Today is Double Ten National Day, with commemorations being held across the nation, led by this afternoon’s main celebration outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. All eyes will be on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) last National Day address, as she underlines the coda on her eight years in office before attentions turn in earnest to January’s presidential election.
The holiday is an occasion for the nation’s friends and compatriots around the world to convene in Taiwan, the guest list always serving as an unofficial barometer of foreign relations. Top dignitaries from the nation’s diplomatic allies are attending as usual, including the Nauruan president and the governors-general of Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. For friendly nations without formal diplomatic ties, lawmakers often attend as a show of support. A particularly large 42-member delegation from the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council is attending, comprising this year’s largest foreign delegation in a reflection of the increasing importance with which Japan views its relationship with Taiwan. Five lawmakers from Canada also arrived yesterday for the celebrations and other meetings during their six-day trip.
In another diplomatic workaround, the government over the past two years has invited musical groups from abroad to perform during the official celebration, no doubt to highlight the strength of the nation’s cultural ties with other countries. Following a performance last year by a marching band from Kyoto, Japan, the Emerald Knights marching band from Tokyo University of Agriculture’s Second High School are to perform this year, as well as the first group from the US to perform at a National Day event, the UCLA Bruins marching band.
Double Ten has always first and foremost been an occasion for national self-reflection. However, in recent years it has become the focus of more international attention, as it is a rare occasion when Taiwan can speak to the world about itself on its own terms, free from the medium of its relation to China or any other nation. As this year’s itinerary implies, the message over the past eight years has been one of global engagement and resilience, tinged by self-conscious knowledge that the world is looking to see what Taiwan has to say.
Yet the conundrum of National Day is that its dual purpose as a mirror and a megaphone can send mixed messages. Those listening will hear both Taiwan’s official line, as well as its domestic squabbles, which have been turned up to 11 with the elections just around the corner.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) declaration last week that he would not be attending in protest against the event’s official English name, “Taiwan National Day” — backed up by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and its presidential nominee, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) — is sure to send a confusing message to international observers. Taiwan is the nation’s recognized name around the world, and to have its main opposition party boycott official celebrations because of something that is already globally recognized makes it appear antiquated, stuck with the policies of Ma’s era. To those unfamiliar with the intricacies of Taiwanese history and politics, it would appear as though the opposition wants to be a part of China by insisting on the name “Republic of China,” which is far from its moderate policy of advocating for engagement as a separate state.
For all its imperfections, Double Ten remains a showcase of the nation’s vitality that no one seeking to run the country should undermine. The patriotic thing would be to set aside politics on this important day and face the world with a unified message of resilience and camaraderie.
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