"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . . ." The much-quoted opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities aptly describe the situation in Taiwan today.
Open up a newspaper or switch on the radio or TV, and you'll be served a generous helping of plummeting stock prices, suspense over the future of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project, and the ever-growing ramifications of the corruption scandal exposed by the murder of Yin Ching-feng, all spiced up with a dash of Liu Kuan-chun and the National Security Bureau. The figures in millions or billions of NT dollars bandied about daily in media reports leave ordinary folk who have to get by on NT$30-40,000 a month wondering how they are supposed to live.
Some people put the blame for this "chaos" on the media, saying that sensationalism and the attitude that "good news is no news" are behind the malaise. Others point the finger at the new government, saying its policies are vague, its team is not playing together and no-one knows who is in charge. Heightened cross-straits tensions have provoked a crisis of public confidence, causing shares to nosedive and the economy to falter.
All these views seem plausible enough, but they don't stand closer scrutiny, and they mistake consequences for causes. To take the media: publishing news and comment is their prime mission, and in any country with press freedom the media are full of questions and criticism. It is in this kind of free atmosphere, through continuous critical self-examination, that democracy, human rights, prosperity and progress gradually take shape.
After more than 50 years of KMT rule, the accumulated baggage and abuses of the old government were scrutinized in a democratic election, which the KMT lost. But as a result, the party is determined to discuss and address those issues, in the hope that next time around it can regain the people's confidence. The new government is in power at the national level for the first time, and it has to transform long-standing popular opposition into policies. This naturally also takes time.
Surely the real crisis is our inadequate consensus and unity concerning the status of our nation and cross-strait relations. We really should carefully reexamine our international position and then look again at the points of dispute in our internal politics.
"Stand up and join in" is the appeal President Chen Shui-bian made to the people of Taiwan on his first official overseas visit in August. But often when people from Taiwan go to formal international events, they don't stride ahead so smoothly or confidently. Various obstacles force us into all kinds of twists and turns. The Republic of China boasts the world's 20th largest economy, yet in the great international family of the United Nations, we have no voice.
The UN's Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders in late August was attended by three Buddhist leaders from Taiwan: the Venerable Sheng-yen of Dharma Drum Mountain; the Venerable Dharma Master Hsin Tao of Ling Chiu Shan; and Master Yi-Fa of Fo Guang Shan. But only Master Hsin Tao went as a representative of Taiwan. The other two attended on behalf of US Buddhist organizations, for the simple reason that they did not wish to provoke a boycott by mainland China, which might cause them to miss this opportunity to promote Buddhist ideals and exchange views with other spiritual leaders.
The summit organizers were also very cautious. In the first two days of the event, Master Hsin Tao was not mentioned in the written agenda. It was only on the afternoon of the second day that it was announced that he would go onto the podium and make a brief prayer. Thus it was not until the day after Master Hsin Tao spoke that the PRC delegation lodged a protest with the organizers and demanded that on the conference attendance list, Master Hsin Tao should be named as representing not Taiwan, but "Taiwan, China." At their insistence, the 15-page name list was altered by hand in indelible ink. The amendment stuck out like a sore thumb.
The summit was the first religious leaders' conference in the UN's 55-year history. The UN hoped to enlist their aid in working for human peace and happiness, to promote the goals of the UN Charter. But lamentably, the occasion was overshadowed by politics. And the incident demonstrates once again how Taiwan's international status has been distorted!
In the face of mainland intimidation, our international relations tread a rocky road. Hence, rather than focus on the nuclear power controversy or calls to bail out the stock market, we present a feature on the ROC's foreign relations entitled "Taiwan Diplomacy on the Move," which we hope will remind both our compatriots and our international friends to give Taiwan more support. Even more, we hope the PRC leadership will approach this topic with wisdom. Only those who support the ROC in the international community will win the hearts of Taiwan's people, and this is the only basis on which any issue can be discussed in the future.
Only unity gives strength; only goodwill will elicit a sincere response.
