Ruan Ming's (
Ruan is a democrat, not a nationalist. His stance and ideas not only go against the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) official line, but are also at odds with the ideologies of Taiwan's so-called "mainstream" media.
A Chinese intellectual in exile, Ruan manages to discredit the rhetoric of the pro-unification political parties and media. By basing his arguments on the idea of democracy, Ruan has positioned himself closer to Taiwan's pro-independence schools.
But "close" here does not mean "identical." Ruan is not necessarily sympathetic of a "Republic of Taiwan." He stresses that Taiwan's current status is that of an independent sovereign state, and that sovereignty is in the hands of the people of Taiwan: "The `independence' mission -- [of which the aim was to] end the [KMT] alien regime -- and the democratic mission -- [of which the aim was to] end the White Terror -- were both accomplished when Taiwan lifted martial law, abolished the temporary provisions against communist rebellion, lifted the press ban and the ban on political parties and held citizens' elections of public representatives and the president." Ruan therefore believes the issue of Taiwanese independence no longer exists.
If we look along this line, Ruan's special emphasis on -- and his praise for -- former president Lee Teng-hui (
This also shows the crux of Taiwan's problem in the cross-strait divide. The purpose of the "special state-to-state" dictum is to break the "one China" myth -- the CCP's mantra for "liberating" Taiwan. The CCP has stressed time and again that any issue can be discussed once Taiwan accepts the "one China" concept. In fact, Taiwan will fall into the CCP's pocket the moment it accepts "one China" -- so it will then no longer matter what issues are discussed. Defending the "special state-to-state" dictum and a thorough rejection of "one China" are the last lines of defense for democratic Taiwan.
The difference between Taiwan's two political camps is between accepting and rejecting "one China." Ruan is especially critical of the KMT under Lien's leadership, which has used the big lie: "one China is the ROC." He believes these actions help the CCP to fool the people of Taiwan.
Standing outside the "independence-unification" framework, Ruan sees democracy and authoritarianism as the two philosophies contending for control of Taiwan's future.
He had joined the CCP in 1946, when he was 15, and he remained a member until his expulsion in 1982. This means he certainly has a deeper understanding of the CCP than most people.
He also has many ideals.
In the past he wanted to see the CCP overthrow the corrupt and reactionary KMT. But, as he saw the CCP's own corruption, his ideals all went up in smoke. Now, having seen democracy in Taiwan, Ruan attaches great importance to Taiwan's democratization as well as the Lee-Chen legacy. In other words, he has seen where Taiwan's hope lies.
Chin Heng-wei is editor in chief of the Contemporary Monthly magazine.
Translated by Francis Huang
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