My recent trip to Taiwan to vote in the presidential and legislative elections was a simple civil duty. Yet, it was still an eye-opening experience for a long-time US resident, given the similarity in political divisions of the two-party system in both countries. As the Washington Post said: “This isn’t just an election year. It’s the year of elections.”
Taiwan’s election was to choose between pro-democracy and pro-China. To a good extent, the US election in November would also be the decision time for defending democracy. The strength of a democratic society lies in the quality of its people, who have the ability to judge right from wrong, good from evil, truth from fiction, excellent from mediocre.
While false reports must be corrected and those who spread rumors must be punished, it is an insult to people’s intelligence if the government restricts information. Purging the media is an extreme and dangerous act. Only a dictatorial government would seek to control the media so as to brainwash citizens. When people lose their ability to judge, society would forever lose its democracy and freedom.
The media is the eyes of the public, and freedom of speech must be protected. Furthermore, facts speak louder than words, truth becomes clearer with more arguments, and decency and compassion are contagious. Freedom and openness is how people are made masters of their country. Specious propaganda would only amount to a storm in a teacup in a such an environment, as demonstrated by the recent elections in Taiwan. While China has made great efforts to dissuade voting for a pro-democracy presidential candidate, the outcome was that democracy won.
A few hours after polling stations closed, the election results were recognized. The rigorous check of each ballot leaves no room for any candidates to declare the election stolen.
While a pending transfer of power to the opposition was not the result, if it had been, it would occur peacefully, as any democracy must. In this election, people have spoken and chosen democracy and freedom, as well as checks and balances. They want the ruling party to be more disciplined, a wise choice for a mature democracy. It also shows Taiwan’s soft power is self-confidence and resilience in the face of foreign enemies.
A vibrant democracy requires an educated citizenry and morally grounded leadership. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has demonstrated her skillful governance with a low-key, people-friendly, affectionately persuasive leadership style.
The administration still has made a few missteps that need honest self-reflection. Young people’s dissatisfaction was aired in this election, a potential crisis for the ruling party. A populist campaign ran by Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has changed the political landscape so much so that a third party has critical leverage in the Legislative Yuan.
The art of governance would be even more challenging, but that is how democracy asks institutions to progress.
Taiwan has implemented a few successful social programs: a national health insurance program providing an inexpensive and convenient medical service to the public, social housing has been provided to low-income earners to buy or rent an apartment, a program providing discounts or even free city transportation for elderly people and house calls to elderly people.
However, like any capitalist society, the rich have been getting richer, while the poor have been getting poorer. Statistically, a rich person’s dollar makes a lot more money than a poor person’s dollar. This monetary inequality is the reason why young people have the most burden to bear.
Singapore has implemented many successful policies designed by Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀), Singapore’s first prime minister. First, English is emphasized as an official language, so it is easier for foreign investment to help develop the economy and provide people with jobs.
Second, when young people go to work, the Singaporean government, companies and individuals jointly provide a down payment to help them buy a house. Owning real estate is the first step to building wealth, which helps Singapore’s average wealth per capita top most Asian nations.
Strengthening bilingual education and helping people own their own homes are worthy policies for the new government to advance. Moreover, it is crucial to listen to citizens’ views and address their concerns with the right policies, especially to improve the government’s corruption index. Those would be key for the ruling party to retain trust.
In addition, a reminder to our fellow Taiwanese young people is that the key to success is innovation, as demonstrated by Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀), which evidently also makes the world a better place. A democratic and free society provides the right incubator for innovation for people in every walk of life to flourish. We must treasure and protect our democracy and freedom as if we could lose it at any moment.
James J. Y. Hsu is a retired professor of theoretical physics.
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