Drop ROC, ‘the mainland’
I have been living in Taiwan for almost 20 years now and fell in love with the people, the food and the scenery here during my first year.
Being a citizen of Switzerland, a small and fiercely independent country — in many ways similar to Taiwan — I was horrified by the direction that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) party was taking in Taiwan.
As the political climate improved and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was elected the first time, I immediately started to feel hopeful and positive about the future of Taiwan.
Now that she has been re-elected and Taiwan’s government has so far successfully prevented a major outbreak of COVID-19 here, it is time to tackle three crucial issues that are pertinent to the future of Taiwan.
First, stop referring to China as “the mainland.” Just as Hawaiians — Hawaii being a part of the US — refer to the US as the mainland, if Taiwanese call China the mainland, it means that Taiwan is a part of China, which it is certainly not.
Second, drop the Republic of China (ROC) references immediately. There is absolutely no reason that modern Taiwan should refer in any way to China when it concerns the name of this country.
The ROC was a Chinese invention brought to Taiwan by an illegal government-in-exile led by dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石). It had nothing to do with Taiwan then and has nothing to do with Taiwan today.
Third, update the Constitution so that it does not mention that Taiwan — formerly known as the ROC — is the true leader of all of China, including Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Mongolia and China.
Just be the Taiwan — of course including Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu — that our wise and thoughtful president has finally introduced to the world as a capable, mature and responsible country.
If we want the world to take our strength and independence as seriously as they have marveled at the early and proper precautions Taiwan took at the onset of this pandemic, we must let them know that we are serious about moving forward and being recognized and respected.
Daniel Luthi
Taichung
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