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Opinion | I’m Taiwanese and I Want to Thank Nancy Pelosi


TAIPEI, Taiwan – As a Taiwanese, I am sometimes asked what it feels like to live in “the most dangerous place on earth”.

That’s what The Economist labeled Taiwan last year, and not without reason. The people of Taiwan have lived for decades under China’s rhetorical threats to take over the island. And as our giant Communist-ruled neighbor has grown into a military power, those threats now have teeth, which China has. many times bar in recent years through our military exercises and space violations in an escalating campaign of bullying.

We are bracing for more pressure now after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi whirlwind visit to Taipei. China usually reacts violently when any US official visits Taiwan, but this time feels different. Beijing especially hates Ms. Pelosi because of her criticized often about political repression by the Chinese Communist Party and human rights abuses, and President Xi Jinping of China, in a phone call with President Biden, earlier warning The United States does not interfere in Taiwan.

We are not afraid. After years of constant threats from Beijing, the people of Taiwan do not panic easily.

But we also cannot stand alone. Ms. Pelosi’s visit is a welcome expression of US solidarity with Taiwan and I am, for one, extremely grateful to her for balking in the face of Beijing’s threats of retaliation. But other democracies must also muster the courage to stand with us.

Taiwan is very important to the whole democracy project. We are a vibrant democracy, the first in Asia legalize same-sex marriage and one of the first to elect a female leader – our current president is Tsai Ing-wen – who took the position of her own accord without the assistance of the family political connections. We are a successful economy, with some of the highest standards of living in Asia and at the heart of the global semiconductor industry. We have maintained one of the lowest levels in the world High death rate without resorting to draconian lockdown measures imposed by China.

If Taiwan is pulled by China, the world will lose a shining example of democracy and a liberal international economic order at a time when authoritarian tentacles like Russia and China are expanding.

In fact, it is for these very reasons that China threatens Taiwan: because China is afraid of us. Each of Taiwan’s 23 million people are living, breathing out rebuttals to the Communist Party’s insistence that its repressive, authoritarian model is superior to democracy and the only way of government. most suitable for Chinese society. Taking over Taiwan would not only fulfill Mr. Xi’s nationalist goal of annexing the island, but also destroy evidence that unequivocally refute Beijing’s Communist propaganda.

These important points are often overlooked. Taiwan is often seen as a fringe pawn on the chessboard of great powers and portrayed as such by the global media. Ms. Pelosi’s trip is a perfect example. Most media coverage has focused on the tension her trip has created between the United States and China. Rarely does anyone ask what the Taiwanese want. The answer: live our democratic way of life without outside interference, just like any democracy.

When Mao Zedong’s Communist forces won the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China’s Kuomintang regime, led by Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan and ruled under martial law. Civil liberties have been curtailed, and those who oppose the regime have to suffer so many.

Growing up in the 1980s, at school my classmates and I were forbidden to speak the Taiwanese language we speak at home. Thought to have died in 1975, his regime still clings to the illusion that it will one day “restore the mainland”. Our Taiwanese identity was seen as a threat and was suppressed.

That seemed too long ago. Through the efforts of democracy advocates and pragmatic leaders in the post-Chiang era, Taiwan has developed peacefully into a solid democracy with a political system, judicial and private army. We freely elect our own leaders and openly criticize them. People are no longer talking about “recovering the mainland.”

Many Taiwanese grew up in a time of democracy and prosperity, and we all – young and old – love our homeland. It’s as simple as that. China’s threats only make us appreciate it more.

This does not mean that we are completely optimistic about our circumstances.

We were shocked and saddened to see Beijing cracked Hong Kong’s freedoms – a disturbing look into our own possible future. And Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns that China might do the same to us. Beijing emphasize that there is no comparison between Taiwan and Ukraine, echoing their tired old gospel that Taiwan is an ancient and inseparable part of the Chinese motherland. But we have never been ruled by Communist China for a day.

Most Taiwanese are pragmatic. We don’t want a war with China. But we are ready to defend our home if attacked. There are currently discussions on defense reform and lengthen enlistment period from four months to a year. Some of the people who booked are attend weapons training camp to refresh their combat training. Others shared information on how to pack emergency kits and where to shelter should the island be shot.

One poll After the Russian invasion of Ukraine showed that 73% of the people of Taiwan were willing to take up arms to defend against the invasion of China. The determination to protect our beloved homeland should not be underestimated.

Not everyone in Taiwan is supportive of Ms. Pelosi’s visit. Many just want Taiwan to bow its head and not shake the boat. But there is one more reason that Taiwan should be protected: In a democracy, such differences can be openly expressed and debated, and compromises reached. That doesn’t happen on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.

The Chinese military’s intimidation of Taiwan is a threat to freedom everywhere. Drawing a line in the sand here will require real, meaningful support from like-minded democracies, including the signing of bilateral economic agreements with Taiwan, allowing it to join regional trade organizations to reduce Taiwan’s economic importance to China, support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and more gestures like Ms. Pelosi’s visit.

Not all of these gestures are easy, and they carry great risks, often with China causing economic pain. For example, after Taiwan opened a representative office in Lithuania last year, China used its economic might to retaliate with a boycott Lithuanian products. China uses the “divide and rule” tactic to isolate opposing countries. But when democracies, including Taiwan, come together economically, diplomatically, and militarily, they stand a better chance of standing their ground in the face of China’s erratic retribution, which itself does not have to pay the price.

Freedom is worth fighting for and all democracies will be strengthened by standing with Taiwan.

Yu-Jie Chen (@yujiechentw) is a research assistant professor at the Law Institute of Academia Sinica of Taiwan and an associate scholar of the American-Asian Law Institute of NYU Law School. Her research centers on international law and diplomacy in the context of China-Taiwan relations.

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