Last weekend, I attended the annual meeting of the Global Alliance for Democracy and Peace (GADP) in Los Angeles at the alliance's invitation and delivered a speech there. This Chinese group has 98 branches worldwide, and the meeting drew over 300 participants, including people from the pan-blue and pan-green camps. My topic was: "Democracy is the greatest common denominator between the two sides."
I pointed out that although Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
Besides, even if China turns into a democracy, it will not take up Sun's Three Principles of the People as the basis on which the nation is built, for Sun maintained that socialism was embodied in the Principle of Livelihood, one of the tenets of his Three Principles of the People. We have all witnessed the disaster wrought by socialism on mankind, and Sun's attempts to ally himself with Russia and the communists show the pronounced influence of communist thinking.
Since democracy is the greatest common denominator, the resolution of cross-strait disagreements lies in the termination of the CCP's authoritarian rule. Only when China enjoys democracy can the Strait remain peaceful. This is also the only way that Taiwan's goal of becoming a normal country can be realized completely.
Today, many Taiwanese people are demanding a new constitution, and whether or not this document institutes a new national title, flag and national anthem, the right to such changes is a basic right of a democratic country. When former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
After my speech, however, the GADP's first president, Wu Ho-i (
But I simply responded that if a former chairman cannot be criticized, then former presidents Chiang Kai-shek (
Wu has resided in the US for many years. In his reliance on blocking the free flow of thinking by depriving people of a chance to speak, rather than trying to convince them through reasoned argument, we can clearly see the vicious consequence of the slavish mentality fostered by the KMT.
Many of the pan-blue camp's supporters are furious whenever they talk about Taiwan independence. This issue does not exist, however, because the ROC has always been an independent country. It has never belonged to the People's Republic of China.
The main question is whether the country should create a new constitution and change its name. And the only reason that this issue has arisen is that most countries in the world do not recognize the name ROC.
Indeed, when Lien and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) visited Beijing, they did not dare mention the name "ROC." Lien could not admit he was a former ROC vice president, while Soong could not boast of being a former governor of Taiwan Province. So neither man is safeguarding the ROC. One might question the meaning of safeguarding a country that neither man dares to recognize.
Although the pan-blue camp's supporters have tried to block a name change, they are opposed by the international community. All US media refer to this country as "Taiwan;" none uses the name "ROC." This suggests that foreigners have already rectified the country's name, and whatever the sentiments of Chiang Kai-shek's supporters, they cannot change the Taiwanese people's rectification of Taiwan's name.
Cao Changqing is a writer based in New York.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
The military is conducting its annual Han Kuang exercises in phases. The minister of national defense recently said that this year’s scenarios would simulate defending the nation against possible actions the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might take in an invasion of Taiwan, making the threat of a speculated Chinese invasion in 2027 a heated agenda item again. That year, also referred to as the “Davidson window,” is named after then-US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson, who in 2021 warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the PLA to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Xi in 2017