Sacrificing too much to China
Reading the Taiwanese online media in recent weeks has been very depressing. The KMT is not a political party with the best interests of the Taiwanese people at heart. They have contributed to national disunity with their successful bid to undermine the governing party by courting Beijing.
I agree with former President Lee Teng-hui (
I really do not comprehend Taiwanese politics. It seems very unlikely that anything progressive will come out of China in the next half century. Many business people and KMT officials seem to think that closer ties with China can be potentially beneficial to Taiwan. I really cannot comprehend this. China is one of the five or six most repressive states in the world today. It is a feudal society governed by a privileged elite. It callously implements only those elements of an open society which it believes will promote its economy.
In reality, it has none of the social and political raw materials for sustained economic growth.
I would have thought one of the major concerns for political discourse in Taiwan would be the drafting of plans on how to deal with China's inevitable political and economic collapse. It appears that little consideration has been given to this.
Taiwan does not have to become part of China's collapse. Taiwan has many international friends who will come to its aid as turmoil in China unfolds. Yet as confusion and a lack of democratic will in Taiwan become more and more obvious to observers, the resolve of its friends to offer help will be eroded. It is a very saddening thing to watch Taiwan's civil society gradually unravel.
Stephen Carter
Bangkok, Thailand
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