Does Loving Taiwan Require Hating the Mainland?

Does Loving Taiwan Require Hating the Mainland?
China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
March 3, 2016

Executive Summary: We have to ask, does “loving Taiwan” really require hating the Mainland? If one day Taiwan were to purge itself of all Chinese characteristics, would it really be better off? Clearly not. The modern world is permeated with Chinese elements. Taiwan society cannot immunize itself against Chinese characteristics. On the contrary, it must make maximum use of Chinese characteristics to become self-reliant. Hatred of the Mainland runs counter to global trends. It amounts to butting one's head against a stone wall, and is doomed to failure.

Full Text Below:

Outside observers are concerned about the future of cross-Strait relations. They worry not merely about the uncertainty that Tsai Ing-wen will bring. They worry that even if she is determined to improve relations between the DPP and the Mainland, the backlash from within her party and her supporters will render any such attempt stillborn. Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly pledged to maintain the status quo. She has offered the United States important guarantees. This suggests that Tsai Ing-wen has no desire to provoke cross-Strait hostilities. Tsai Ing-wen may not wish to raise cross-Strait tensions. But that does not mean her colleagues within the party agree. Still less does it mean her supporters are willing to change their minds.

In fact, a variety of uncoordinated movements have emerged. The New Power Party (NPP) is generally regarded as a DPP ally. The NPP opposes the DPP version of the Cross-Strait Agreement Oversight Regulations. It adheres to the two-states theory, and rejects the DPP's revisionist path.

The NPP adheres to this position to attract supporters. It intends to gradually shift toward the center, where it can induce DPP supporters to defect. DPP allies are making moves on the party. DPP insiders are waiting to make their moves as well. Legislator Kao Chi-peng suddenly demanded the elimination of portraits of founding father Sun Yat-sen from government buildings. This clearly represents a new wave of de-Sinicization. It is an attempt to completely sever ties between Taiwan and the Republic of China, especially the “Chinese version of the Republic of China”.

Politicians naturally pander to voters. There is a market for radicalism. Expecting politicians to refrain from opportunism is wishful thinking. Therefore the most important question is how to change voter antagonism toward the Mainland. At one time government policy was “Retake the Mainland!” Now many sing the tune of “Taiwan independence”.  Many who now insist they were “Taiwanese” from birth, once admitted they were Chinese. They may not have wanted to sacrifice themselves to "save our Mainland compatriots”, but at least they did not consider people on the other side of the Strait any different from themselves.

The perceived differences between compatriots on the two sides is a consequence of authoritarian era policy. The government made people fearful of “Communist spies”. As a result, the perception that Mainland compatriots were the same as us became unreal, while the perception that they were different from us became real. Individual Mainlanders came to be seen as hated “Communist fellow travelers". Long term anti-Communist education and propaganda made the Mainland public, the Mainland government, and the Chinese Communist Party indistinguishable from one another. This directly affected follow-up cross-Strait exchanges, and public first impression of the Mainland.

For the public on the Mainland, this has become an unexpected calamity. They did nothing wrong, yet have been vilified as the enemy. They come to Taiwan on visits, never realizing they are "presumed guilty". No wonder the public on Taiwan feels indiscriminate hostility towards the Mainland. Later, with Taiwan's democratization, politicians held high the banner of “loving Taiwan”. They indoctrinated the public, making them think that in order to love Taiwan, they had to hate the Mainland, only that makes one a “brave Taiwanese”. If one compromise even slightly, then one does not “love Taiwan”, one is “selling out Taiwan”.  Never mind that compromise is merely cross-Strait interaction that improves cross-Strait relations. Never mind that both sides make concessions.

The perception is mistaken. Authorities on the two sides may have fought each other, but the public on the Mainland has never harmed the public on Taiwan. That is an indisputable fact. Cross-Strait differences are between governments and political parties are based on ideology and political interests. The people are not party to these disputes.

That is why the hatred so many people feel for the Mainland is absurd. The objects of their hatred never harmed them personally, yet they have become the targets of their own groundless accusations. This irrational atmosphere envelops Taiwan society today. Many people do not consider this attitude irrational. They think it means “loving Taiwan”, and “defending the Taiwan's dignity”. In order to prove themselves right, they cite the Mainland's demeaning of Taiwan's status in the international arena. This, they claim, justifies their hostility towards the Mainland.

Of course, Mainland officials demeaning Taiwan's status in the international arena does undermine Taiwan's dignity. We hope the Mainland can appreciate the importance of international status to the public on Taiwan. We hope it is willing to change old ways of thinking. But therein lies the problem. Why should ordinary people be blamed for what governments do in the international arena? After all, no one would attempt to justify the behavior of terrorists on such reasoning. This lack of discernment shows how blind their hatred for the Mainland is.

Hatred of the Mainland is not limited to hatred of the public on the Mainland. It  includes hatred of Mainland-related symbols. Even if the symbols are an integral part of Taiwan's history, they will not hesitate to purge it. The term "Republic of China" is one example. So is the term "founding father". Some extremists even advocate the abolition of the Mandarin dialect and Chinese characters, and the romanization of “Taiwanese”, i.e., the Minan dialect of China.

