Bravo to Brian Kennedy ("Taiwan's bed is of its own making," Feb. 1, Page 8). How many times does one need to be struck on the head before rising up to self-defense? The problem is that the Taiwanese identity is muddled in a quagmire of intentional ambiguity.
Let's be blunt. Taiwan is an independent country with its own political, economic and social system. By all definitions, it is a nation, with a vibrant economic system and a stable population with its own distinct cultural and linguistic identity.
This simple fact is not recognized by the international community. Yet, who is to blame?
Some may blame the 50 years of KMT "Free China" propaganda; others say China doesn't want its "lost brethren" in Taiwan to be independent. In fact, propaganda is partly to blame, but so is the absence of objection to it. The Taiwanese need to take a much more active role and stand up for their identity.
First they need to affirm it to themselves and feel comfortable with it, without prefixes or suffixes -- not "new-Taiwanese," not "Chinese on Taiwan," nor "Taiwanese-Chinese." They are Taiwanese. Period. No explanation, no shame and no apologies. You gain respect from others only if you respect yourself.
Second, they need to realize that China or the US cannot determine the future of Taiwan, but only the people on Taiwan.
I believe that the Taiwanese want their own country, free of external influences from China. Simply put, they want independence. Yet this reality has been manipulated by all sides -- "No, Taiwan really isn't independent but it is a sovereign state so that we don't need to declare independence" or "Taiwan is not a country but it is a separate political entity" or the "the people want the status quo" (ie, a country independent of China).
Why are people so afraid of speaking the truth? There is fear of retaliation by China, but how much more political hardship could there be, with only a handful of countries recognizing the Republic of China on Taiwan and no UN membership? It is far far better to have only one country recognize the Republic of Taiwan, than it is for twenty nine countries to recognize the Republic of China on Taiwan under false pretense.
As long as the KMT government or its successors continue to pretend that Taiwan is a part of China or the "other China," Taiwan will never be considered separate, nor its people considered a distinct nationality. The "Taiwan issue" will always be viewed by the international community as an "internal affair" of China. This is self destruction.
It is humiliating to see Taiwan labeled in the international arena as either "Chinese Taipei" of "Taipei, China." People in Taiwan need to forge ahead and declare in unambiguous terms that Taiwan is not China and the Taiwanese are not Chinese.
Taiwanese hold the seeds in their pockets. It is up to them to sow their own seeds and reap the harvest. The future is now.
Gene Deune (
Baltimore, MD, USA
Taking responsibility
The credibility of all the presidential candidates has come under tough public scrutiny. James Soong (
The troubling issue surrounding the funding of his son's land deals is the possible linkage of the KMT money he mishandled when Soong deposited it in his son's name in the first place. The subsequent transfer of the tens of millions of NT dollars from Taiwan to his son's account in the US over the past years makes these land deals a legitimate concern.
Although I feel sorry for Soong's son, the public deserves clarification because it is the father who made the son's life miserable.
Please don't brush it off or sidetrack the issue, James Soong -- I believe the voters would demand the same from other presidential candidates if their credibility also came into question
James Chou
Vancouver, BC, Canada
With the Year of the Snake reaching its conclusion on Monday next week, now is an opportune moment to reflect on the past year — a year marked by institutional strain and national resilience. For Taiwan, the Year of the Snake was a composite of political friction, economic momentum, social unease and strategic consolidation. In the political sphere, it was defined less by legislative productivity and more by partisan confrontation. The mass recall movement sought to remove 31 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators following the passage of controversial bills that expanded legislative powers and imposed sweeping budget cuts. While the effort
There is a story in India about a boy called Prahlad who was an ardent worshipper of Lord Narayana, whom his father considered an enemy. His son’s devotion vexed the father to the extent that he asked his sister, Holika, who could not be burned by fire, to sit with the boy in her lap and burn him to death. Prahlad knew about this evil plan, but sat in his aunt’s lap anyway. His faith won, as he remained unscathed by the fire, while his aunt was devoured by the flames. In some small way, Prahlad reminds me of Taiwan
When Hong Kong’s High Court sentenced newspaper owner Jimmy Lai (黎智英) to 20 years in prison this week, officials declared that his “heinous crimes” had long poisoned society and that his punishment represented justice restored. In their telling, Lai is the mastermind of Hong Kong’s unrest — the architect of a vast conspiracy that manipulated an otherwise contented population into defiance. They imply that removing him would lead to the return of stability. It is a politically convenient narrative — and a profoundly false one. Lai did not radicalize Hong Kong. He belonged to the same generation that fled from the Chinese
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