中華民國，伊是我的「砲灰」Forming the "New" Consensus

Yesterday, a peaceful demonstration in Taipei against China's anti-secession law concluded without a hitch, and made it again, resoundingly clear that people in Taiwan do not want to be swallowed up by the CCP. Conservative estimates conclude that 270,000 protesters clogged the streets of Taipei, while organizers claim a number closer to one million participants: if we multiply/divide the each estimate by 3 (a magic number that filters out exaggeration), 4-500,000+ protesters were probably there. While the 3-26 event demonstrated vocal opposition to the Anti-Secession Law, it also revealed the limitations of Taiwanese unity under pressure, and an overall failure to heal partisan divisions within Taiwanese society. According to recent polls, well over 90% of Taiwanese citizens are against the Anti-Secession Law (what a surprise), but, (un)fortunately, there are widely different ways in which people think Taiwan should react to the PRC.

Finding a Consensus:
1) Taiwan needs unity in these trying times, but unfortunately, China's recent actions have hastened division within Taiwan. I think there are several reasons for this, but the most important, is a lack of consensus regarding the status of their own country. When I saw the footage of great banners waving "Taiwan yes, No China", my immediate reaction was: ok, this is childish. But upon further reflection, I realized that Taiwanese society is very much different from the _Chinese Communist system_ and it's fine for people to feel the need to make that distinction; although we can keep coming back to this great division, it doesn't do us much good to alienate a good number of people in Taiwan who take pride in their Chinese ancestry and heritage. Although Taiwan is not part of the PRC, it does share close linguistic, cultural, historical, economic ties with China. We don't need to be ashamed of where we emigrated from, "we all started from somewhere". Yes Taiwan, No to Communism, would work better in my opinion.

2) Another thing I found strange was the lack of national flags in this parade (besides the few stage proped in front of the presidential building). Flags serve a symbolic nature, and flag waving is a limited expression of patriotism, but it's also a sure fire way to overcome partisanship in times of national crisis. Rallies such as these should be consensus builders, not "blank-check" campaign promises. If we are to take the events of 3-26 seriously, we must do so as a country, not as a party. The most important consensus that holds Taiwan together today is the country's title: The Republic of China (ROC, 中華民國) I feel that the mostly good-natured protesters are somewhat concerned that waving this flag is somehow a dishonor or selling out to China. Unfortunately what they fail to realize (or convieniently forget) is that the great slogans of "Protect Taiwan, Democracy, Peace" are the entrusted every day duties of the ROC armed forces and those great security forces who were present in the thousands to protect the very political leaders who particpated in the march, and the 23 million people who inhabit this island. To use the ROC title without respect, and to cower behind it to promote a Taiwan "independence" agenda is truly disgusting. It also dampens the morale of those who oppose China's aggression, but feel that there are other ways to diffuse this crisis. We are an island of diversity and we should use differences of opinion to strengthen our pool of OPTIONS: should our differences divide us, Mao gets the last laugh...

3) Both sides in Taiwan must not feel a need to kowtow to each other to promote the unity we need today and in the future. We co-habit this beautiful piece of earth, and we should learn to respect each others viewpoints. The politicians and activists who brought the first true waves of democracy to Taiwan should be respected, but those who fought against Communist China's greedy fingers before, and helped develop the country's economic miracle should not be foresaken either! We all want to hasten the unbridled strength of this land and its people---shouldn't we able to mutually respect the contributions that have been made and that we all enjoy today? We shouldn't be excessively worried about writing history today...but instead be wondering how our actions today will help or hinder the plight of the next generation!

The protests have ended and we now need to focus on effective policy that fosters the building of trust between China and Taiwan and the true diffusing of tension between our governments. We can only do so if our house is in order. /End manifesto-critique format.