French media have taken a special interest in Taiwan, and I have been asked to translate for a French TV channel and participate in making a series of programs about Taiwan. These programs all share a common trait in that they compare the situations in Taiwan and Ukraine.
For example, a number of pro-Russian Ukrainians said they wished to be “liberated” before Moscow invaded Ukraine. These people accounted for about 10 percent of the population prior to the war and they believed that Russia would not invade. Moscow, of course, launched a full-scale invasion, and in so doing inadvertently unified Ukrainians in a common goal of stopping Russia’s aggression.
No one can predict when war will break out. Like everyone living in Europe, I have experienced the intimidation, menace and looming nuclear threat that Europe’s bellicose neighbor poses. I have braced myself for the upcoming winter. Like all Europeans, I have seen Moscow’s true colors and I think it is safe to assume that no Ukrainian now harbors any illusions about Russia.
Ukraine’s plight has made me think of Taiwan’s situation. Do Taiwanese wish to join China? Do parents want their children to be brought up in a society under Chinese ideology? In video footage filmed by the channel I am working with, Taiwanese interviewees, who come across as pure and well-meaning, shun the question when asked about China’s intimidation of Taiwan, but are firm in their stance on their identity: They are Taiwanese through and through.
The global media have been highly interested in Taiwan’s vibrant election culture and its carnival-like campaigns. Taiwan’s election campaigns remind them of ancient Greek democracy. The West has lost its interest in and passion for direct democracy, so Westerners are especially moved when they see Taiwan’s election culture, as if they are witnessing the workings of direct democracy firsthand.
However, Taiwanese refrain from talking about politics in public to avoid conflict. The main reason is the polarization of supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). With DPP and KMT supporters watching media that cater to their respective ideologies, there is no chance or space for reconciliation.
Perhaps the escalation in division between the parties is due to some media deliberately creating illusions of treachery and chaos to boost their ratings or for other reasons.
This has given pro-China media and Chinese propaganda Web sites plenty of material to work with. By keeping Taiwanese focused on the conflicts between the KMT and the DPP, pro-China media are given the space to manipulate and sow dissent.
There is a risk that internal divisions in Taiwan are playing into Beijing’s hands.
I always feel a change in atmosphere when friends in my Line group touch upon politics. Nonetheless, decades of friendships are not easily ended just because of differences in opinions on politics.
Everyone should remain independent-thinking voters, not fanatical supporters of a party. Politics can be discussed in any group. As long as rationality is maintained, there is no reason politics should not be part of everyday conversations.
Li-lin Ricordeau is a Taiwanese living in France.
Translated by Rita Wang
In a meeting with Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste on Tuesday, President William Lai (賴清德) vowed to continue providing aid to Haiti. Taiwan supports Haiti with development in areas such as agriculture, healthcare and education through initiatives run by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF). The nation it has established itself as a responsible, peaceful and innovative actor committed to global cooperation, Jean-Baptiste said. Testimonies such as this give Taiwan a voice in the global community, where it often goes unheard. Taiwan’s reception in Haiti also contrasts with how China has been perceived in countries in the region
The world has become less predictable, less rules-based, and more shaped by the impulses of strongmen and short-term dealmaking. Nowhere is this more consequential than in East Asia, where the fate of democratic Taiwan hinges on how global powers manage — or mismanage — tensions with an increasingly assertive China. The return of Donald Trump to the White House has deepened the global uncertainty, with his erratic, highly personalized foreign-policy approach unsettling allies and adversaries alike. Trump appears to treat foreign policy like a reality show. Yet, paradoxically, the global unpredictability may offer Taiwan unexpected deterrence. For China, the risk of provoking the
On April 13, I stood in Nanan (南安), a Bunun village in southern Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪), absorbing lessons from elders who spoke of the forest not as backdrop, but as living presence — relational, sacred and full of spirit. I was there with fellow international students from National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) participating in a field trip that would become one of the most powerful educational experiences of my life. Ten days later, a news report in the Taipei Times shattered the spell: “Formosan black bear shot and euthanized in Hualien” (April 23, page 2). A tagged bear, previously released
Young supporters of former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) were detained for posting the names and photographs of judges and prosecutors believed to be overseeing the Core Pacific City redevelopment corruption case. The supporters should be held responsible for their actions. As for Ko’s successor, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), he should reflect on whether his own comments are provocative and whether his statements might be misunderstood. Huang needs to apologize to the public and the judiciary. In the article, “Why does sorry seem to be the hardest word?” the late political commentator Nan Fang Shuo (南方朔) wrote