Abandoned and mistreated
Taiwan has been abandoned and mistreated in the past three centuries, right up until today.
The fate of Taiwan is like that of a simpua (adopted daughter) who is often abused. Taiwan is called the “Orphan of Asia.”
Taiwanese songs such as Rainy Night Flower (雨夜花), Hoping for Spring Wind (望春風), Dancing Girl (舞女) and Island’s Sunrise (島嶼天光) reflect the inner feelings of Taiwanese.
In 1895, Taiwan was ceded permanently as a war trophy by the Qing Dynasty to Japan. Japan ruled Taiwan for 50 years until 1945 when it was forced to surrender after the explosion of two atomic bombs.
During World War II, Taiwan was bombarded heavily by US B-29s, especially Taipei, and not single Chinese bullet shell has been found on the island.
However, the Republic of China (ROC) claimed that “the motherland retroceded Taiwan.”
After the surrender, Japan left Taiwan and the ROC stepped in. The UN trusteeship of Taiwan was considered, but was never realized.
Instead, in 1951, 48 countries (the ROC and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] were not invited) signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in which Japan renounced Taiwan, Penghu and the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) without specifying the beneficiary.
In 1952, a carbon copy of the treaty was signed in Taipei. Neither the ROC nor the PRC has sovereignty over Taiwan or Penghu. Today, both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party bully Taiwanese and advocate a “one China” policy.
The “motherland” ROC gave Taiwan the 228 Incident in which thousands of Taiwanese were murdered.
Taiwanese suffered under the world’s longest martial law period for 38 years under the KMT.
Today, Taiwanese have converted Taiwan into a free, democratic country.
Another “motherland” PRC, which has never ruled Taiwan, claims Taiwan as a part of China and “both shores as the same family,” but has threatened Taiwan militarily and isolated it diplomatically.
China has also tried to cut off economic ties with Taiwan, forgetting that Taiwanese investors helped China grow economically and militarily.
There is a warning that the world is not ready for the next pandemic. China is worsening the crisis by blocking Taiwan from attending the World Health Assembly. The rest of the world can no longer afford to keep quiet.
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
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