Economic instability in China could lend strength to calls for the nation's democratization, Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. He also cautioned, saying Taiwan could become the scapegoat of nationalism during what he thought was an inevitable process of democratization in China.
"Only by learning from Taiwan will China be able to respond to calls for democratization. Taiwan's democracy is where China's hope lies," Wu said yesterday while delivering a speech during the closing ceremony of a conference held on the prospects of democratization in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Wu did not shy away from historical detail in promoting Taiwan's democratization as a model for China yesterday, saying that Chinese leaders should learn specifically from former ROC president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
"Taiwan was under the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at the time, but Chiang was willing to give democracy a try," Wu said.
Wu said that it is difficult to grasp when strong pressure to democratize will be exerted by the Chinese people, but predicted that it would occur during economic instability after a sustained period of growth. He pointed to a downturn in the global economic cycle as a possible catalyst for increased pressure for democratization.
"This kind of pressure [for democracy] can be immediate, and if China is not prepared, much chaos could ensue. We know from history that in 1989 and 1990, the Soviet Union collapsed very quickly," Wu said.
However, Wu warned that Taiwan needed to be cautious in terms of policy formulation during any move toward democratization in China.
"Currently, Japan serves as Chinese authorities' emotional outlet in dealing with democratization, and there are of course historical reasons for this. But the focus could shift to Taiwan," Wu said, calling any period of democratization in China "dangerous" for Taiwan.
Johnny Lau (劉銳紹), a cross-strait political commentator from Hong Kong, said regarding Chinese democratization, there was a need for not only pressure but also guidance.
"We need to work for the establishment of democracy and a value system we agree with ? there is a lot of pressure for democratization from the international community, but there is no guidance from them," Lau said.
Ping Lu (平路), director of Taiwan's Kwang Hwa Information and Culture Center in Hong Kong, also noted that Taiwan could serve as a model for Hong Kong and China, but added there were barriers to such an exchange.
"Taiwan and Hong Kong have long underestimated each other. Taiwan took Hong Kong as an example of the failure of the `one country, two systems' model, while Hong Kong took Taiwan as an example of the chaos that democracy brings," Ping Lu said.
"To Hong Kong, it may seem that Taiwan has many problems. Taiwanese legislators watch call-in talk shows on television at night and then respond to them in the legislature the next day. This is unhealthy, but this is democracy, and without democracy we can't discuss these problems," Michael Hsiao (蕭新煌), national policy advisor to the president said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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