President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent comparisons of colonial Japanese to early Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule in Taiwan have started substantial debate across the public and legislature. However, such comparisons are ultimately unhelpful. Taiwan should instead focus on forging its own path and bolstering free and democratic values to ensure Taiwanese are the masters of their own future.
In 1994, Taiwan held its first provincial and municipal elections. The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) ran for provincial governor, calling the elections “the first battle in 400 years to change the color of the sky,” a framing central to his campaign. This referred to roughly 400 years since the first major wave of Han Chinese migration to Taiwan in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Since then, from Dutch rule to their ousting by Ming loyalist Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), to Qing control under Admiral Shih Lang (施琅), to cession to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and finally to KMT rule, Taiwan remained under foreign domination.
Those successive regimes shared common traits: exploitation of land and resources, influxes of foreign culture, concentration of political power and unequal treatment of different social groups. They did not view Taiwan as their homeland. They governed with a visitor mentality, ruling over a subjugated local population, maintaining ties to their motherlands and prioritizing those interests over Taiwan’s whenever conflicts arose.
Due to the sacrifice and dedication of earlier generations, Taiwan held its first direct presidential election in 1996, allowing its people to choose their leader and future without foreign interference. Today, after four centuries of colonial history, Taiwan is in its first era of democratic governance. Regardless of ethnicity or time of arrival, those committed to Taiwan as their home can now stand equally as masters of this land.
As a democracy, Taiwan is open to reciprocal international engagement, including with China. However, any exchange, discussion or agreement that carries preconditions or infringes on national sovereignty falls outside the public mandate.
If political parties distort sovereignty, enable foreign influence in domestic politics or cede national authority, they act as opportunists shaped by lingering colonial mindsets. It is therefore up to Taiwanese to hold them accountable.
Chen Chi-nung is principal of Shuili Junior High School in Nantou County.
Translated by Gilda Knox Streader
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