Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Many pundits in North America and Asia often talk about Taiwan being the first Chinese democracy in the world, but this way of phrasing it is not correct. What most journalists and opinion-shapers in the West have not yet woken up to is that an important paradigm shift and change of perspective has taken place an Asia, and it is this: Taiwan is not the first Chinese democracy; Taiwan is the first Taiwanese democracy. Give credit where it is due.

This may seem like word play to American readers, but behind it lies their continuing misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Taiwanese history. In that history, Taiwan or parts of the island have been ruled by various colonial powers, including the Dutch, the Spanish, the fleeing Ming diaspora, and the Manchu Qing, among others. Japan, it should be noted, was the first colonial power to rule and control the entire island of Taiwan; that was from 1895 to 1945.

The release of the movie Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale has generated heated discussion on several topics. The topic that should be given the most thought and that should be properly handled is the issue of old and new grievances between Aborigines and colonial governments.

For the Aborigines, the issues described in the film, such as the Japanese government taking away their hunting grounds and destroying their culture and how the Republic of China (ROC) government did not set things right when it took control of Taiwan, have not changed to this day, and they are still deprived of the land they rely on for their survival. This is one of the main reasons for the Aborigines’ difficult situation.