mother’s concerns
I have lived in Taiwan for 45 years, yet I have never felt so close to war until now. As an older mother of a child in preschool, witnessing China’s overwhelming tactics and clear intent to force us to give up our free Taiwan — or else face a military invasion — fills me with a deep sense of unease.
China’s war against Taiwan began long ago in our legislature. We are witnessing the preliminary actions of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — forcibly passing amendments, expanding powers unconstitutionally and weakening our democracy’s system of checks and balances.
The KMT is implementing a systematic plan to weaken our national defense, undermine the state and move toward unification in a clear attempt to turn Taiwan into the next Hong Kong.
To ensure that no internal rebellion or civil unrest breaks out upon launching military action, China has spent the past decade implementing a comprehensive Sinicization and ideological reprogramming campaign in Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang. This is more than cultural suppression or ethnic cleansing — it is preparation for war. The goal of such a strategy is to create a silent rear by stripping various ethnic groups of their spirit, thereby allowing Beijing to focus on its most ambitious objective.
However, given the high cost of invading Taiwan, China has calculated the best outcome would be for Taiwan to collapse from within. Therefore it supports henchmen who act from within Taiwan, deploying cyberarmies to wage cognitive and psychological warfare — dividing Taiwan, generating conflict and causing Taiwanese to doubt themselves and each other, even to question the legitimacy of defending our democracy. If we choose to be silent, run away or turn against one another at this moment, China could take its first step toward swallowing Taiwan without ever having to lift a finger.
Since the conclusion of last year’s presidential election, Chinese military aircraft have intruded into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone as many as 3,075 times — an 81 percent increase from 2023. In the face of such a major threat, how does it make any sense to cut the military budget?
How could anyone blame Taiwan, claiming that it is the one provoking China?
As a parent, if your child were bullied at school every day, would you tell them: “It’s OK to be hit. Don’t fight back or ask for help, just keep enduring it”?
If this is not how you would teach your child — with such weakness and avoidance — then you should use that same conviction to defend Taiwan.
Let us begin right now, starting with the recall campaign, being conscious about the media we consume and preparing ourselves physically and mentally — and of course, with an emergency survival kit. We must dedicate ourselves to protecting Taiwan, our homes and the lives we cherish. God bless Taiwan.
Chen Yu-chen
Taipei
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