A democracy cannot exist without freedom of expression, just like a body cannot survive without eating. To live, we must eat; to have democracy, we must have freedom of speech.
If the talk of "provocative" behavior toward China that comes from US officials holds water in reference to Taiwanese conducting a referendum, then morality must equally be considered a matter of provocation toward thugs, and democracy itself must be a provocation toward dictatorships.
The day after Taiwan's referendum on applying for UN membership is the 233rd anniversary of the speech by American patriot Patrick Henry in which he coined the famous words "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
Henry called on Americans to start a revolution for independence from Britain. Founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were present when Henry made his speech.
The upcoming referendums are expressions of Taiwanese public opinion. The wishes of Taiwanese are simpler and more fundamental than those in the American colonies in the 18th century.
It's a pity that now, more than 200 years after Henry's famous words, the Taiwanese desire to exercise their right to freedom of political expression is met with comments by the US secretary of state to the effect that it is a "provocative policy."
It's truly regrettable that the political ideals behind the creation of the US have fallen so far.
China fears referendums, and US politicians fear Taiwan's UN referendum.
This, however, is not the end for Taiwan's democracy and freedom, but rather a turning point.
The real reason the US is calling the UN referendum provocative is that the legitimacy of the referendum leaves them with no means to reject its outcome. Hence, the referendum has nothing to do with provocation.
Instead, it is Taiwan's best weapon for defending its freedom. Whether Taiwanese will be democratic and free masters of their own fate, or emasculate themselves to become slaves of the US and Chinese will be decided by their courage in using this treasure.
The reason Taiwan has long been on the side of the US is that the two countries share common values and interests. If US politicians want to be Chinese mouthpieces on all kinds of issues and put pressure on Taiwan, then the Taiwanese and the Americans will have fewer shared values and interests.
The US is going too far in transmitting China's edicts.
Washington's behavior might even make Taiwanese wonder if it is, in fact, US politicians who are trying to keep Taiwanese from deciding their own future in order to profit from the dispute and reap benefits from both sides.
By causing this misunderstanding among Taiwanese, US politicians have hurt the Taiwanese public's faith in their country. The result is that Taiwanese are being gradually pushed toward China.
This is a tragedy for Taiwan and it is also damaging to US interests and democracy around the world.
This is perhaps also China's ultimate motive for placing pressure on the US to make Taiwan obedient.
Lin Chia is an independent commentator.
Translated by Anna Stiggelbout
As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reach the point of confidence that they can start and win a war to destroy the democratic culture on Taiwan, any future decision to do so may likely be directly affected by the CCP’s ability to promote wars on the Korean Peninsula, in Europe, or, as most recently, on the Indian subcontinent. It stands to reason that the Trump Administration’s success early on May 10 to convince India and Pakistan to deescalate their four-day conventional military conflict, assessed to be close to a nuclear weapons exchange, also served to
The recent aerial clash between Pakistan and India offers a glimpse of how China is narrowing the gap in military airpower with the US. It is a warning not just for Washington, but for Taipei, too. Claims from both sides remain contested, but a broader picture is emerging among experts who track China’s air force and fighter jet development: Beijing’s defense systems are growing increasingly credible. Pakistan said its deployment of Chinese-manufactured J-10C fighters downed multiple Indian aircraft, although New Delhi denies this. There are caveats: Even if Islamabad’s claims are accurate, Beijing’s equipment does not offer a direct comparison
After India’s punitive precision strikes targeting what New Delhi called nine terrorist sites inside Pakistan, reactions poured in from governments around the world. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a statement on May 10, opposing terrorism and expressing concern about the growing tensions between India and Pakistan. The statement noticeably expressed support for the Indian government’s right to maintain its national security and act against terrorists. The ministry said that it “works closely with democratic partners worldwide in staunch opposition to international terrorism” and expressed “firm support for all legitimate and necessary actions taken by the government of India
Taiwan aims to elevate its strategic position in supply chains by becoming an artificial intelligence (AI) hub for Nvidia Corp, providing everything from advanced chips and components to servers, in an attempt to edge out its closest rival in the region, South Korea. Taiwan’s importance in the AI ecosystem was clearly reflected in three major announcements Nvidia made during this year’s Computex trade show in Taipei. First, the US company’s number of partners in Taiwan would surge to 122 this year, from 34 last year, according to a slide shown during CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech on Monday last week.
RSS