As a Palestinian from Gaza residing in Taiwan, I value the nation’s commitment to democratic principles, education, family and freedom. These values resonate deeply with Palestinians and are rooted in our own traditions.
Yet, I must ask: Can a country that claims to uphold freedom and democracy sincerely do so while denying other people these very rights?
Israel’s representative in Taiwan describes a “mutual liberal democratic way of living.” However, this concept is undermined when Israel, as an occupying power, systematically restricts Palestinians’ freedom, denies them their right to return to their homes from which they were displaced and confines generations of families to refugee camps.
How can true freedom exist when one side imposes control over another, stripping them of autonomy and dignity?
The article speaks of Israel as the world’s only “Jewish state.” Yet, we must ask: What does it mean for a state to be defined by religion, granting citizenship to people based on faith, while denying fundamental rights to the native Palestinian population, Muslim and Christian alike?
The idea of a country built on exclusive religious identity, with laws that privilege one group over another, raises difficult questions about equality and human rights. This approach has created a two-tier system that deprives Palestinians of civil rights, something that does not align with democratic ideals.
The piece claims that Israel has made repeated efforts to pursue peace, yet it overlooks a crucial reality: Peace cannot exist without justice. Palestinians have witnessed repeated refusals by Israel to engage with internationally supported peace initiatives aimed at ending the occupation.
Calls for “peace for peace,” without addressing the occupation’s root causes, fall short of genuine reconciliation and contravene international resolutions that mandate Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories. True peace demands a commitment to end injustice, not to preserve it.
The representative writes about the Jewish people’s ancestral homeland, implying that Palestinians wish to “erase” Jewish presence from the land. This is an oversimplification that distorts history and ignores the fundamental issue.
Palestinians are not struggling against Jewish identity or faith; they are fighting for their right to live freely in their homeland, just as they have alongside their Jewish neighbors since long before the Zionist political project began.
The repeated narrative of survival is another point used to justify Israel’s actions, casting Zionist settlers as perpetual victims forced to “stand up and fight.”
Yet, it is crucial to remember that security does not require oppression, and survival does not justify the occupation of other people’s land.
The Palestinian cause is grounded in resistance against the injustice of displacement, not in erasing anyone’s identity or existence. Faulty readings of history should not be used to justify one group’s suffering over another’s.
Lastly, there is a call to free the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Indeed, humanitarian concerns are paramount, and the value of every life is unquestionable.
However, if Israel’s government genuinely values human life, then the world must also demand an end to the bombardments, mass killings and tragic scenes of people being burned alive in their own homes.
To speak of humanity, one must act with humanity on both sides, upholding the principle that all lives are equally valuable, Palestinian and Israeli alike.
The journey toward justice requires recognizing the humanity of all people involved, with neither side imposing its will at the cost of the other side’s freedom and dignity.
For peace to be real and lasting, it must be rooted in justice, equality and the acknowledgement of all historical truths — not selective readings designed to justify ongoing oppression.
The world, including Taiwan, must support a vision of peace that respects every individual’s right to live in their homeland freely and safely, and that brings an end to the tragedies inflicted by occupation and denial of fundamental human rights.
Hazem Almassry is a Palestinian from Gaza living in Taiwan.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS