Taiwan is a democratic country where the military parade, often a show of force by authoritarian governments, is a thing of the past.
However, there was an exception earlier this month on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the legendary Whampoa Military Academy by the Republic of China (ROC) with Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) as the superintendent and ROC founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) as the ceremonial premier of the academy.
The Republic of China Military Academy, a direct successor of Whampoa, held a centennial ceremony presided over by President William Lai (賴清德), Taiwan’s commander in chief.
Something embarrassing happened when one unit representing academy alumni did not salute the president, leading to speculation ranging from that it was an “honest mistake” to a “humiliating gesture” to even “disloyalty to Taiwan.”
Given the political atmosphere of “blue” versus “green” in the Legislative Yuan, the event could hardly fail to cause political ripples. At a crucial moment when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) recently surrounded Taiwan with military exercises externally, and legislators are trying to grab power internally, defending democracy and freedom has never been so serious.
Freedom is never free. We owe so much to the few who have fought the enemies of the country in military conflict. It is important for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
It is noteworthy that Chiang named the cadet dormitories in the military academy after 10 generals who fought the CCP and sacrificed themselves, were killed or committed suicide on the battlefield. All of them died in their 30s or 40s.
“Duty, Honor, Country” has been the US Military Academy’s motto since 1898 and is meant, according to the academy, to inspire courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, and to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.
History shows that societies always make progress despite some setbacks in justice, welfare and humanity. Sometimes, even a democratic government might not deserve the support of the people, but an authoritarian government is, as a rule, inhumane and seriously flawed.
Democracy, while fragile, imperfect and often ineffective, has been the best political system that human beings have achieved through thousands of years, if not longer, of brutalities, tragedies and wars. The right side of history has to be democracy, not autocracy.
However, in Taiwan, there is always this question about which country you are fighting for. That confusion is fading, but still exists among some military and government personnel and citizens alike.
The question should be: Are we fighting aggression, protecting the weak and the disadvantaged, and standing up for the higher principles of preserving democracy and freedom?
Or are we seeking the glory of a big country at the expense of human dignity, liberty and gaiety? To put it simply, are we prepared to be on the right side of history?
Mark Twain said: “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” When the government loves our people, we love it back, and he who strives to make his country best loves it best.
The answer is then clear: Only a government of the people, by the people, for the people, deserves our patriotism.
We salute the patriots in the past, present and future at the academy and in the military from the bottom of our hearts.
James J.Y. Hsu is a retired professor of theoretical physics.
World leaders are preparing themselves for a second Donald Trump presidency. Some leaders know more or less where he stands: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy knows that a difficult negotiation process is about to be forced on his country, and the leaders of NATO countries would be well aware of being complacent about US military support with Trump in power. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely be feeling relief as the constraints placed on him by the US President Joe Biden administration would finally be released. However, for President William Lai (賴清德) the calculation is not simple. Trump has surrounded himself
US president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named US Representative Mike Waltz, a vocal supporter of arms sales to Taiwan who has called China an “existential threat,” as his national security advisor, and on Thursday named US Senator Marco Rubio, founding member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China — a global, cross-party alliance to address the challenges that China poses to the rules-based order — as his secretary of state. Trump’s appointments, including US Representative Elise Stefanik as US ambassador to the UN, who has been a strong supporter of Taiwan in the US Congress, and Robert Lighthizer as US trade
Following the BRICS summit held in Kazan, Russia, last month, media outlets circulated familiar narratives about Russia and China’s plans to dethrone the US dollar and build a BRICS-led global order. Each summit brings renewed buzz about a BRICS cross-border payment system designed to replace the SWIFT payment system, allowing members to trade without using US dollars. Articles often highlight the appeal of this concept to BRICS members — bypassing sanctions, reducing US dollar dependence and escaping US influence. They say that, if widely adopted, the US dollar could lose its global currency status. However, none of these articles provide
On Friday last week, tens of thousands of young Chinese took part in a bike ride overnight from Henan Province’s Zhengzhou (鄭州) to the historical city of Kaifeng in search of breakfast. The night ride became a viral craze after four female university students in June chronicled their ride on social media from Zhengzhou in search of soup dumplings in Kaifeng. Propelled by the slogan “youth is priceless,” the number of nocturnal riders surged to about 100,000 on Friday last week. The main road connecting the two cities was crammed with cyclists as police tried to maintain order. That sparked
RSS