Two cents more to the BBC

Last night on my way home I passed by the Taipei City Government MRT stop. There was a lot of political rallying going on - people giving out flags and flyers and inflatable sticks and other unimaginable paraphernalia emblazoned with the crests of the candidates. On my way down the escalator a young couple ahead of me were both wearing t-shirts with "TAIWAN 1" on the back (supporters of DPP candidate Frank Hsieh 謝長廷), and holding green flags. Coming up the escalator was a man all in blue, with a great big red "2" in his hand (supporter of KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九). They passed each other on the escalator as the tenseness of pre-election political fission seemed to drown out all else in the air.

Today we made headline on BBC News: "Taiwan Counts Presidential Votes."There's a Have Your Say option at the end of the article - so if you'd like to give your two-cents for free, now's the time. Here's my two cents:

The Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895 ceded Taiwan to Japanese rule for 50 years. My grandfather grew up under the Japanese occupation, and it is a period which has left indelible marks on the island and its people. Hence the separate governance of Taiwan happened before 1949.

Even as a child in Taiwan, our sovereignty and independence had always been to me an incontrovertible fact. When I first understood the situation as it is today: Taiwan denied international recognition, and under the constant threat of a dangerous, ambitious neighbour, I felt a great sense of injustice.

As we move toward real democracy and further onto the international stage, I hope that Taiwan will be able to gain international recognition and support. Although I am for Taiwanese independence, I recognize the right of the other citizens in my country to have a say in the matter. Thus the question of whether Taiwan should be independent of China is one which must be put to a referendum for the Taiwanese. Although the referendums being held today are ostensibly about UN membership, independence is the real question. Those who oppose holding "provocative" referendums or pushing for independence do so not because they wish to be part of a tyrannical state with a poor human rights record, but for fear of China's military might.

China's threats of violence and tactics of international isolation against Taiwan is an atrocity against the principles of democratic freedom. The international community at large would benefit from supporting Taiwan's claims to independence - not only because it would be the right thing to do, but because if China is not taught a lesson and weaned off its habit of bullying to get its way, one day it will point its missiles and nuclear weapons at someone else.

After I gave them my two cents I had a browse around a few pages on the BBC about Taiwan. There were certain things I found curious (in addition to their statement that Taiwan had been separately governed since 1949, which I dealt with in my comment above):

From Q&A: Taiwan Elections I quote:
"The Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, dominated Taiwanese politics for more than 50 years."
Now, I know I may be biased, but I think "dominated" is perhaps an understatement. That's like saying Leopold II "controlled" the Congo Free State. While these terms are not, strictly speaking, erroneous, they sanitize an entire period of abuse and leave a seemingly unambiguous clean slate behind. The KMT government did in fact dominate Taiwan - they also conducted the 228 Massacre, imposed martial law, suppressed freedoms of speech, and instituted arbitrary detainment during the White Terror era - just to name a few things they did whilst "dominating."

"But over his (soon to be former president Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁) eight years in power, voters have become increasingly concerned about economic issues and have tired of the corruption scandals that have dogged Mr Chen and his aides."
This is correct - but I would like to add that during their years of "domination," the KMT did not hesitate to fill their coffers by pilfering from the public. Their party-assets are still a topic of dispute in Taiwan. Unfortunately, corruption is not one-sided.

"Mr Ma, whose party traditionally leans more towards China"
Just exactly what does "leans more toward" mean? It's really wonderfully vague. Officially, the KMT still thinks that it's the legitimate government in exile of ALL of China - the reason why they would be open to "a conditional peace deal with Beijing at an unspecified point in the future" is because the KMT believes it has a claim to Chinese government as a whole rather than just that of Taiwan (guess what Beijing would say to that). The "condition" here is re-unification - but I don't see the BBC getting into any detail.

From Timeline: Taiwan, I'd like to note that it begins only in 2000, thus missing out a great deal of background necessary to understanding the current situation. Also, I quote:

2002 January - Taiwan officially enters the World Trade Organisation, only a few weeks after China. Yes, but only as a "Separate Customs Territory," collectively known as "Chinese Taipei" - also the title under which we compete in international sporting events.

2003 July - Taiwan is the final country to be removed from the WHO's list of countries which were badly affected by the Sars virus. This is very interesting - because the BBC seems to have made a slip and called Taiwan a "country" - Beijing would not be pleased. Also, it fails to mention that Taiwan does not even have observer status in the WHO! On this issue, I quote:

Since 1972, Taiwan's health officials and medical professionals have been unable to take part in any WHO forums and workshops on the latest technologies in the diagnosis, monitoring, and control of diseases. Taiwan's health authorities have also been denied the right to maintain contact and coordination with the WHO, even in emergencies involving the containment and cure of existing or newly emerging infectious diseases. (Working for Health: Let Taiwan be WHO's Worthy Partner)

Now, politics aside, this is just dumb. Diseases do not recognize national boundaries. If you have ever worried for yourself or your loved ones because of a disease, or feared for nameless individuals in news reports who were perhaps even unknown to you, then you now know that the WHO's refusal to allow Taiwan participation on political grounds puts everyone (especially as the world keeps getting smaller) at risk by making us the missing link.

One last thing - we may have been the last country to be removed from that list, but unlike China, we are not in the habit of concealing information from international community in order to save face. Do you think you can trust the Chinese governments' reports on SARS? on the Avian-Flu? Let me remind you that they've just ejected all foreign journalists out of Tibet, and then reported that Tibetan dissidents are "turning themselves in."

2007 January - Taiwan defends school history textbooks which refer to China. Beijing accuses Taipei of introducing independence ideologies into the classroom. (ahem, and you don't inculcate your people with the idea that if Taiwan wants to separate, violence is the "legal" resort? Pot calling the kettle black, I should think)

Lastly, on the subject of being the aggressor:
2001 June - Taiwan test-fires Patriot anti-missile defence system bought from US, as China carries out military exercises simulating invasion of island.
AND
2007 March - Newspaper reports that Taiwan has test-fired cruise missile capable of hitting Shanghai or Hong Kong.

Well, I'd like to think that these are a thumbs-up to our military might - but who are we kidding? if China invaded, our only hope is to hold them off long enough to make one last call of help to the US before kissing our loved ones goodbye. I'm serious, we live under constant military threat: there are 1,300 military missiles aimed at Taiwan right now, and their numbers are multiplying. But still the BBC makes it sound as though we were looking for a fight.

Am I biased and paranoid? I'd have to say that it's a distinct possibility - but hear me out here: context is everything - and that is exactly what is lacking in what I read on the BBC regarding the cross-strait issue.

There are several other pieces on the website about Taiwan that I've not had a chance to look at yet - perhaps after dinner...