Let us first discuss the national experience of transitioning from the British Empire to the Commonwealth of Nations. During the Age of Discovery, all European maritime powers had colonies — Portugal in South Asia and South America, Spain in Southeast Asia and South America, and the British Empire in North America and Asia. When the people of Britain’s North American colonies gained independence and became a non-imperial nation-state, it influenced the independence of Britain’s other colonies.
When the US gained independence, most of its citizens were originally British colonists, in addition to indigenous Native Americans. Later, the global changes brought on by World War I and II attracted immigrants from various — mainly European — countries, thereby shaping the US into a global superpower.
Many immigrants criticize the US, but if forced to decide between the US and the countries they left, they would still choose to remain in the US. From colonization to immigration — in today’s world, the movement of nations and citizens has shifted from being forced to free choice. In the case of Taiwan and China, the citizens of the countries known as the Republic of China (ROC) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) can also choose to become citizens of other nations.
China has constantly claimed Taiwan as its own — but this claim defies the principles of historical experience. After the US gained independence from the British Empire, many of Britain’s overseas colonies were also granted independence. The monarchy is now recognized only symbolically, and the king serves only as a ceremonial head of state of the constitutional monarchy.
The UK is a civilized kingdom. Beyond the union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the British Empire formerly included countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand — all of which are now independent member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. Should any of the association’s 56 member states choose to leave, it would not be an issue.
When the PRC considers Taiwan’s national status, it often forgets the humiliation it went through and now seeks to impose such humiliation on others. It never imagined the kind of new international relationships that emerged when the British Empire allowed its colonies to become independent, thereby forming close bonds among nations. Those independent nations welcomed new immigrants — including those from China — and China itself has also accepted immigrants.
The countries of today’s world are no longer defined solely by the vertical inheritance of family lineage. Now, it is people who choose their country.
In 1895, the Qing Empire ceded Taiwan to Japan, which colonized the nation for five decades. Later, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — under the name ROC — held Taiwan hostage for more than 50 years. The now-democratized Taiwan must first break free from its history of colonization. China should not collude with the KMT — a party which once controlled Taiwan under the pretext of anti-communism, but now seeks to threaten Taiwan by aligning itself with the Chinese Communist Party.
In many respects, China has already developed into a major global power, and thus should respect Taiwan’s break away from the KMT’s coercion. The two countries should develop bilateral relations based on national subjectivity. Peaceful and civil relations between Taiwan and China would earn global recognition. It is about time the PRC acted like a civilized country.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
A failure by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to respond to Israel’s brilliant 12-day (June 12-23) bombing and special operations war against Iran, topped by US President Donald Trump’s ordering the June 21 bombing of Iranian deep underground nuclear weapons fuel processing sites, has been noted by some as demonstrating a profound lack of resolve, even “impotence,” by China. However, this would be a dangerous underestimation of CCP ambitions and its broader and more profound military response to the Trump Administration — a challenge that includes an acceleration of its strategies to assist nuclear proxy states, and developing a wide array
Eating at a breakfast shop the other day, I turned to an old man sitting at the table next to mine. “Hey, did you hear that the Legislative Yuan passed a bill to give everyone NT$10,000 [US$340]?” I said, pointing to a newspaper headline. The old man cursed, then said: “Yeah, the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] canceled the NT$100 billion subsidy for Taiwan Power Co and announced they would give everyone NT$10,000 instead. “Nice. Now they are saying that if electricity prices go up, we can just use that cash to pay for it,” he said. “I have no time for drivel like
Twenty-four Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers are facing recall votes on Saturday, prompting nearly all KMT officials and lawmakers to rally their supporters over the past weekend, urging them to vote “no” in a bid to retain their seats and preserve the KMT’s majority in the Legislative Yuan. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which had largely kept its distance from the civic recall campaigns, earlier this month instructed its officials and staff to support the recall groups in a final push to protect the nation. The justification for the recalls has increasingly been framed as a “resistance” movement against China and
Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), former chairman of Broadcasting Corp of China and leader of the “blue fighters,” recently announced that he had canned his trip to east Africa, and he would stay in Taiwan for the recall vote on Saturday. He added that he hoped “his friends in the blue camp would follow his lead.” His statement is quite interesting for a few reasons. Jaw had been criticized following media reports that he would be traveling in east Africa during the recall vote. While he decided to stay in Taiwan after drawing a lot of flak, his hesitation says it all: If
RSS