Asia and the march to freedom

From the perspective of the Students for Sovereign Taiwan

By Michael Klein
From the May 2005 Print Edition

At the age of 16, Chih Liu came to the United States from Taiwan with his brother, parting with relatives remaining on the island. For Liu, and for fellow members of Berkeley Students for a Sovereign Taiwan, the strained balance of power between Taiwan and neighboring China weighs heavily on the conscience. With the ratification in March of the Anti-Secession Law by the People’s Republic of China, tensions were heightened. In an interview with Liu, a fourth-year Berkeley student, the Patriot uncovered the reality of the struggle for the sovereignty of Taiwan from the Taiwanese perspective.

Taiwan’s internal power reflects a great polarization between two political parties: the Blue and the Green. Liu says that there is a balance of power between these two parties, although the Green party holds the presidency and considerable power without a majority in the congress. Defining the Green party ideology is the desire for independence and sovereignty from China. The Blue party encompasses those who support Taiwan’s re-unification with China, and those who are unwilling to favor Taiwan’s independence from China. Liu’s relatives live in the southern portion of the island where the Green party has its strongest base. There they throw their support behind the efforts of the Green party.

Liu approximates that 15–30 percent of the Taiwanese population identify themselves as Chinese. This same demographic consistently sides with the majority of Taiwanese who say that Taiwan is indeed a sovereign nation. Chen Shui-bian, current president of Taiwan, came into office with the Democratic Progressive Party, which belongs to the broader Green party. At first, said Liu, the advocates of the Green party were content with Shui-bian’s leadership. Recently, however, Greens feel abandoned as Shui-bian has allied with China in the War on Terror after September 11. They feel as if they don’t really know the exact intentions of Shui-bian, but they all agree that the future of Taiwan must be decided democratically; the mainstream value in Taiwan is democracy.

As for policies that the world and the United States might adopt regarding Taiwan, Liu said above all, “the principle of self-determination must be honored.” He added that the road to this self-determination must be paved with democracy. The voice of the people strives to be heard today through the leadership of Shui-bian, though the Chinese would prefer a ruler more sympathetic to their desire for re-unification with Taiwan. Liu wants the United States to intervene in the muffled standoff as China becomes more powerful and ultra-nationalistic. He urges the United States, as it also sides with China in the War on Terror, “even if terror is the issue, don’t abandon Taiwan.”

One of the most important developments in this ongoing struggle in Chinese-Taiwanese relations is the recent ratification of the Anti-Secession Law by the 10th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China. The law formally confirms the prohibition of the self-determination rights of Taiwan in the face of the aggressive oversight of China. If Taiwan declares independence, China will use this precedent for the justification of the use of force against the independence fighters. Liu remarked that the law makes reunification that much more difficult and that he doesn’t at all “consider it wise.”

The divide that separates China from Taiwan, just across the strait, is real and significant. While Taiwan has moved steadily toward democracy in the past few decades, China antithetically has moved toward a more authoritarian form of government. Liu admits that in China inhabitants have been so blinded by the bliss of economic prosperity that they have neglected political reform. This is “dangerous,” he cautions. Pointing to the disrespect of democracy in China, Liu claims that this is the greatest divide.

Berkeley Students for a Sovereign Taiwan come together on the Berkeley campus to promote their beliefs of a sovereign Taiwan. Though many different perspectives surface in the group, they share the view that Taiwan has a unique identification and culture that is irreconcilable with the current Chinese authoritarianism. Each year, the students commemorate the date February 28, in recognition of those massacred by the invading Chinese nationalists in 1947. The group intends to inform Berkeley students and government bodies of the motives for Taiwanese independence through on-campus speakers, petition drives, and films.

Since the ratification of the Anti-Secession Law, Liu says that the Taiwanese at home and abroad have united across party lines. For the future of Taiwan, Liu admits that independence is “remote.” He would rather first see “democracy, human rights, and the welfare of the Taiwanese” respected by the Chinese as soon as possible. The “greatest mistake,” advises Liu, is if the United States “tolerates such a power” as China to develop into an aggressive state. Thus, the Taiwanese watch and wait to see what China’s next move will be, and if the United States will rein in the growing superpower of China.

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