Think before you speak
Internet celebrity Holger Chen (陳之漢) claims that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was behind him being shot in 2020, but he has failed to provide evidence. How can he make such random, groundless accusations?
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has also said that “everyone around President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is corrupt” and “all political commentators can be bribed with money.” He has to this day been unable to say who is corrupt and who has been bribed.
It is against the law to arbitrarily accuse someone of a crime. Before a person is convicted, they are presumed innocent. People cannot fabricate charges, or even recklessly attack or accuse someone of a crime. This is not only common sense, but also the public consensus. Surprisingly, the two public figures who are accustomed to speaking without thinking have made groundless accusations, and their disregard of the law is disheartening.
Offense and defense in politics should not run counter to facts and human nature. If a person thinks that someone has committed a crime, it is incumbent upon them to have evidence.
The two public figures reveal their disingenuousness by being ambiguous, as they do not name anyone on purpose while attacking the DPP as a whole. Their goal is to create internal confrontation and suspicion among the public.
Taiwanese cannot accept their deliberate incitements and provocations.
Victor Hung
Taichung
Taiwan’s choice
While Vice President William Lai (賴清德) was attending the inauguration of Paraguayan President Santiago Pena, Bloomberg Businessweek released an exclusive interview with him on Tuesday last week. The interview, conducted by Joel Weber, was titled “He wants to lead Taiwan. But can he keep the peace?” with a sub-headline “Taiwan’s Election Is All About War.”
Weber asked about 10 questions sharply questioning Lai’s vision of running Taiwan. It starts with “View on Xi Jinping [習近平], Cuisine of peace, Formal independence, Roadmap to independence, Taiwan’s red line, Zelenskyy’s leadership, Visit White House, Count on USA, TSMC chip fabs, Self-evaluation,” step-by-step leading to an ivory tower of small-minded, insular, and blindfolded viewpoints that identified Lai as a bigoted, reactionary individual and partisan of Taiwan independence.
Weber’s interview echoed Kathrin Hille’s Financial Times article “Washington presses Taiwan presidential frontrunner on White House comments.” Both journalists seemed to be discouraging the Taiwanese dream of becoming an independent country. They are both reputable media reporters who know what democracy and freedom mean to Taiwanese and the free world.
However, why did they repeatedly raise questions on Taiwan’s nation building?
It is hard to say who might be the real people directing them to raise those sharp questions to discourage Lai, but it did provide Lai and Taiwanese with a good opportunity to reassure themselves that they must insist having a democratic system and freedom of living. The nation does believe and echo what Lai said about the US being a close friend of Taiwan. This election is about choosing between democracy and dictatorship, the White House or the Zhongnanhai in Beijing. This nation chooses democracy and the White House.
The Taiwan International Solidarity Act passed by the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee aims to safeguard the nation’s international participation, but the dilemma remains regarding how Taiwan will define itself. The nation keeps calling itself the Republic of China or ROC Taiwan. It is in conflict with what the UN Resolution 2758 said, which is that the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of China. So, a very simple question to ask is who does the ROC Taiwan represent — China, Taiwan or both?
However, the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act is exciting and encouraging. It was originally signed by Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and American Institute in Taiwan Managing Director Ingrid Larson, and was then signed by US President Joe Biden. There is not any indication of the name ROC, but instead Taiwan. Absolutely, Taiwan is not the ROC.
Nobody in Taiwan wants war, but there are very different ways to avoid it. The Chinese Nationalist Party presidential candidate New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) agrees with the “one China” principle and the “1992 consensus”; Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) considers himself Chinese and only wants to sign a peace agreement with Beijing; Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) follows Mao Zedong (毛澤東) and accepts whatever China says. All three agree with the “one China” principle that Taiwan is part of China.
However, China has again launched military drills around Taiwan in a response to Lai’s US transit. Lai said Taiwan and China can be friends, but before China renounces military invasion, Taiwan must prepare its defenses. Only good defenses can stop a war, not surrendering.
If Taiwan wants to maintain the “status quo” it must elect a leader who has the same values as the US so that they can work together. It seems that Taiwan’s future depends on voters’ wisdom and choices. Whether the nation becomes pro-American visiting the White House, or pro-China going to Zhongnanhai is up to voters to decide for themselves.
War or peace is approaching, so the nation must use peace as a beacon, cherish democracy as a compass and fulfil the century-old wish of Taiwan going international.
John Hsieh
Hayward, California
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