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The fight for freedom and democracy is
not over
By Ku Chung-hwa ÅU©¾µØ
After the Tunisians launched the ¡§Jasmine Revolution,¡¨ Egypt became the second
domino that collapsed. The moment protesters at Cairo¡¦s Tahrir Square heard that
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak had tendered his resignation, they cheered
excitedly: ¡§Egypt is free!¡¨
This revolution born out of street protests reaches beyond ethnicity, region,
culture and religion, making it clear that that the pursuit of freedom and the
will to oppose dictatorship are not exclusive to Western countries. They are
truly universal values shared by all human beings.
Most political commentators around the world who are following events in North
Africa and the Arab world have said that the public¡¦s insistence on the pursuit
of freedom is crucial to deciding whether or not this ¡§fourth wave of
democratization¡¨ will be successful and lasting.
Through his Twitter account, Chinese human rights lawyer Teng Biao (¼ð³C)
congratulated the Egyptian people by quoting the ancient Greek historian
Thucydides, who said: ¡§The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom
is courage.¡¨
The question is why is it that the pursuit of freedom has clearly given the
general public the courage required to take to the streets.
Perhaps the simplest explanation is that people have realized that the idea that
sovereignty rests with the public means that a leader whose regime has not been
approved through democratic procedures has no legitimacy.
That in its turn means that each citizen has the right to question the
legitimacy of an unelected dictator. This is the reason the Libyan people remain
resolute in their efforts to topple Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, even though
he has ordered a military crackdown and missile attacks against protesters.
Ultimately, Qaddafi will not be able to resist the massive wave of freedom
sweepig the region. His only way out could well be to flee the country, as he
has been deserted by friends and followers alike.
The enthusiasm with which people across the region welcome freedom also offers a
lesson for Taiwan.
It tells us that we must stand clearly and firmly on the right side of history.
We must not make the mistake of being seduced by China¡¦s economic growth and
convince ourselves that the Chinese Communist Party will stay in power forever.
In addition, the ¡§Revolution 2.0¡¨ making itself felt in North Africa and the
Arab world has highlighted the penetrative and potentially disruptive power of
new technologies.
Although the time may not yet be ripe for China to embrace protests staged
across the country by Internet users, the popular Chinese folk song Mo Li Hua
([²úªá), which is Chinese for ¡§Jasmine blossom,¡¨ may yet become a symbol of the
Chinese people¡¦s hopes for a democratic revolution of their own.
As we witness the power of freedom, we must also realize that the further
consolidation of democracy in Taiwan requires that we continue to move forward
and not rest on our laurels.
In particular, Taiwanese must exercise both wisdom and courage when they cast
their ballots in the legislative elections to be held at the end of this year or
in the second half of next year and the upcoming presidential election. They
must ask themselves who is more likely to work to further implement democratic
values.
If we fail to do this, then we will have let down all those people who
sacrificed so much and spent years fighting for our hard-won freedom.
Ku Chung-hwa is chairman of Citizen¡¦s Congress Watch.
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