We have to ask, does “loving Taiwan” really require hating the Mainland? If one day Taiwan were to purge itself of all Chinese characteristics, would it really be better off? Clearly not. The modern world is permeated with Chinese elements. Taiwan society cannot immunize itself against Chinese characteristics. On the contrary, it must make maximum use of Chinese characteristics to become self-reliant. Hatred of the Mainland runs counter to global trends. It amounts to butting one's head against a stone wall, and is doomed to failure.

愛台灣一定要恨中國嗎？

2016年03月03日 中國時報

外界對未來的兩岸關係感到憂慮，恐怕不僅僅是擔心蔡英文執政後會帶來更多的不確定性，而是擔心即便她有心改進民進黨政府與大陸的關係，卻因為遭遇黨內和支持者的反彈而夭折。蔡英文三番兩次宣示要維持現狀，而且也對美方做出重要保證，這就意味著蔡英文自己並不想挑動兩岸的敏感神經。可是蔡英文不挑起兩岸紛爭，不表示她的黨內同仁不會，更不表示她的支持者願意改變。

事實上，各種不協調的動作已經開始出現，普遍被視為民進黨盟友的時代力量，針對民進黨版的「兩岸協議監督條例」，繼續堅持兩國論的兩岸定位，拒絕民進黨的修正路線。

時代力量之所以堅持既定立場，當然是看準可以吸引更多人支持，並讓自己跟漸漸調整到中道路線的民進黨有市場區隔。民進黨不僅黨外盟友蠢蠢欲動，黨內也有人伺機而動。立委高志鵬突然提案要求廢除懸掛國父孫中山先生遺像，這顯然是「去中國化」的新一波行動，是徹底斷絕台灣與中華民國，特別是中國版「中華民國」的連結。

政客作為當然是投選民所好，因為激進作法自有其市場、也有選票，寄望政客改變投機性格無異於天方夜譚，因此最重要的，還是如何解構選民對大陸的激進對抗情緒或心理特質。曾幾何時，台灣還在宣揚反攻大陸國策的時候，許多現在高唱台獨讚歌、自認為生來就是台灣認同的人們，其實也曾自認是中國人，就算不曾真正想為「解救大陸同胞」犧牲，起碼也不會將對岸人民視為不同於自己的人。

要說兩岸同胞間有差別心，那也是當時威權政府時刻警告人民要小心匪諜，使兩岸同胞「同」變得虛幻、「異」變得真實，因為個別的大陸人已被視為「中共同路人」而必須敵視。在長期的反共教育宣傳下，大陸人民、大陸政府或者中共，在人們的心中早就不加區分，這直接影響到後續兩岸交流漸趨啟動之際，台灣人民對大陸的第一印象。

對大陸人來說卻是無妄之災，自己什麼都沒做，就已經先被定性為敵方，要想到台灣參觀訪問從來也都是某種意義上的「有罪推定」，這也難怪台灣人民對大陸不加區別的心存敵意。再到後來台灣民主化啟動，政客高舉愛台灣的大旗，洗腦人民，讓人民以為要愛台灣，就要對抗大陸，做勇敢的台灣人。如果向大陸稍作妥協，就是不愛台灣、出賣台灣，哪怕妥協只是兩岸交流互動中，為了取得進展而必須為，更不管兩岸之間都在彼此讓步的事實。

這畢竟是錯誤的認知，無論兩岸官方如何爭鬥，大陸人民都不曾真正傷害過台灣人民，這是無可爭辯的事實，要說兩岸有分歧，那是政府和政黨基於意識型態、政治利益諸多考量的造成紛爭，與人民無涉。

也正因為此，許多台灣人時刻流露出的仇中反中思想才顯得荒謬，他們敵視的對象從未傷害過自己，卻被自己無端指責，這就是當下台灣社會瀰漫的一種近乎荒誕的情緒氛圍。當然，很多人並不這樣認為，因為他們自認為這是愛台灣，是為了捍衛台灣尊嚴。有人為了證明自己正確，就拿大陸在國際場合打壓台灣尊嚴，證明自己敵視大陸有理。

當然，大陸官方打壓台灣國際空間確實對台灣尊嚴造成傷害，我們也希望大陸能夠體諒台灣人民對國際空間和尊嚴的重視，願意改變舊思維。但這其中的問題在於，國際間的政府行為為何要人民買單？事實上，恐怖分子也常常拿西方國家侵犯他們的家園，來為他們的恐怖行徑做正當性的解釋，但恐怕沒有人會認為恐怖分子的罪行就可以因此得到寬恕。連起碼的事理都分辨不清，說明反中仇中者已經理盲到何種程度。

反中仇中的社會情緒不光是針對大陸人民，他們還針對許多與大陸有關的符號，甚至即使那也是台灣的一部分，他們也不惜一併清除乾淨。「中華民國」就是典型的例子，「國父」當然也不能除外，更有極端者主張廢除國語和中文字，改行台語和羅馬拼音。

我們不禁要問，愛台灣就真的必須敵視中國嗎？如果台灣有一天真的完全沒有了中國因素，台灣就會因此變得更好嗎？答案顯然是否定的，在全世界都充滿中國因素的時候，台灣社會不可能成為中國因素的免疫體。相反地，應該善用中國因素自強。反中仇中去中無異於逆世界潮流，其實也是以卵擊石、注定失敗。