The recent wave of COVID-19 vaccine donations from four east European nations not only buttressed Taiwan’s vaccine arsenal, but also created an opening for fostering closer ties between Taiwan and these countries, especially given the similarities in the trajectories of their political development and contemporary geopolitical challenges.
As a response to this new, positive dynamic, the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association put forward an idea for a “dumpling alliance,” or an informal online collective bringing together Taiwan and the four donor nations in the spirit of “shared values and love for dumplings.”
This concept exhibits high potential for strengthening ties with new potential partners and their people.
First, its name clearly alludes to the “Milk Tea Alliance,” which sends a clear message about the nature and objectives of the grouping.
Second, it seeks to channel the rhetoric of cuteness into a productive tool, rendering the process of people-to-people relationship building more accessible.
Last, but not least, the reference to the dumpling, a simple comfort food with many iterations, is a creative way to highlight frequently overlooked ties between ordinary people in Taiwan and Europe.
At the same time, this idea highlights that actors in Taiwanese civil society need to clearly distinguish between top-down and bottom-up approaches to fostering foreign relations, and understand the importance of this distinction when engaging with overseas partners.
Although the east European nations have been lauded as success stories of democratic consolidation, rifts between the government and civil society have opened since alternative strategies of political legitimation, such as populism or nationalism, have emerged in the region.
While Taiwan might seek to draw parallels between itself and these nations by alluding to “shared values,” it should not lose sight of the fact that the region, despite having been deemed a beacon of successful democratization, is experiencing a dramatic decline in democracy.
Consequently, the formulation of a “dumpling alliance” or any other similar, value-based solidarity initiative requires an understanding of the local political realities on the ground.
While people-to-people, or non-governmental interactions have important foreign policy implications — particularly for actors with limited international space, such as Taiwan — it is imperative that the narrative of appreciation does not whitewash regional authoritarian wannabes.
The energy behind a “dumpling alliance” is truly precious and should not be taken for granted.
The revival of curiosity about Poland — Taiwan’s third-biggest vaccine donor — and other east European nations can be the first step to building awareness and deepening mutual understanding. At the same time, this energy should be channeled toward bolstering civil society linkages, instead of coddling singular political figures and exposing Taiwan to negative externalities of electoral volatility.
Since its rise to power in 2015, the Polish Law and Justice party has continued to constrain certain expressions of civic activism, and undermine the independence of the judiciary and the media.
In the latest Liberal Democracy Index by the University of Gothenburg’s V-Dem Institute, Poland earned the dubious “honor” of being the world’s “most autocratizing country” during the past decade.
Similarly, last year’s Freedom in the World report by Freedom House said that Poland could no longer be classified as a full democracy.
Nevertheless, the dire state of democracy in Warsaw appears to have been overlooked by various stakeholders in Taiwan, including government officials and members of civil society.
“The crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed us to deepen our friendship with the people of Poland, a fellow freedom and democracy-loving nation,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said.
Similarly, Polish language instructor Emilia Chen (陳音卉) wrote: “The close relationship between Taiwan and Poland has been forged through a shared appreciation for democracy, liberty and human rights” (“Taiwan and Poland tied by love of democracy,” Sept. 15, page 8).
While it is encouraging that the Polish government reciprocated Taiwan’s generosity — Taipei donated 1 million masks and 25,000 items of personal protective equipment to Warsaw early in the pandemic — we ought to take pause before celebrating the alleged normative synergies.
The current, initial iteration of a “dumpling alliance” came about as a response to vaccine donations which are managed exclusively by government agencies, rather than civil society groups.
While a “dumpling alliance” aims to promote mutual understanding, there is a danger that it might also legitimize east European political elites who engage in democratic backsliding.
In comparison, the allure of the “Milk Tea Alliance” stems from its grassroots, bottom-up approach to multinational, pro-democracy mobilization.
The Law and Justice government in Poland has subjected organizations perceived as hostile to the interests of the party to withdrawal of state support and state-sponsored smear campaigns.
Moreover, while Taiwan has made considerable strides in mainstreaming the concerns of LGBTQI+ and other minorities, many right-wing and conservative movements and politicians supported by Poland’s ruling party unequivocally characterize pluralism and inclusion as democratic maladies.
At the same time, despite systemic suppression and the imposition of right-wing cultural narratives, Poland has seen an increase in contentious politics, demonstrating the potential of its civic society.
During the Women Strike, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest the nation’s strict abortion laws and violations of women’s rights. Queer collectives such as Warsaw-based Stop the Nonsense valiantly stand up against the anti-LGBTQI+ movement in the nation considered the worst in the EU in terms of gay rights. Polish advocates of the rights of refugees and migrants also mobilize, mainly outside formal institutions, to challenge false narratives of homogeneity.
These are precisely the kind of actors that a “dumpling alliance” should target.
Despite the problems of Taiwan’s majoritarian political system, the nation has developed a mature civil society with tangible achievements in strengthening democracy at home and forging networks abroad. The “shared values” which inspired an alliance are realized by our respective civil societies, rather than the political elites.
If Taiwan is serious about wanting to forge a “dumpling alliance,” it is key that the initiative targets the right stakeholders. Governments come and go, but people stay — maintaining positive ties at civil society level will remain imperative for building sustainable and solid relations.
Marcin Jerzewski is a research fellow at the Taiwan NextGen Foundation think tank.
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