Much has been said of the potential for Taiwan’s democracy to have an impact on China as exchanges between the two countries increase. The experience that Chinese visitors take home from Taiwan after observing its open society and freedoms has been touted as part of the nation’s soft power. With the recent boost in cross-strait tourism, the potential for a gradual transfer of values is increasing.
Peaceful protests like those organized by Falun Gong practitioners at sites frequented by Chinese tourists have a role to play if Taiwan hopes to demonstrate the benefits of living in a stable democracy. Falun Gong followers seeking to draw attention to the brutal oppression of their spiritual movement in China have increased their presence at popular tourist spots since the launch of weekly cross-strait charter flights last summer, drawing complaints from some and praise from others.
Authorities in some areas are challenged with how to avoid offending Chinese tourists and losing their business without infringing on Falun Gong practitioners’ rights to freedom of speech and assembly.
The Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration used regulations on advertisements to keep Falun Gong practitioners from hanging up banners aimed at catching the attention of cross-strait tourists and educating them about religious repression in China, although Falun Gong followers continue to protest there.
In Tainan, city officials came under fire last June for allegedly seeking to clear away Falun Gong practitioners from a site that was to be visited by Chinese tourism officials. The debate flared again after the Tourism Bureau said it wanted to avoid meetings between Chinese tourists and protesting Falun Gong followers — regardless of whether their activities were peaceful and legal.
While some complaints from visitors may be valid — including the argument that images displayed by the Falun Gong are too graphic for children — these concerns can be conveyed to protesters without seeking to end their efforts to communicate with cross-strait tourists.
Opening the eyes of people who have been force-fed propaganda from an early age is no simple task, as the Taiwanese themselves can attest to. But while Taiwan has transformed over the past decades, the Chinese public is still taught by an authoritarian government that patriotism and good citizenship entail keeping quiet in the face of government abuses. Beijing continues to crack down on demonstrations, regardless of whether they are peaceful and based on valid complaints.
Even those who turn to the country’s petition system to seek redress for wrongs by government authorities are seen as a threat and portrayed as troublemakers or mentally ill.
While in Taiwan, Chinese visitors will hopefully witness that peaceful activities labeled “dangerous” by their government can exist in a stable society. The goal is to implant the seeds of free thought in visitors who, upon returning home, may wonder why they are denied the same right to criticize their government.
Tourism authorities in Taiwan, meanwhile, must remember that Falun Gong practitioners have the right to protest oppression in China, while Chinese tourists do not have a right to be shielded from opinions they might find unpalatable.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations