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EDITORIAL: People
take action for Taiwan
The battered economy, constant political wrangling and inability of President Ma
Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration to improve people’s livelihoods and recognize
the public’s pain have led many people to lose heart and become pessimistic
about the nation and where it is headed.
It can be hard for people in Taiwan to view the nation’s future optimistically
when they are treated daily to depressing and negative news reports, from
stories about forced land expropriations and the government’s persistently
arbitrary policymaking that diminishes sovereignty and national pride, to the
erosion of press freedom and mass deficit spending increasing national debt, to
name just a few.
Given the country’s oppressive past, Taiwanese for a long time seemed to have
been growing increasingly numb to the blatant injustices they witnessed day in
and day out.
Fortunately, this apathy has come to an end. However weary the spineless and
incompetent Ma government may have made the people feel, leading individuals to
feel helpless about improving their country, a growing majority of Taiwanese are
no longer suffering in silence, choosing instead to come together and take
matters into their own hands.
The land seizure executed by the Miaoli County Government in Jhunan Township’s
(竹南) Dapu Borough (大埔) serves as an example of this burgeoning action. Though
the county government attempted to stigmatize Dapu farmers by placing
advertisements on the front pages of the nation’s major Chinese-language
newspapers — using taxpayers’ money — netizens united to show their support for
the villagers by issuing calls for rallies.
Another example can be seen in the case of the late army corporal Hung Chung-chiu
(洪仲丘), who died while in military detention on July 4 in dubious circumstances.
Rights group Citizen 1985 has set up a Facebook page seeking justice for Hung
and has planned a protest in front of the Ministry of National Defense on
Saturday, which it says more than 7,000 people have already pledged to take part
in.
While some may worry about what they perceive as the government’s increasingly
China-friendly policies, a recent Democratic Progressive Party survey showed
that 78.4 percent of respondents disagreed that Taiwan and China are parts of
one country. The poll also indicated that 77.6 percent identified themselves as
Taiwanese, while only 10.1 percent regarded themselves as Chinese. These figures
reflect a consensus that is forming among people in Taiwan that, in terms of
national status, few feel a connection with those on the other side of the
Taiwan Strait.
How could the public look past how often the nation’s politicians brandish the
word “Taiwan” in their campaign speeches, showing their “national pride,” only
to drop the name when presented with an opportunity to raise the nation’s
visibility on the international stage?
Fortunately, Taiwanese are taking action, with or without the government’s help.
The latest manifestation of this concerted public action was a group of
volunteers who, eager to raise Taiwan’s international profile, staged a flash
mob chorus at Taipei 101. The YouTube clip of the flash mob (http://youtu.be/bbqY1P6KJmI)
has taken the online community by storm and introduced many abroad to the beauty
of Taiwan and its people.
In Taiwan, there are many pure and kind souls who are unselfish, passionate and
ready to make an effort to help the voiceless, bring justice to the wronged and
put “people’s diplomacy” into action to showcase the soft power that puts Taiwan
on the map.
In the fight against injustices of all kinds, domestic and international,
silence is not golden. All the examples cited above suggest that while Taiwan’s
future may look bleak at times, there is hope yet — so long as Taiwanese use
their own voices to make themselves and their country heard.
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