A Response to Prof. Uwe’s “The Ancient Greek Democratic Ideal and its Relevance for Today’s World”: Taiwan’s liberation after 2016 Presidential Election

Paul Tseng, St. Paul Workshop of Editing and Translation, assistant professor.

Prof. Uwe’s essay focuses on the process regarding personal responsibility as a collective strength. And in his enlightening narrative and analysis, several lines are the most touching for me. “The root of evil and suffering is usually human arrogance.” “The implication of Greek tragedy, however, is that a form of truth is immediately available to those who are willing to face it and strong enough to survive.” “The drama competitions at the City Dionysia demonstrate the need for dialogue to meet changing conditions in the society.” “And here liberalism, in the classical sense, has proved essential. Liberalism has provided the kind of institutions most suitable to the “person-qua-person.” “The aim of the polis (of the city, of the government) is not mere life, it is rather, a good quality of life.” “Protestantism plays a decisive role in its application to political democracy.”

And from the standpoint of a Taiwanese professor, I would like to share the story of this area. A win by Taiwan’s pro-independence DPP will alter China relationship. After the 2016 presidential election, the China-friendly Kuomintang party lost power to the pro-independence opposition amid concerns that the island’s economy is under threat from China and broad opposition to Beijing’s demands for political unification. And a win for the DPP will introduce new uncertainty in the complicated relationship between Taiwan and mainland China, which claims the island as its own territory and threatens to use force if it declares formal independence. Tsia Ing-wen, the new president, has pledged to maintain the status quo of de-facto independence for the island of 23 million, although she has refused to endorse the principle that Taiwan and China are parts of a single nation to be unified eventually. Beijing has made that its baseline for continuing negotiations that have produced a series of pacts on trade, transport and exchanges. Observers say China is likely to adopt a wait-and-see approach to Tsai’s presidency, but might use diplomatic and economy pressure if she is seen as straying too far from its unification agenda.

In addition, in observing Taiwan’s political situation, February 28 Massacre, also known as 228 incident should be understood. It was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan. Taking its name from the date of the incident, it began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kumintang-led Republic of China government, which killed thousands of civilians beginning on February 28. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more. The massacre marked the beginning of the Kuomintang’s White Terror period in Taiwan, in which thousands more inhabitants vanished, died, or were imprisoned. This incident is one of the most important events in Taiwan’s modern history, and is a critical impetus for the Taiwan independence movement.

Life is a walking shadow. It is full of sound and fury. The changing world situation deserves our prayers and understanding.