The ROC betrayed Taiwan
During his Double Ten National Day speech on Thursday, President William Lai (賴清德) delivered a clear message to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that it has no right to represent Taiwan in the international community.
Lai also said that the Republic of China (ROC) was once expelled from the international community; however, the Taiwanese have never been in self-exile. They have limited resources on this land, but when friends encounter natural disasters or face a pandemic, they do not hesitate to extend a helping hand. “Taiwan Can Help!” is not a slogan, it is an action taken by the Taiwanese to love peace and be kind to others.
All Taiwanese, whether they want to call the country the ROC, Taiwan, or the ROC on Taiwan, have a common belief: Our determination to defend our national sovereignty remains unchanged, Lai said. Our efforts to maintain the “status quo” of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait remain unchanged. We hope that the two sides’ commitment to equality, dignity, and healthy and orderly dialogue and exchanges would also remain unchanged.
At the end of his speech, Lai said: “Our determination, from one generation to the next, to protect our free and democratic way of life remains unchanged. I believe this is the dream that Taiwan’s 23 million people all share; it is also the shared ideal that Taiwanese society and the international community hold. The stronger the commitment of the Taiwanese people, the greater the tenacity of democracy around the world. The greater the tenacity of the Taiwanese people, the stronger the commitment of democracy around the world.”
Lai has tried his best to unite Taiwan and realize our dreams together. However, what is next? We are still facing the challenge from China and Taiwan is still an international orphan; these facts have never changed. So, I strongly believe that Lai must take a decisive step to guide Taiwan in the right direction, for compromising to include all would only end up in nothing but standing still and going nowhere.
Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) on March 13, 1950, said to his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) military officers that the ROC had perished following the loss of China. The International Olympic Committee greeted us as Formosa in the Rome Olympics in 1960, but we attended under protest. In 1964 in Tokyo and 1968 in Mexico, it greeted us as Taiwan, but we still attended under protest. We accepted neither Formosa nor Taiwan and ended up accepting Chinese Taipei. This fact checks from history; the ROC government rejected Formosa and Taiwan just for its fake name.
Now that Lai inherits the torch of the ROC, he must clearly point out to Taiwanese who betrayed Taiwan. The ROC betrayed Taiwan. Stand up from wherever you fall. That is the only way one can really heal and restart. Those who believe they are Chinese are free to move to China; Taiwan is for the Taiwanese. That is the only way we can truly unite Taiwan to realize our dream together.
John Hsieh
Hayward, California
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