A new society is needed to build a new nation. New nations are not always formed by revolutions; they can also be formed by the evolution of public awareness. In other words, it is necessary to build a national vision based on a new cultural foundation.
During the Meiji Restoration from 1868 to 1912, Japan abandoned Asia and leaned toward the West, bringing down the curtain put up during the Edo period.
Constitutional monarchy replacing military rule was very important, but what was even more significant was that Japanese society was able to transform itself.
Although the Meiji Restoration made Japan powerful, it saw the nation launch a war of aggression that led to its eventual defeat.
Just like Germany — which rebuilt itself after World War I and staged a comeback, only to suffer defeat following Nazi expansionism in World War II — Japan was also able to quickly rise from its ashes.
The key to the rise of Japan in the East and Germany in the West was the creation of new cultures.
When Taiwanese travel to Japan, they get to take a look at the nation that colonized Taiwan.
Government officials who visit Japan for diplomatic exchanges or educational purposes should be able to see the nation’s modern cultural characteristics reflected in its urban landscape. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) admiration for Japan during a recent visit was quite sincere.
China brags that it defeated Japan, but it is unwilling to admit that it was only able to do so with the help of the US.
Japan, now a developed nation, is experiencing economic stagnation.
However, China, having rebounded and moved toward capitalism, is content with the increasing growth rate it has experienced from its earlier years to its period of economic growth.
Taiwan is also content with its development, without realizing that the nation is far behind other developed nations in terms of public welfare and cultural sophistication.
In the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was elected president and the DPP won a legislative majority. The responsibility that comes with the absolute rule gained in the elections and through the party’s landslide victory in the nine-in-one local elections in November 2014 is a great challenge.
The Republic of China is an empty political body that was exiled from China, and it has been unable to write a new constitution to get a new lease on life.
If the people living on this land cannot truly face this issue and rebuild the nation together, then it would only be an extension of the old system.
Taiwan must make use of modern national awareness and cultural aspirations to create a new culture and lay the foundation for the rebirth of this united community of free people.
Taiwanese must bid farewell to their historical sadness, while the Mainlanders who relocated from China after the end of World War II without embracing their new life here should leave the exile mindset behind. This is the kind of willpower the younger generation will need to usher in a new era.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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