The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy was established in 2003 with the primary goal of “establishing a cooperative relationship and aligning with international democratic forces.”
It is mainly funded by a stipend of about NT$1.5 billion (US$47.1 million) set aside by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Taiwan’s foreign affairs have long been pressured by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), having to use international partnerships to establish informal relations with other democratic countries. This was the main duty of the foundation when it was established.
The main purpose of Taiwan consolidating democratic power is to resist and fight back against the suppression and expansion of the CCP’s dictatorship and party-state autocracy, because it is Taiwan’s greatest threat to the development of its democracy and human rights.
The CCP uses ethnonationalism, and cultural identity and resonance in its attempts to erode Taiwan’s faith in democracy and its stalwart protection of human rights.
It makes little sense to use money meant for the foundation to visit China in an official capacity to increase government exchanges and create amity with the CCP, as it would do little to protect Taiwan’s progress in aligning itself with international human rights.
Moreover, it would plunge the nation’s hard-earned money into a cash stream that only helps the CCP to smuggle in spies to bolster its goal of annexing Taiwan.
It would be the same as spending the national treasury on developing an autocracy — a complete waste of taxpayer money.
In line with how the foundation has operated, the legislative speaker serves as its director. It is only to be expected that Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) would rise to the occasion and serve as the foundation’s director.
However, the public has serious doubts regarding his directorship, because Han has long held a pro-China stance. There is the question of whether he would use the foundation’s financial resources to develop deeper exchanges with the CCP.
These doubts and suspicions are not without merit. There is a paper trail. In the past four years, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), to which Han belongs, had made plans to set aside NT$5 million for official trips to China.
As Han is a pro-China KMT member, if he assumes directorship of the foundation, will he ask for more money to bolster exchanges with China?
The legislature needs to be more transparent about how the foundation’s money is used so tax dollars are not used to financially support dictatorships. It should produce annual public budget reports.
Amid the attention on exchanges with China, hopefully the legislature’s majority party, the KMT, would support such reports and help share the goals of protecting human rights and advancing democracy with the CCP.
Chen Chi-nung is a political commentator.
Translated by Tim Smith
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