For the Love of Taiwan

By Samuel Yang of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Taiwan is a vibrant multi-ethnic country. Most people love its colorful divergent cultures of Aborigines, Hoklo, Hakka, Chinese, Japanese and even Westerners. Its people enjoy free speech under the newfound democracy.

Before World War II, Taiwan was a tranquil society with law and order. It was drastically changed by the arrival of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime after the the war.

Taiwanese were flabbergasted by the arrogant, inept and corrupt Chinese bureaucrats who stole public assets at will. Their disregard of law and the ethical code of civilized society alienated Taiwanese. Within two years, the infamous 228 Incident occurred.

To understand the political situation in Taiwan at that time, the reader could just imagine the probable reaction of US citizens if the current Chinese regime were installed in Washington.

If one cannot remember the unfortunate suffering of Taiwanese under the KMT regime, then one doesn't need to look very far. China under the rule of the corrupt Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is its carbon copy.

Despite being forced out of power in 2000, the KMT is still deeply entrenched in Taiwan and persists in controlling the legislative apparatus, judiciary system and local governments by utilizing massive amounts of stolen public assets, misleading propaganda and reckless boycotts against the democratically elected central government.

Moreover, the KMT has been openly collaborating with the CCP in a united-front campaign against Taiwan.

Amazingly, the leaders of developed nations and officials of the UN are also cooperating with China in suppressing the advancement of Taiwan democracy. Their actions contradict the UN Charter and openly trample the rights of 23 million Taiwanese.

Such open violations of human rights have been well documented by the global media using advanced information technology, and the records will never be erased from the history of mankind.

Facing the aforementioned difficulties, becoming a neutral nation with a direct democracy based on the Swiss model might be the best solution for ensuring the survival of Taiwan Democracy.

Similar to Taiwan, Switzerland is a relatively small country with divergent ethnicities and four official languages.

Although it is bordered by five nations, Switzerland's armed forces safeguard its neutrality, taking advantage of the high Alps with a strategy of long-term attrition to discourage potential military conflicts.

To emulate this type of neutral and democratic country, the KMT must show its genuine love for Taiwan by reforming itself, returning its well documented stolen public assets and allowing fair representation of all people at every governmental level.

It needs to abandon its short-sighted indulgence in one-party domination, which will invariably undermine democracy. It's necessary to work with other political parties to transform Taiwan into a mature democracy that will benefit all Taiwanese.

The leaders of the world community, including those of China, must abide by the UN Charter and support Taiwanese in their struggle to free themselves from the oppression of foreign powers.

In the court of civilized international opinion, the destiny of Taiwan should be decided by the people who truly love and identify themselves with Taiwan.

The neutral Taiwan would become the epicenter of harmonious Asian nations and would also function as a security buffer zone at a strategic location.