea — in that they all use Chinese characters — existing on China’s periphery.
After cutting the umbilical cord with China, elements of Chinese culture would continue to live on in Taiwan as part of the diverse culture that makes up the nation.
The KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were previously locked in a battle for control of China, which resulted in the loss of countless lives. A feeling of animosity and hatred toward the communists led to the KMT engaging in a zero-sum game over who represented China: Taipei or Beijing, encapsulated by Chiang Kai-shek’s slogan that “gentlemen will not stand together with thieves.”
The KMT-CCP tussle over China continues to this day and is slowly squeezing Taiwan to death. If it continues, feelings of animosity toward China will likely increase and Taiwan’s move away from welcoming “the motherland” toward the pursuit of independence will become an inevitability.
“Liberating Taiwan” should mean allowing it to develop into a nation that maintains friendly relations with China, rather than forcibly annexing the nation under the framework of the ROC.
Only a China that behaves in a civilized manner can gain the respect and esteem of Taiwanese.
If the pan-green camp politicians’ overtures to Beijing are not reciprocated, China’s evil intentions will be clearly exposed to Taiwanese.
Taiwanese politicians understand China. Although uncivilized, China is an extremely powerful nation that has suffered the ignominy of falling from a position of power and prosperity into a position of humiliating weakness.
How was the CCP able to topple the KMT in China and establish the PRC? Those still trapped in the old ROC mindset will struggle to come up with an answer.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Ann Tu and Edward Jones
In the first year of his second term, US President Donald Trump continued to shake the foundations of the liberal international order to realize his “America first” policy. However, amid an atmosphere of uncertainty and unpredictability, the Trump administration brought some clarity to its policy toward Taiwan. As expected, bilateral trade emerged as a major priority for the new Trump administration. To secure a favorable trade deal with Taiwan, it adopted a two-pronged strategy: First, Trump accused Taiwan of “stealing” chip business from the US, indicating that if Taipei did not address Washington’s concerns in this strategic sector, it could revisit its Taiwan
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) challenges and ignores the international rules-based order by violating Taiwanese airspace using a high-flying drone: This incident is a multi-layered challenge, including a lawfare challenge against the First Island Chain, the US, and the world. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) defines lawfare as “controlling the enemy through the law or using the law to constrain the enemy.” Chen Yu-cheng (陳育正), an associate professor at the Graduate Institute of China Military Affairs Studies, at Taiwan’s Fu Hsing Kang College (National Defense University), argues the PLA uses lawfare to create a precedent and a new de facto legal
Chile has elected a new government that has the opportunity to take a fresh look at some key aspects of foreign economic policy, mainly a greater focus on Asia, including Taiwan. Still, in the great scheme of things, Chile is a small nation in Latin America, compared with giants such as Brazil and Mexico, or other major markets such as Colombia and Argentina. So why should Taiwan pay much attention to the new administration? Because the victory of Chilean president-elect Jose Antonio Kast, a right-of-center politician, can be seen as confirming that the continent is undergoing one of its periodic political shifts,
Taiwan’s long-term care system has fallen into a structural paradox. Staffing shortages have led to a situation in which almost 20 percent of the about 110,000 beds in the care system are vacant, but new patient admissions remain closed. Although the government’s “Long-term Care 3.0” program has increased subsidies and sought to integrate medical and elderly care systems, strict staff-to-patient ratios, a narrow labor pipeline and rising inflation-driven costs have left many small to medium-sized care centers struggling. With nearly 20,000 beds forced to remain empty as a consequence, the issue is not isolated management failures, but a far more
RSS