Over the past few years, China has been pushing for exchanges between the education sectors on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Many Taiwanese school principals are eager to be given the Chinese government’s luxury treatment and are falling over each other to visit China, as if they were surrendering to Beijing.
I am a junior-high school principal, and I have led students in three different exchange trips to Japan. Although I had to pay for my own trips without receiving even a subsidy, I was still delighted by each trip, because these were all equal exchanges: We were treated with respect, it was all a matter of cultural education purely for the purpose of learning and there were no ulterior political motives or bad intentions.
China is throwing money not only at Taiwan’s education sector, but also at its arts groups, elected representatives, and borough and village wardens as well as temple operators and even organized crime. All kinds of pro-China organizations that promote unification are the targets of Beijing’s dollar diplomacy.
The phenomenon is partially the result of the Taiwanese’s greed for small gains.
However, there are also other aspects to this state of affairs that all Taiwanese should be aware of and that require in-depth discussion.
First, do other nations also enjoy the same kind of preferential treatment that China offers Taiwan? If they do not, then such exclusive treatment is abnormal and Taiwanese must all become aware of this.
Second, is China treating exchanges with Taiwanese as state-to-state exchanges or is it treating visiting groups as domestic in a bid to create the impression that Taiwan is a part of China?
Faced by such brainwashing, Taiwanese might become numb and gradually come to see the two sides as belonging to one country. Beijing is trying every means to achieve this goal, and Taiwanese must stop pretending that they do not understand this.
Third, China has zero tolerance to religion, and it is therefore beyond comprehension that it financially supports temples in Taiwan. It is precisely because religion is deeply rooted in people’s hearts that religious groups are able to so easily mobilize large crowds. Once they are entangled with money, temple operators receiving Chinese funds will naturally become followers of the Chinese Communist Party and serve as its mouthpieces against the Taiwanese government.
Fourth, China is violating human rights and shirking its responsibility to fight crime in collaboration with the rest of the world. It even colludes with organized crime in Taiwan by funding the operations of criminal organizations and attacks on pro-Taiwan groups to promote unification. This highlights China’s strategy of entering into alliances with the minor enemy against the major enemy.
The values of Taiwan’s cultural and educational sectors, politicians, temples and gangsters have all been different in the past, but tragically, they now all share common ground when it comes to the issue of receiving Chinese funds and preferential treatment.
Chen Chi-nung is principal of Shuili Junior High School in Nantou County.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 13, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that democracies must remain united and that “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism.” Earlier that day, Tsai had met with a group of Danish parliamentarians led by Danish Parliament Speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has visited Taiwan many times, most recently in November last year, when she met with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office. Kjaersgaard had told Lai: “I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
Many local news media over the past week have reported on Internet personality Holger Chen’s (陳之漢) first visit to China between Tuesday last week and yesterday, as remarks he made during a live stream have sparked wide discussions and strong criticism across the Taiwan Strait. Chen, better known as Kuan Chang (館長), is a former gang member turned fitness celebrity and businessman. He is known for his live streams, which are full of foul-mouthed and hypermasculine commentary. He had previously spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and criticized Taiwanese who “enjoy the freedom in Taiwan, but want China’s money”
A high-school student surnamed Yang (楊) gained admissions to several prestigious medical schools recently. However, when Yang shared his “learning portfolio” on social media, he was caught exaggerating and even falsifying content, and his admissions were revoked. Now he has to take the “advanced subjects test” scheduled for next month. With his outstanding performance in the general scholastic ability test (GSAT), Yang successfully gained admissions to five prestigious medical schools. However, his university dreams have now been frustrated by the “flaws” in his learning portfolio. This is a wake-up call not only for students, but also teachers. Yang did make a big
RSS