Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

On Thursday, Scotland held a referendum on the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The outcome of the referendum would be critical not only to the future of the UK, but also to that of the EU and NATO. Had the referendum been passed, it would have been the historical event with the most overarching significance for international politics since the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

Disregarding the final outcome of the referendum, the vote was conducted peacefully and in a civilized manner, and it leaves people in awe before the superiority of a mature democracy.

A while back, I wrote an article on the free-trade agreement (FTA) between China and South Korea and how it would benefit Taiwan (“Beijing-Seoul FTA suits Taiwan,” Aug. 1, page 8).

However, people have scoffed at the idea as being a bit odd, and no one has dared use the article to challenge President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) and his administration’s use of the Chinese-South Korean FTA currently under negotiation to scare the public into demanding the quick passage of the cross-strait service trade and trade in goods agreements and the draft bill on free economic pilot zones — three laws that would be harmful to the nation.