Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Harvard professor emeritus Ezra Vogel recently visited Taiwan for the release of the Hanji edition of his new book on former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平). During his visit, Vogel said Taiwan’s democracy was inspiring for China and could serve as a model for China’s democratic development.

While I fervently hope that China will become a democratic country, I cannot agree that the Taiwanese experience can serve as a model. First, Taiwan’s transition to democracy was very much due to the unique situation in Taiwan during the 1980s. The majority of Taiwanese had been disenfranchised during four decades of martial law under the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration and rose up to claim their right to a representative government. It is therefore very much a democracy with a Taiwanese character.

Taiwanese and Tibetan activists are urging Taiwan’s government to show greater concern over poor human rights conditions in China, and especially Tibet, that have led Tibetans to set themselves on fire in protest.

Chow Mei-li (周美里), chairwoman of the Taiwan Friends of Tibet, said she believes Taiwan’s government has the ability and is obliged to influence China on the issue as the two sides “have many channels of communication open.” With leaders in Taiwan and China able to communicate frequently, it is Taiwan’s responsibility to urge Beijing to respect the human rights and religious freedoms of Tibetans, she said.