The author of this collection of opinion columns from the Chinese-language Taiwan Daily News is also the associate editor in chief at the Taipei Times. I therefore wondered whether I'd experience any conflict of interest in reviewing his book. But the problem didn't arise. This is a forceful, trenchant, but also discerning and well-informed piece of work that makes admirable, enjoyable, and frequently informative reading.
Laurence Eyton describes himself as "a European liberal democrat with the world view that this implies," and elsewhere as "a natural conservative." In the context of Taiwan, with which all these essays deal, these positions translate into a championing of the right of the Taiwanese people to self-determination, a distrust of the current Beijing authorities, and a particularly dismissive attitude to the KMT past and present (certain individuals in certain of their actions excepted).
Over and above everything else rides high the idea that for four decades after 1945 Taiwan was effectively a KMT colony, and that the party's dream of a Republic of China on the island has led to all the paradoxes and psychological problems that colonial status
everywhere produces.
I couldn't help thinking of possible headlines my editors might write for this review -- "John Bull stands up for Taiwan" was the one that came to mind. And there is no doubt that Eyton is in the tradition of such English writers as William Cobbett, Samuel Johnson (at least as portrayed by James Boswell) and Winston Churchill. He has a quick nose for humbug, is a ready champion of the underdog, and will stand no nonsense, least of all from the current KMT/PFP leadership.
Many topics are covered, but several guiding principles can be identified. First is that territories elsewhere in the world provide useful parallels for Taiwan in its current situation as a post-colonial society. Next come beliefs, following naturally from the perception of the island's formerly colonial status, that the idea of Taiwan as a unique repository of Chinese traditions is false (Taiwan has its own distinctive and multi-ethnic traditions), that the KMT has got off lightly from its crimes during the White Terror era (other countries have put their guilty men on trial or instituted truth and reconciliation commissions), and that Taiwan needs to come to terms more fully with its past if it is to proceed painlessly into the future.
Among Eyton's other characteristic positions are that international ignorance of Taiwan is profound, that former president Chiang Ching-kuo (
The flavor of the book is distinctive. Eyton never minces his words -- indeed, he tells how he nearly lost his job over an editorial he wrote after the 9-11 attacks. In one passage, for instance, he refers to "that loathsome KMT party song that is still the National Anthem," contemplates the possibility of turning the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial into "something less contemptible" and boycotting the NT$200 bill, and longs for the removal from his local park of "that damned statue" (of Chiang Ching-kuo).
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