Maybe a bit of current events may help explain the topic.1950s: Due to corruption in the Nationalist party, Mao establishes his power in the Republic of China and successfully overthrows the Nationalist hold in China. He renames R.O.C to the People's Republic of China.
Chen, leader of the Nationalist Party retreats with his troupes to the Islands of Hainan. There, he re-establishes his government, claiming Taiwan (Hainan Islands) to be the temparory capital of the Republic of China.
For years afterwards, until the 228 Incident which was repressed by the army, the taiwanese folk had been wanting autonomy. The 228 incident however has caused civil unrest for decades.
Years later, the real truth about the 228 incident is revealed, much to the distress of most. The true recounting of the incident was done by the great-grand daughter of the woman who was supposedly "pistol-whipped."
- The soldier was buying cigarrettes, not confiscating them.
- There was no pistol whipping: the soldier had pulled his gun out in self defense after the Taiwanese folk started to gather in protest due to an accusation of injustice and abuse.
- The shot fired did kill a citizen in the fray. Who pulled the trigger is still in question.
The government, in order to stop the revolt used military force.
There were several other incidents which caused the emersion of the People's Democratic Party.
Years later, this issue has spread into the Political world. The current president, and the one preceding him both wished for the "independence of Taiwan."
Are we not independent? Do we not have our own government, do we not sustain our own economy? Is changing the name of a country going to get it recognized in an international scale? We are the Republic of China, not the People's Republic. We don't believe in Communism, and we live by a complete different set of principles.
By causing such a ruckus over the "independence" of a country means nothing unless you can actually support such a claim. Right now, our "country" has become the biggest laughing stock in the world. We used to be technologically advanced, we used to have an economy. Even Taxi Drivers used to have attitude because the people had so much funds to spend.
Now?
Now students are committing suicide not because of bullying, but because their parents can't support them. Parents are committing suicide because they can't feed their children. And all the while the "President" who has done nothing for the past 6 years is spending all the tax money and funds used to help promote and better the country on an international platform is being spent on jewlery for his wife, dinner party for friends, inside stock deals with his daughter's husband, and shopping mall gift certificates. When will it be enough?
There was a time when governments cared about the betterment of their country, even if some of its means were of an unethical nature. And even after numerous protests and criticisms, the president remains untouched, unaffected. He stands defiant like a martyr preparing for death. But what he fails to understand is that there is no decency, none at all in refusing to admit one's at fault, especially for something of this magnitude.
I talked to numerous people over the summer, both Chinese and Taiwanese. Both had a dramatic influence over my opinions. "To get things done, one does need power." said a Chinese businessman. Even though China is still a Communist country, it has grown significantly over the past decade. And Taiwan? We are still the same as we were when I was a mere child of four. We have not progressed, and that is the worst failing of the human kind: the act of becomming stagnant.
There is nothing honorable about it.
On that point I was disputed on several times. When I described the progress China has made, no one believed me. So many people are so ignorant of the outside world, so absolute and blind about the faults about their country that any implication of higher life was not improbable, but impossible. For example, when I spoke of the quality service at a restuarant in Shanghai, and how each table has their own waitors, and managers for the waitors, they responded with "Oh, it's because the working standards there is so low that they need so many people! I heard that from my third cousin in law, he's such a ....etc."
One might wonder "How in heaven's name could such a resposne come from a country that used to be so well spoken?"
The problem lies not only within the revised system of education created by the Democratic Progressive party, but within the media as well.
The news plays all day in Taiwan: the content is however, quite questionable. Instead of news relating to international affairs, or even national affairs, the news reports celebrity gossip, or just gossip in general. These tabloids perse sometimes even make celebrities out of the most talentless of people. A prime example is the headline news for over a month: the love life of a very old and ugly heiress with a young handsome man. And when the material which belonged more in "Entertainment Tonight" failed to play, the news display thinly veiled propaganda or clips of corrupt politician trying to cover up their dirty tracks.
Meanwhile on other channels, game shows are on replay all day, and the students who are hardpressed at school everyday by teachers, exams, and extra study blocks, canonly find relaxation and relief in the nonesense of the pop-culture-driven shows and teenage singers, which, in my eyes, all look and act exactly the same. And as their kids fall hopelessly into oblivion, the parents of said teenagers also fall into the ignorance and brainwashing provided by the money-making media.
The rich gets richer, and the poor gets poorer. And those who're poor are too powerless to do anything, and those with the power is too lazy to do mind. Besides, they're making all the money, what need is there to help out the others?
Some may say that my opinion is inaccurate, that it's biased, and unsupported. But throughout the years of watching Taiwan shrivel from a country to an island no one wants to have anything to do with both from the outside as well as the inside, I cannot stand by and do naught. I can't stand by and not disagree with all the nationalistic claims that has been produced because of ignorance. I can't stand by and watch the president continue with his senselessness, his cowardice, and his selfishness, but most of all, his refusal to do what's right. He is not ignorant, and he is not stupid. He is inept, childish, and unresponsible. He has done away with all the culture that should've been passed down from generation to generation, and now he's trying to do away with the language that has been spoken since the olden times. Is it so wrong to have originated from China? Are we not Chinese by ancestry? What culture does Taiwan have? A mixture of Pop from America, and a dose of Japanese humor and television shows. Instead of focusing on more important matters, like the fact that the island of Taiwan is literally sinking into the sea, and the pollution of natural environment, President Chen is still making remarks about how sick his wife is, what his trips out of the country mean, and why he cannot reveal the source of his jewlery because it's a matter of "national security."
And for those who still support him: is it worth it? What reason can you produce? Will you not listen to other people's voices? Are you so easily blinded by patriotic and nationalistic speeches? Can you not see, hear, and look for yourself? And if you can, if you say you can, why are you still standing on the sidelines after six years of corruption, ten years of falling from grace?
In the end, I think it comes full circle and returns to the people. Decades ago, an event triggered the rage of an entire island. That grudge has been carried all the way, through all the generations till now. And like a child unable to comprehend why he can't fly away, or why he can't have that lolipop behind the glass pane, the mindset of the people has remained on the same level of intellect for over fifty years. They refuse to believe reality, clouded by a vision of themselves years ago. Years ago when...yes, when we were deserving of a "country" status, when we were considered an economic "miracle" because of our size.
But now...What is there to be proud of? Can I still say proudly "I am Taiwanese!"
Tell me please, can I?
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