There have been reports that a majority of Taiwanese want the nation to join the UN, regardless of what the US and China might think.
According to the same reports, people are also dissatisfied with Taiwan’s international status. The constant threats and pressure from China is certainly the main reason for this, but the “non-normality” of Taiwan itself is another important factor.
If Taiwan itself is not normal, its international status cannot improve, even without China blocking it. Taiwan would remain an international aberration even if it continued to console itself, collectively talking about being sovereign and independent. It cannot even define its territory, so why the talk about sovereignty?
The most “non-normal” thing about Taiwan is that after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was chased out of China, it ruled the nation for about 70 years. Relying on a metaphysical slogan — “one China, different interpretations” — it claimed that its territory included the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and other members of the UN.
Taiwanese’s feelings of identity and territory have been destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda and the KMT’s brainwashing, and their common sense has been so numbed that they no longer think that there is anything strange about the KMT’s delusional territorial claims.
The first step toward Taiwan’s normalization must be to accept that the surreal and delusional territorial claims are tantamount to recognizing that the nation has no defined territory.
It is like the way someone who says “wherever I lay my hat is my home” has, in fact, no home. A place without a defined territory cannot be a nation and it cannot receive international recognition.
Taiwanese have been deceived and living in an illusory state of pretense for far too long. It is time to come down and step on solid ground and prove that Taiwanese no longer believe in the absurd, exaggerated delusion and pragmatically, humbly and rationally announce to the world that Taiwan’s territory is restricted to Taiwan proper and the Penghu Archipelago. As for the status of Kinmen and Matsu, that would require further discussion.
The size of the area is similar that of the Netherlands and the population is greater than in three-quarters of UN nations. The educational level, social development and industrial potential is superior to more than half the world’s nations.
Due to Chinese obstruction, Taiwan has been unable to join the UN as an equal member of the international community.
The world must be made aware of this great humiliation and injustice. China might be strong, but innumerable challenges to its survival exist, and the consensus among the international community in general and the US, Japan and the EU in particular is that they will no longer accept military attacks by dictatorships or authoritarian governments on democratic and free nations.
If Taiwanese continue to work hard to improve and consolidate democracy and develop the nation’s industry, it is just a matter of time before things change. When that happens, there will be a wave of recognition of Taiwan.
Based on a foundation of reality, the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should build a national consensus behind the creation of a new constitution or the amendment of the current one.
If the government is unable to take the first step, Taiwanese can forget about normalizing the nation.
Peng Ming-min is a former presidential adviser
Translated by Perry Svensson
US President Donald Trump has gotten off to a head-spinning start in his foreign policy. He has pressured Denmark to cede Greenland to the United States, threatened to take over the Panama Canal, urged Canada to become the 51st US state, unilaterally renamed the Gulf of Mexico to “the Gulf of America” and announced plans for the United States to annex and administer Gaza. He has imposed and then suspended 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico for their roles in the flow of fentanyl into the United States, while at the same time increasing tariffs on China by 10
As an American living in Taiwan, I have to confess how impressed I have been over the years by the Chinese Communist Party’s wholehearted embrace of high-speed rail and electric vehicles, and this at a time when my own democratic country has chosen a leader openly committed to doing everything in his power to put obstacles in the way of sustainable energy across the board — and democracy to boot. It really does make me wonder: “Are those of us right who hold that democracy is the right way to go?” Has Taiwan made the wrong choice? Many in China obviously
US President Donald Trump last week announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on eight countries. As Taiwan, a key hub for semiconductor manufacturing, is among them, the policy would significantly affect the country. In response, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) dispatched two officials to the US for negotiations, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) board of directors convened its first-ever meeting in the US. Those developments highlight how the US’ unstable trade policies are posing a growing threat to Taiwan. Can the US truly gain an advantage in chip manufacturing by reversing trade liberalization? Is it realistic to
About 6.1 million couples tied the knot last year, down from 7.28 million in 2023 — a drop of more than 20 percent, data from the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs showed. That is more serious than the precipitous drop of 12.2 percent in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the saying goes, a single leaf reveals an entire autumn. The decline in marriages reveals problems in China’s economic development, painting a dismal picture of the nation’s future. A giant question mark hangs over economic data that Beijing releases due to a lack of clarity, freedom of the press
RSS