Taiwan, One of the Many Nations of Which Ill-Educated Americans Have Little Knowledge

The American people are ignoramuses on all manner of things, including, famously among the better educated populations of a generally ill-educated world, matters of history, geography, and current international circumstance.

 

The controversies between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China are among the many knowledge sets lacking in the American intellectual cabinet.

 

Taiwan is an independent nation whose leaders have thus far demurred from declaring such status under the appellation, Republic of Taiwan.  Ruled from the late 1940s until the of year 2000 by the Kuomintang (KMT, Romanized in pinyin as Guomindang) under the name Republic of China, Taiwan has developed from that millennial year of 2000 into one of the world’s most vital democracies;  the island (one hundred miles off the southeastern coast of China) is also among the world’s most prosperous nations, with a per capita GDP of $39,500 (21^st highest in the world)---  higher, for example,  than France, Great Britain, Canada, and even Japan.  The mainland China nation of the People’s Republic of China, while having a renowned aggregate GDP, is lodged at only number 64 in the world for the more telling per capita GDP.

 

Well into the 1980s, the KMT leadership maintained the fiction of the existence of a Republic of China whose military would return to defeat the communist foes to whom Chiang Kai-shek and his supporters lost control of the mainland in the Chinese Civil War of 1945-1949.  But the KMT never really controlled the vast expanses of China, even before the party and government’s hasty escape to Taiwan in the late 1940s.  While during the years 1945-1996 maintaining autocratic control over Taiwan, the KMT controlled only the island of Taiwan and a few surrounding smaller islands.  During the period 1895-1945, Taiwan had been under the control of Japan.  Thus, no politico-military entity that controlled all of China has ruled Taiwan since 1895, the year that the Qing Dynasty lost Taiwan to Japan.

 

Taiwan and mainland China have had substantially different histories, especially since 1895.  Taiwan has developed into a unique geopolitical entity, one of the most genuinely united nations in the world, with a population that reveres its own history and traditions and, while largely ethnically Han Chinese, identifying as Taiwanese rather than Chinese---  thus resembling, most saliently, Singapore.  The People’s Republic of China is not in accurate political science terms a nation;  it is, rather, an empire, with one-third of its territory consisting of Tibetan and Uighur (the latter in the province of Xinjiang) populations that would break away from the Chinese government if they could.

 

Leaders and corporations in the United States and the other major world economic powers are intimidated by the leadership of the People’s Republic of China, which has a territory about the same size as the United States and an aggregate economy now second only to the United States.

 

But the Taiwanese people remain internationally vigorous and ready to assert their de facto independence.  They deeply resent the manipulations of the government on the mainland.

 

As I close this consideration of Taiwan in the context of the ignorant American population that overwhelmingly has no understanding of the Taiwan-China conflict, consider this recent article from Taiwan Today, emphasizing the resentment of the Taiwanese people toward the bullying tactics of the government of the mainland PRC, one the most autocratic abusers of human rights among the governments of the world:

 

From Taiwan Today August 17, 2018 | Author: |

 

MAC poll finds majority in Taiwan disapprove of China’s political interference

Publication Date: August 17, 2018 | Author: |

 

The majority of people in Taiwan disapprove of Beijing’s efforts to suppress the country’s international space, according to a poll released Aug. 16 by the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council.

Around 82 percent of respondents said politically motivated pressure by China on the East Asian Olympic Committee to cancel the 2019 East Asian Youth Games in central Taiwan’s Taichung City was not conducive to the healthy development of cross-strait ties. A total of 85.2 percent disagreed with China’s pressure on international airlines to change their designation of Taiwan.

Such actions by the authorities in Beijing and their general attitude toward Taiwan were viewed as “unfriendly” by 65.1 percent of respondents, according to the poll.

To facilitate the healthy development of cross-strait relations, 82.9 percent of respondents said that both sides should uphold mutual respect, set aside differences and engage in communication without political preconditions. Similarly, 82.5 percent said that all exchanges should adhere to the principles of equal dignity and the rule of law, and should not be politically motivated.

According to the MAC, as a responsible member of the international community and model of freedom and democracy in the region, Taiwan has consistently worked to maintain cross-strait stability. The government is committed to safeguarding Taiwan’s dignity and sovereignty, protecting the well-being of the people and defending their free and democratic way of life, the council said, adding that Taiwan will not bow to China’s political manipulation.

Future cross-strait development cannot be determined unilaterally, the MAC said, urging China to squarely face the reality that the two sides are under separate rule and to respect the opinion of the people of Taiwan. Only by resolving differences through constructive dialogue can cross-strait relations be improved, the council added.

Conducted Aug. 9-13 by the Election Study Center at National Chengchi University in Taipei City, the telephone poll canvassed 1,093 adults over 20 years of age nationwide. It has a margin of error of 2.96 percent and a 95 percent confidence level.