We thought thE authoritarian regime was long gone.
We thought that freedom of speech had become part of our life.We were wrong.
Freedom and democracy — hard to attain, easy to crush. Over the past half a century, many have sacrificed their freedom, their youth, even their dear lives to attain these rights. However, in this past week, we have witnessed the return of the authoritarian regime, with its relentless suppression of freedom of speech and assembly. In order to “welcome” Chen Yun-lin (陳雲林), the special envoy from China, peaceful protesters who were waving national flags or banners, singing or loudly voicing their appeals were brutally “served” by the police with fists, kicks and sticks.
Society was shocked by this regression of democracy and freedom of speech. Civic groups have begun to organize themselves. University students have taken action to defend their freedom of speech.
The sit-in protest by students started in front of the Executive Yuan on Thursday night last week. Three days later, the students formed the “Wild Strawberries Movement.” Democracy is in peril, they say, and critical issues are at stake: The Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法) violates the Constitution and human rights have been infringed upon. They have demanded that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Liu Chao-hsuan (劉兆玄) apologize; that National Security Bureau Director Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明) and National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) step down and that the Assembly and Parade Law be amended.
In support of the students’ cause, civic groups on Tuesday launched a vigil walk around Liberty Square from 6pm to 7pm every evening. The organizers are calling on people from all walks of life to participate in this civic movement to support the “Wild Strawberries” and “safeguard Taiwan.”
As democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) said: “Our strength has its roots in our solidarity.” To preserve our hard-won achievements in democracy, we must demonstrate the will and strength of civil society, condemn the use of state violence and defend the freedom of speech.
Jason Liu is a professor at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry gives it a strategic advantage, but that advantage would be threatened as the US seeks to end Taiwan’s monopoly in the industry and as China grows more assertive, analysts said at a security dialogue last week. While the semiconductor industry is Taiwan’s “silicon shield,” its dominance has been seen by some in the US as “a monopoly,” South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University academic Kwon Seok-joon said at an event held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In addition, Taiwan lacks sufficient energy sources and is vulnerable to natural disasters and geopolitical threats from China, he said.
After reading the article by Hideki Nagayama [English version on same page] published in the Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Wednesday, I decided to write this article in hopes of ever so slightly easing my depression. In August, I visited the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan, to attend a seminar. While there, I had the chance to look at the museum’s collections. I felt extreme annoyance at seeing that the museum had classified Taiwanese indigenous peoples as part of China’s ethnic minorities. I kept thinking about how I could make this known, but after returning
What value does the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hold in Taiwan? One might say that it is to defend — or at the very least, maintain — truly “blue” qualities. To be truly “blue” — without impurities, rejecting any “red” influence — is to uphold the ideology consistent with that on which the Republic of China (ROC) was established. The KMT would likely not object to this notion. However, if the current generation of KMT political elites do not understand what it means to be “blue” — or even light blue — their knowledge and bravery are far too lacking
Taipei’s population is estimated to drop below 2.5 million by the end of this month — the only city among the nation’s six special municipalities that has more people moving out than moving in this year. A city that is classified as a special municipality can have three deputy mayors if it has a population of more than 2.5 million people, Article 55 of the Local Government Act (地方制度法) states. To counter the capital’s shrinking population, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) held a cross-departmental population policy committee meeting on Wednesday last week to discuss possible solutions. According to Taipei City Government data, Taipei’s