Several significant events in Taiwan have signaled an important watershed, when the nation transitioned from having no freedom of expression to having it.
These events included the lifting of martial law and the abolishment of the bans on political parties other than the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and on new newspapers, as well as the repealing of Article 100 of the Criminal Code, which provided the legal basis for the KMT government of the time to restrict freedom of expression.
Seeing what things are like now, it makes some Taiwanese wonder whether things have gone too far and whether Taiwan now has too much of a good thing.
In the past, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was unequivocally regarded as the enemy, and if anyone was suspected of being a communist, they were taken into custody.
If the police did not have enough on them, they would more than likely just concoct one reason or another to keep them in detention. There was no way that anyone who was suspected of something could get out of it.
Things are different now.
There is no shortage of people in Taiwan advocating for China, or at least being sympathetic to Beijing’s cause.
A report said that two Taiwanese studying in China declared for all the world to hear their intention to become CCP members.
Chinese officials frequently come to Taiwan — all aswagger, strutting their stuff the length and breadth of the nation.
It is not a rare event, either, to hear people singing the March of the Volunteers — the People’s Republic of China (PRC) national anthem — in Taipei, waving high the PRC national flag or even shouting “long live the PRC.”
The contrast between then and now is fascinating.
If these people are confronted about this behavior or asked to tone it down a little, they start behaving as if they have been attacked.
Meanwhile, the police, who are there to keep public order, could not be nicer to them. Back then, if the police caught wind of these kinds of shenanigans, they would have come down on them like a ton of bricks. Now, they just smile politely and wave them on.
Back then, if people were listening to communist broadcasts or reading CCP literature — or even, God forbid, engaging in correspondence with anyone beyond the “bamboo curtain” — they would have had to do it in utmost secrecy, for fear of a knock on the door, for fear of being arrested and thrown to rot in a cell somewhere.
Now, it is reported how retired Taiwanese generals go to China and rub shoulders and drink with Chinese generals and senior Chinese officials, or how groups of Taiwanese has-been politicians sit watching military parades with retired generals.
On one occasion, these has-been politicians and retired generals were seen listening attentively to a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Back then, “the party” meant the KMT — woe to anyone who tried to form a new political party.
Now, political parties are two-a-penny, and anyone can start a new one. Even known criminals and gangsters are allowed to join the fun.
Back then, all the newspapers — the one exception being the Independence Evening Post — and TV stations — all three of them — were nothing more than mouthpieces, propaganda machines and apologists for former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son and successor Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), and of the ruling party — that is, the KMT.
Now, newspapers — the exceptions being the Liberty Times and its sister newspaper the Taipei Times — bring Taiwan down and China up, as if they were Taiwanese editions of the People’s Daily.
Meanwhile, popular talking heads on major TV stations — ostensibly acting as the fourth estate — wantonly lambast the government for the sake of lambasting the government, demonize Taiwan for the sake of demonizing Taiwan and praise China for the sake of praising China — doing their utmost to hobble President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her administration.
Back then, Taiwanese did not have enough freedom of expression, which was a tragedy and a cause for real concern. Now, Taiwanese perhaps have a little too much of the stuff. How should Taiwanese characterize that?
Chang Kuo-tsai is a retired associate professor at National Hsinchu University of Education and a former deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
Translated by Paul Cooper
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
US President Donald Trump created some consternation in Taiwan last week when he told a news conference that a successful trade deal with China would help with “unification.” Although the People’s Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan, Trump’s language struck a raw nerve in Taiwan given his open siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression seeking to “reunify” Ukraine and Russia. On earlier occasions, Trump has criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the US’ chip industry and for relying too much on the US for defense, ominously presaging a weakening of US support for Taiwan. However, further examination of Trump’s remarks in
It is being said every second day: The ongoing recall campaign in Taiwan — where citizens are trying to collect enough signatures to trigger re-elections for a number of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators — is orchestrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), or even President William Lai (賴清德) himself. The KMT makes the claim, and foreign media and analysts repeat it. However, they never show any proof — because there is not any. It is alarming how easily academics, journalists and experts toss around claims that amount to accusing a democratic government of conspiracy — without a shred of evidence. These
China on May 23, 1951, imposed the so-called “17-Point Agreement” to formally annex Tibet. In March, China in its 18th White Paper misleadingly said it laid “firm foundations for the region’s human rights cause.” The agreement is invalid in international law, because it was signed under threat. Ngapo Ngawang Jigme, head of the Tibetan delegation sent to China for peace negotiations, was not authorized to sign the agreement on behalf of the Tibetan government and the delegation was made to sign it under duress. After seven decades, Tibet remains intact and there is global outpouring of sympathy for Tibetans. This realization
RSS