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Autocrats are the real enemies of the
people
By James Wang ¤ý´º¥°
Saturday, Aug 21, 2010, Page 8
Three centuries ago, French King Louis XIV ruled as an
absolute monarch, with limitless power over the lives and property of his
subjects. Wars and invasions were launched entirely on his whim. According to
legend, the conceited and arrogant ruler went so far as to proclaim ¡§L¡¦etat,
c¡¦est moi¡¨ (¡§I am the state¡¨).
More than two centuries after Rousseau¡¦s writings on democracy and the Amerian
and French revolutions, and a century after the Chinese Revolution of 1911, at a
time when Taiwan has belatedly taken its place among the world¡¦s democracies,
who would have thought that President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) would echo the French
king¡¦s motto, albeit less succinctly.
With a look of righteous indignation, Ma chastised the Democratic Progressive
Party for opposing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) his
government signed with China on June 29, saying that those who oppose the ECFA
are treating the people as their enemies. Since Ma does not consider Taiwan to
be a nation, he cannot call them enemies of the nation. Instead, he poses as
defender of ¡§the people¡¨ as cover for his own autocratic tendencies and
intolerance for any voice of opposition.
Ma¡¦s words are not just conceited ¡X they are far removed from the truth, devoid
of logic and thoroughly undemocratic.
Opinion polls indicate that the public is roughly split 50-50 between those who
support the ECFA and those who oppose it, while only about 30 percent say they
support Ma. In light of these figures, how can he claim that those who object to
his pet project are enemies of ¡§the people?¡¨
History has shown that the most dictatorial rulers are often the very ones who
claim everything they do is for ¡§the people.¡¨
Mao Zedong (¤ò¿AªF) wanted to ¡§liberate the people of Taiwan,¡¨ while his arch-rival
Chiang Kai-shek (½±¤¶¥Û) was determined to ¡§rescue our compatriots on the
mainland.¡¨
In reality, however, Taiwanese people have already liberated themselves and
China¡¦s people will save themselves sooner or later.
When the US urged Chiang not to go on and on about ¡§retaking the mainland,¡¨ he
responded that if he gave up on ¡§retaking the mainland,¡¨ ¡§his people¡¨ would
object and ¡§the people on the mainland¡¨ would sink into despair.
But was Chiang ever really on the side of ¡§the people?¡¨ I think not.
In the 1960s, US scholars often joked that Chiang¡¦s ¡§Free China¡¨ was not free,
while Mao¡¦s ¡§People¡¦s China¡¨ cared nothing for its people. In a few words, the
joke sums up what the rival regimes shared in common ¡X complete disregard for
ordinary folk.
The closest ally of the ¡§People¡¦s China¡¨ ¡X North Korea ¡X is the most
isolationist and dictatorial regime on Earth. For North Korea¡¦s rulers, its
people¡¦s lives are worthless, yet the country¡¦s official title is the Democratic
People¡¦s Republic of Korea.
The similarity with the People¡¦s Republic of China goes beyond the choice of
words, as Chinese people are denied even the limited rights they are supposed to
enjoy under their country¡¦s constitution. What do these ¡§people¡¦s republics¡¨
really care for their people? Nothing.
It is entirely normal and proper in a democracy for a government to encounter
opposition, yet Ma¡¦s response, labeling his opponents as ¡§enemies of the
people,¡¨ is thoroughly undemocratic.
His attitude is an insult to Taiwan¡¦s democracy and shows that he and his
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) are still mired in their own autocratic past.
James Wang is a journalist based in Washington.
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