In Taiwan these days, we often hear pundits, politicians, and the like breathlessly proclaiming the imminent arrival of the "new": new politics, new society, new economics, everything is to be made new, and as quickly as possible. Everything that is new, it seems, is better than everything that is old.
This is perhaps an obvious conclusion, since there are so many factors pushing us in that direction. Most fundamentally, the modernist cult of progress has long since taken root here, following the rest of the industrialized world, and greatly encouraged by the ever-accelerating onrush of technological change.
Another factor is the millennium mania, a contagion which has spread to our shores, prompting everyone to tag phrases such as "new century," "new era" on to every conceivable proposal or product.
Closer to home is the imminent end of the the first phase of democratization, the period personified and presided over by President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). Although the curtain on the so-called "post-Lee Teng-hui era" will officially be raised only upon the inauguration of the new president next May, the jockeying for position is already well under way, and the shape of the new order is of interest (or anxiety) to many.
There is also another, more sinister reason -- ?the simple fact that Taiwan's past has been a hard one. People are eager to put it behind them, or in President Lee's phrase, "step out of the sadness" (走出悲情). Growing beyond self-pity and despair is a worthy goal, but the process must be handled with care. In particular, it should not simply be a whitewashing exercise, where all the unpleasantness of the past is swept under the rug. That kind of collective historical amnesia weakens the foundations of any society.
This week provides the perfect opportunity to pause on Taiwan's furious march to the future, and reflect on the lessons of the past. Two major anniversaries happen this week, the 50th anniversary of the transfer of the government of the Republic of China from China to Taiwan, and the 20th anniversary of the Kaoshiung Incident. These events, more than any other except the 2-28 Incident, whose 50th anniversary passed two years ago -- epitomize the "sadness" to which President Lee referred.
Both of these events also demarcate the core problem of Taiwan in the second half of this century, that is, ethnic relations and their connection to political power. When the KMT regime evacuated to Taiwan in 1949, establishing its government on Dec. 8, it suddenly inserted a new ethnic group into Taiwan's existing mix of Fujianese, Hakka, and Aboriginals. Although in fact the KMT followers and hangers-on themselves represented almost the whole spectrum of ethnic groups of China, their political status as members of the new ruling elite gave them a new cohesiveness as "mainlanders." Decades of iron-fisted KMT rule cemented this privileged status.
Dictatorship by an ethnic minority generated an ethnically-based response, especially from the majority Fujianese, who felt their rightful place had been taken away from them. The Kaoshiung Incident on Dec. 10 1979 was the most dramatic manifestation of the political reawakening of the native Taiwanese. In this way, the demand for democracy and human rights was conflated with a politicized ethnic identity.
The urgent task before Taiwan today is to thoroughly educate the people about the country's history, including the good and the bad. Only in this way can a healthy, vigorous society be built, and a citizenry composed of individuals with equal rights be created.
The philosopher George Santanaya once famously remarked, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This is nowhere truer than in Taiwan. The propitious opportunity presented by these anniversaries to take stock and prepare properly for the future should not be wasted.
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