Cast ballot for change
There is an old saying in Taiwan that goes: “I have words to tell you.” I believe all Taiwanese have words to tell after the suffering caused by the gas pipeline explosions in Greater Kaohsiung this summer, the TransAsia Airways Flight GE222 crash in Penghu County in July and the endless tainted oil scandals. But who can they can talk to? And will they even be heard?
Since the end of World War II, Taiwanese have been oppressed by the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) White Terror-like, coercive rule.
Society has witnessed double standards in the treatment of those who support the KMT and those who do not: Former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) was found guilty of seeking to profit via intimidation in his role as a public official and of possessing assets from dubious sources, but he is walking free now. Former KMT Taipei City councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如) was indicted on corruption charges, but all the party did was suspend her membership. She is now running as an independent to be re-elected to the city council as she prepares to appeal a 10-year prison sentence for corruption she was given on Friday. Compare these examples with the jailing and torture of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) extolled Ting Hsin International Group (頂新國際集團) as a tonic, not a poison, for the nation. Now, we know that the tonic is in reality animal feed-grade oil that every family uses, except those of Ma and some high-ranking rulers.
Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) said that while Ting Hsin is a symbol, as the top company to have returned from China to invest in Taiwan, it came back empty-handed and without any funds from China. Contrarily, it raised NT$17 billion (US$557.8 million) by issuing Taiwan depositary receipts and then expanded its business into Taipei 101 and the real-estate market. All its investments were made using money borrowed from Taiwanese banks. It took advantage of Taiwanese resources, money and humbleness; it feeds off of and grows in Taiwan.
This is the typical model for abusing the nation. The KMT also abuses Taiwanese dignity to extend the life of the exiled Republic of China (ROC) government. Unfortunately, most Taiwanese, after 69 years of brainwashing, take it for granted that Taiwan is the ROC and the ROC is Taiwan. Even the principal occupying power of Taiwan has revoked its recognition of the ROC. The ROC is not a sovereign state — Under the ROC, Taiwan goes nowhere.
The Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong are a warning to Taiwan about the future struggle it faces if it falls under the Chinese system. Those who plan to build the nation as a sovereign state should speak out loudly.
Yes, people want to get rid of the unfair system. Yes, people want to change the unjust society. Yes, people want to eat healthy cooking oil. Yes, people want Taiwan to be recognized as a sovereign nation.
How can they achieve these goals? They should follow in the footsteps of the Sunflower movement. They should oust those who deprived them of their freedom, wealth, health and dignity. The only bullet people have in their hands is their ballot.
If people want to be their own boss and want to stop the Lien (連) family — who for four generations have been so loyal to China — if they want their cooking oil to be safe, if they do not want the nation’s banks to be emptied, they must cast their ballots as a way of saying one vital word: “Change.”
John Hsieh
Hayward, California
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