When Taiwanese voters elected their president in direct elections for the first time on March 23, 1996, Taiwan in practice became an independent and sovereign democracy. It reinforced the fact that the country is completely different from the one-party state of China.
Regrettably, China maintains that Taiwan belongs to it and constantly threatens the nation. Since coming into power, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has echoed Beijing’s “one China” principle and made every effort to push free and democratic Taiwan toward authoritarian China. If Taiwan one day loses its sovereignty, freedom and democracy, all Taiwanese, regardless of ethnicity or political stripe, will be helpless.