Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Respected Taiwanese elder urges clean break with Republic of China in-exile

Michael Richardson

Yang Liu Hsiu-hwa, the widow of Taiwanese Independence advocate C.C. Yang, has stepped into the public arena at age 90 years-old to speak for Taiwan.

Mrs. Yang was moved to action by a recent article in the Liberty Times where it was pointed out that Taiwan’s incomplete construction of a sovereign independent state was because of the presence of another government’s system, the Republic of China.

The 228 whitewashing continues

Woody Cheng 鄭梓

On Monday, the 64th anniversary of the 228 Incident, the National 228 Memorial Museum on Nanhai Road in Taipei was officially opened to the public. It matters not whether the 228 Incident is called a rebellion or an uprising, and whether this indelible event in post-war Taiwan is seen as a scar, burn or birthmark it was a tragic beginning that changed the course of Taiwanese history.

Feb. 28 has been designated a national holiday — Peace Memorial Day — and the Presidential Office, the symbol of the highest power in the land, always flies the national flag at half-mast on that date as a sign of mourning.

‘Jasmine,’ the Internet and ‘wild’ democracy

Hsu Yung-ming 徐永明

The recent “Jasmine Revolution” and the effect it has had on autocratic political systems has shown that forces are in place for a new wave of democracy and that these could erupt at any time. These recent events also show that this force has a way of reaching areas situated near each other. The Internet has become a new tool for disseminating information about democracy and this is something that traditional theories on democratization never foresaw. The middle class, new social movements and even opposition parties have all fallen into the background and have been replaced with a new form of mass communication that is more democratic and decentralized.

Taiwan’s system will never mesh with China

James Wang 王景弘

While China is attempting to achieve “most favored nation” status with the US, it has refused Washington’s pressure to improve its human rights record, saying that China and the US have different social systems and ideologies and that they should not interfere in each other’s internal affairs. China stresses “two systems for two different countries and peaceful coexistence.”

If former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) had been more broad-minded and farsighted by emphasizing the differences between Taiwan and China and respecting the actual situation, then the ideal of “two systems for two different countries” would have resulted in peaceful relations between Taiwan and China while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in power.

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