When most Americans think of Taiwan, they're probably more likely to think of it as a place where their high-tech gadgets come from, or maybe as that place that China keeps threatening to attack. But how many of us know about its democracy and the troubles it currently faces in its attempts to join the international community?
Taiwan's unresolved status is essentially a holdover from the Cold War, when the U.S. was forced to keep company with many of the developing world's authoritarian governments in order to contain Soviet expansion. Chiang Kai-shek's "Free China" on the island of Taiwan--officially called the "Republic of China"-- was one example of this, as it offered the U.S. a relatively stable, if not democratic, bulwark against communism in East Asia. Chiang's anti-communist stance and claimed Christian values made him a sweetheart to religious conservatives in America, an affinity that has carried on to the fully democratized Taiwan of today.
But what about America's liberals? Where are we as a unified voice when China threatens its democratic neighbor? Will we say anything if it actually carries out an attack on Taiwan? Why are conservative papers like the Washington Times the only ones who occasionally voice concern for Taiwanese democracy? Why are we asked by the Bush administration to support democracy in civil war-torn Iraq while Taiwan's own hard-won (and functioning) democracy is in danger of being smothered in the crib?
Though a small number of liberal Americans played an instrumental part in calling attention to the human rights abuses of Chiang and his son's dictatorship in the 70's and 80's, we seemed to have lost our voice once Taiwan democratized after the 1996 election of President Lee Teng-hui. But the time has come for liberals to once again stand up for Taiwan.
Taiwan may be a bona-fide representative democracy now, but it has yet to fully consolidate the institutions necessary to guarantee that democracy's continued existence. Saddled with an outdated constitution and a hyper-partisan political atmosphere, it has become imperative for Taiwanese to see that Americans from both sides of the political spectrum respect and are concerned for the health of their democracy. Taiwanese anxiety has also grown over China's decade-long military buildup--which includes the deployment of over 800 short and medium-range missiles against the island--and its all out effort to quash Taiwan's efforts to gain representation in the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
So why should American liberals care about Taiwan and its democracy? First and foremost, we need to remind ourselves that supporting Taiwan is not equal to opposing China. Many liberals I have spoken to express concern that any move by the U.S. in support of Taiwan might bring about an unwanted and unneeded war with China. Taiwan is worth protecting precisely because it is the first culturally "Chinese" nation to fully embrace democratic ideals, and stands as an eventual model for its neighbor across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan now stands at a historic crossroads. Much like the United States, which faced a number of grave crises from within and without in its earliest years, Taiwan struggles with a number threats to its young democracy. Should Taiwan's democracy fail, it would lend credence to the argument that liberal democracy is incompatible with Asian values. Regardless of your political leanings, the triumph of these so-called "Asian values" runs counter to American interests in the region's democratic development.
Taiwan supports universal principles of human rights. This may not seem like a big deal, but consider for a moment the neighborhood it's in. The People's Republic of China regularly jails journalists, dissidents, Tibetan activists, and dislocated peasants. Vietnam continues to violently suppress the political expression of its people, as does Burma and North Korea. Taiwan's embrace of the 2004 United Nations Covenant on Human Rights is all the more remarkable because it has been frozen out of that international body thanks to China's political interference.
Taiwan's value of human rights, democracy and free speech are in line with those of American liberals. Again, let's not fall into the either/or trap that Beijing has set for the world. American liberals can and should support a thriving, democratic Taiwan, just as they should support human rights in a resurgent China. We can do this by supporting Taiwan's efforts to play a role in the international community and by opposing China's efforts to annex it through coercive means.
Some useful links on Taiwan:
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the U.S.
Taiwan in the UN
Taiwan in the WHO
The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA)
Taiwan Documents Project