Standing Up to China Means Standing with Taiwan?

Y Ku 

My friend Jo sent me the following message and asked me what I thought about it.

https://www.aei.org/events/a-conversation-with-sen-dan-sullivan-r-ak-standing-up-to-china-means-standing-with-taiwan/?mkt_tok=NDc1LVBCUS05NzEAAAGIlxlbv_MFuKG3a9lW69PJZpIvN4aUg1AfAsr7sKNSMwNusWz8HUUx1IP8vOgAuXrKG1r6q9YzBs20nDCmB86dsvTBDhatITvjD3pkSPioNECnLQ

Here is my answer: 

        Today's China is different from what it was in the 1930s and 40s. The mindset of Cold War in Eisenhower's days should no longer govern the world in the 21st century. I hope the US will play a more positive role in promoting peaceful negotiations across the Taiwan Strait, at least not provoking confrontations or continuing to use Taiwan as an instrument  or a pawn in the "1st-island chain" in the Pacific for the US interest in East Asia.

         Senator Dan Sullivan exaggerated the threat and influence of China. He mentioned his visit to Taiwan in 2021 to provide vaccines because China prevented Taiwan from getting Western vaccines. It is totally untrue. The reality is that the DPP government not only delayed in buying Vaccines like Pfizer, Moderna and Az, but also prohibited local enterprises and religious groups from donating them to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The alleged purpose was to preserve the market for a local product Medigen, which, unfortunately, was never approved by WHO. Neverthless, its price soared in the stock market from NT$30 per share in January 2020 to NT$389 in May 2021.

        We were not only short of vaccines, the government also put the production and distribution of masks under state control in 2020, but gave them as free gifts to foreign countries including the US. The people in Taiwan had to wait in long lines outside drug stores in rain or under the scorching sun to buy our own quotas. A friend of mine got up at 4:00 am so that he could buy the masks his daughter needed to go to work. To return the favor, countries like Japan, Lithuania, Slovakia, Checkslovakia and Poland, in addition to the US, also donated vaccines to Taiwan afterwards. But China's donation offer was not accepted by the DPP government.

          Nowadays the US actually poses more threat to Taiwan than any other countries. The  forced move of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ,together with its engineers, to Arizona is an international act of robbery and tyranny. The forced selling and delayed delivery of US military weapons at prices much higher than what other countries had to pay has also been a long-term economic burden on Taiwan. I hope the people in Taiwan could be wise and lucky enough not to be turned into the second "heroic" Ukrain as Sullivan expected. 

       Taiwan is not Ukrain. Any country wants to be the next Ukrain?

和平或戰爭？ Peace or War across the Taiwan Strait

 顧燕翎　　2022/09/10

              星期五傍晚，我走在民生東路四段。中秋長假的第一天，許多店家都提早打烊了，但仍有些店亮著燈，繼續營業。我走過老字號小上海小吃店，門口堆著湖州豆沙粽；走過電器行弘正，這是從前我老爸光顧的老店，後來我也習慣找他們買東西和修理家電；又走過剛裝修完成、新開張的鬍鬚張魯肉飯。

                微風輕輕吹拂著，熟悉的公車閃著紅燈停靠向站牌，站牌上的LED燈預告著下班車到來的時刻，一切如此平和有序，如此可以期待。我曾經在市政府工作過，了解這秩序的背後經過多少人、多少時間的努力。

               我不希望台海發生戰爭，不敢想像這街道、這樹木、這公車會突然因戰火化為廢墟、化做烏有；人們一夕之間失去生活、失去親愛的家人和朋友、失去畢生心血的成果，像烏克蘭那樣。

               今年２月24 日第一顆炮彈落下來以前，基輔街頭不也是一如往常熙熙攘攘，沒有一絲戰火的氣息？在西方媒體的街頭訪談中，多位烏克蘭人都相信不會開戰。人們總是以為或者期望，現狀不輕易改變，總是相信政客們的飾詞。

　　然而不論我們是否察覺，現狀卻是不斷在改變的，或大或小、或緩或急、或隱或現；政客和媒體可能遮掩事實、可能今是昨非，永遠藏我們無法捉摸的利害考量。那麼，我們這些極可能在不知不覺中淪為炮灰的平民百姓，可以如何看清現狀？如何影響現狀？甚至改變現狀？方不致踏上烏克蘭的覆轍，就需要更多的慎思明辨了。