Two major pillars — the will of the Taiwanese public and the US’ commitment to its ally — provide support for Taiwan’s future, Formosan Association for Public Affairs executive director Coen Blaauw said earlier this week.
In a keynote speech to the 27th annual convention of the North American Taiwanese Medical Association (NATMA), Blaauw said that while he had no real concerns about the US fulfilling its role, he worried that Taiwanese might not fight hard enough to stay separate from China.
He said there was a widespread feeling of inevitability in Taiwan that the country would fall under Chinese rule.
However, this is far from inevitable, he said, adding that only if Taiwanese are prepared to reject Beijing’s enticements, could Taiwan secure its future independence.
Blaauw, who has helped to write much of the pro-Taiwan legislation that passed through the US Congress in the past decade, was presented with a NATMA award for service to Taiwan.
Others who have received the award in the past include Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
Clifford Chao, president of the NATMA Greater New York Chapter, which hosted the event, said the primary goal of the meeting was to raise awareness of key healthcare issues affecting the Taiwanese-American community, such as healthcare reform and cardiovascular diseases.
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