The mass protests that have been occurring in China of late not only pose a serious challenge to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but have seen an escalation in both their scale and frequency. Accor-ding to the CCP magazine Outlook, there were more than 58,000 mass protests throughout China last year, an average of 160 a day. Police reports also indicate that these protests are becoming ever more serious, and that the frequency of attacks on government officials is also increasing. Events in the past month have been cause for concern.
Almost 10,000 people took to the streets of Bangfo city, Anhui Province, gathering on the city's main thoroughfares as part of a demonstration that brought traffic in the city to a standstill. They were protesting the fact that pensions were rising below the rate of the increase in the cost of living, making it more and more difficult to get by. In Zhongmou county, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, conflict between the Han Chinese and Hui Muslim minority broke out at the end of last month, when thousands of Chinese farmers surrounded a Hui village and began a bloody attack that was only stopped when officials declared martial law in the area. This had all originated in an accident in which a Hui driver had hit and killed a Chinese.
In Wanzhou in Chongqing, a government official tried to extricate himself from an altercation with a porter by paying his way out, arousing public indignation. As far as the people were concerned, this was a case of an official abusing his rights in order to mistreat a commoner. Tens of thousands of residents took to the streets, surrounding government buildings and torching police cars and fire engines. In the end over a thousand armed riot police had to be mobilized in order to quell the unrest. Around 100,000 farmers in Hanyuan County, Sichuan Province, gathered to demand compensation for the construction of a dam, originally earmarked for them, that failed to appear. The ensuing clashes with the police created chaos that only ended after three days.
The causes of these disturbances have included misdeeds by officials, as well as conflicts between the Han and minority groups. This has led to a response from those who feel most oppressed. Agricultural workers, whose incomes lag behind those of the rest of the country, are already unsatisfied by the huge discrepancy in income. When their land is taken from them without adequate compensation (or disappears into the pockets of officials), they are pushed to the brink and it takes only a spark to set off a conflagration.
China's leaders are aware of the challenges and threats posed by these mass protests to the rule of the Communist Party, and have repeatedly called on officials to serve the fundamental interests of the people. But China's society is now seriously unbalanced, and development on the political and social fronts has not been able to keep pace with China's rapid economic growth. In addition, the gulf between the prosperous coastal regions and the poorer inland areas has been exacerbated by poor communications, differences in political and economic situations have caused an increase in incidents of friction between various ethnic groups and a backward and conservative administration is unable to keep up with the pace of social change. All these factors have made China into a pressure cooker which might explode at any moment.
China's leaders have made development their priority, but they do not understand that single-faceted development will not be able to achieve their goal of modernization. This requires a wide perspective that encompasses the whole of society, for if social and political factors do not cripple economic development, then the economy will eventually force the liberalization of politics. Taiwan's experience can serve as a lesson to China in this respect.
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
RSS