Although I knew about the government’s suppression of public demonstrations against the visit by Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), I was still startled when I saw the documentary Red Caution (紅色戒嚴). The protesters were indeed as brave as the theme song of the documentary said: “I want to reach out and test how hot the flames are.”
It is never easy to protect freedom and rights. This protest alone resulted in 18 arrests and nearly 300 civilian injuries from police beatings. Chinese rocker Ao Bo (敖博), who was persecuted and forced into exile in Sweden for supporting Taiwan, sings in his latest song that Taiwanese democracy has been kidnapped and Taiwanese freedom put in jail. This tells of the realities facing today’s Taiwan.
This big step backward in the nation’s democracy and human rights is directly related to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “one China” policy, which is both illogical and deceitful. In contrast, the green camp’s proposal to make a new constitution, change the nation’s title and move toward becoming a new country at least makes sense regardless of whether one agrees with the idea.
It was also logical for dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) to insist that the Republic of China (ROC) represented China, and because they did not recognize the rule of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) People’s Republic of China (PRC) over China, Chiang Ching-kuo insisted on his “three noes” policy — no contact, no negotiation and no concession. It was also logical for former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to refer to the relationship between Taiwan and China as a “state-to-state” relationship because he recognized the PRC rule over the Chinese mainland while pointing out that the ROC existed in Taiwan with jurisdiction over only Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
The Ma administration’s “one China” policy, however, is illogical. If you return to the era of the two Chiangs and insist that there is only one China and that the ROC represents that China, then you do not recognize CCP rule over the Chinese mainland but view it as an un-free part of the ROC. Once Ma took power, he not only initiated contact, but also compromised and cooperated with a CCP that he should not have even recognized. During Chen’s visit to Taipei, Ma said that if the government could not protect Chen, it could not call itself a government. Worse yet, national flags were not displayed, but PRC flags were. It is clear which China Ma recognizes.
Under the two Chiangs, anti-communist activities were supported worldwide. However, Ma shows no sympathy toward the persecuted people in the “non-free region,” and publicly commends the CCP for its “progress” while distancing himself from anti-communist activities. The government didn’t even inquire about the arrest of a member of the pro-Chinese pan-blue alliance because it was afraid to displease China.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has never dared fly — and has even abandoned — the national flag in Taiwan, China or at any international event. This tells us that the Ma administration knows better than anyone that the ROC has come to an end.
Although the cooperation between Ma and China makes the government seem strong, it is not. Because his policies are entirely illogical, the government is unable to reach China or Taiwan.
When a party’s policies are illogical, they are bound to fail. Despite all the glorious talk about KMT-CCP cooperation, more than 80 percent of Taiwanese still see themselves as Taiwanese. Regardless of what the Ma government does as it strives for eventual unification, this is a force that can never be suppressed.
Cao Changqing is a writer based in the US.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
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