Fri May 18, 2012
Joshua Wu
Taiwan -The Forgotten Democracy
By Joshua Wu, Washington DC – September 2006
As conflicts in the Middle East and Africa dominate the agenda, it is easy to forget there’s a fight for democracy and freedom occurring in other countries. Though not in the public spotlight, these lower profile countries still matter as each is an opportunity for the world to reaffirm its commitment to democracy and freedom, for its intrinsic value, and not to fulfill some ulterior motive or agenda. Surely, fighting for democracy and freedom in such countries must be of equal if not greater value than doing so for the media frenzy that so dominates international relations today.
One such forgotten country is Taiwan, the fair-emerald isle in East Asia. A thriving democracy of 23 million citizens, Taiwan is effectively an independent state, having a distinct government, economy, and military. It passes all the requirements of statehood as established in the Montevideo Convention of the Rights and Duties of States, the internationally recognized legal standard for statehood. A founding member of the United Nations and occupant of a seat on the Security Council in 1945, Taiwan is politically derecognized by most of the world and diplomatically isolated, enjoying only implicit and not explicit independence.
More than that, Taiwan is at the mercy of its authoritarian neighbor, which by its own admission has never ruled Taiwan for even one day. In fact, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) refuses to renounce force in reclaiming what it has never owned, and to this end, it holds annual military exercises simulating the forceful invasion of Taiwan while assembling a massive offensive missile arsenal aimed at the country. If its intentions were unambiguous, in 2005, it passed an anti-secession law legally binding the military to invade Taiwan if it ever declared independence or made moves towards formal independence.
Does an emerging global superpower and gargantuan economic powerhouse have the political clout to suppress the freedom and democracy of the Taiwanese people? Why hasn’t global indignation catalyzed the world to the aid of this small democratic country which was a founding member of the UN?
The world must not allow freedom and democracy to be compromised for the promise of greater trade with the PRC. Embracing Taiwan does not mean renouncing the PRC, but it simply allows Taiwan equal standing with all the other states in the world. It is not a zero-sum game, for Taiwan and the PRC can both coexist as two autonomous states in the Taiwan Strait, both committed to peaceful coexistence.
Every year Taiwan applies for membership in the United Nations and other international bodies, and every year it is rejected in even these initial attempts to gain full international status. While it may be unrealistic to expect change to occur overnight, much can be done.
An engaged generation of youth can change the world but first they must be educated about the Taiwan Strait crisis, and not simply accept the Chinese rhetoric that dominates the debate. Propaganda purported to be fact breeds misinformation that suffocates a fair discourse. Youth must write letters to editors when media does not objectively describe the situation. They must petition elected officials to support pro-Taiwan legislation and seek out local Taiwanese advocacy groups to join in their efforts to raise awareness and expand the dialogue. The youth of this generation must ensure that this international injustice does not persist into the next generation.
As William Faulkner pointed out, freedom must be backed up by action for it to be of any value. It must be uncompromisingly defended, and never exchanged for the promise of gilded riches, no matter how significant. Indeed, if freedom and democracy are priority goals of the international community in the 21st century, how can the world afford not to come to Taiwan’s aid?
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