Mainlander democracy writer Lung Ying-tai is discussed in a rambling article in the online edition of the Daily Yomiuri:
Lung is a descendant of people who moved to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland together with the Nationalist Party when it lost a civil war against the communists. She has been critical of the pro-independence stance of the administrations of former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui and current President Chen Shui-bian.Lung, too, criticized the ban on the magazine, saying it was similar to killing freedom of speech. While saying she has an affinity for mainland China, Lung wrote she had learned to respect people's lives and the importance of maintaining a sense of humanity.
Her essay went on to say that if her feeling toward China and her sense of values clash, she chooses her own sense of values without hesitation.
She wrote that though she loves mainland China as her home country, Taiwan cannot be unified with China unless the two share the same values.
Attempting to stop Taiwan's drive toward independence, Beijing has deepened economic ties with the island, invited Lien Chan and other opposition leaders from Taiwan, and even proposed giving Taiwan a pair of pandas.
But Lung wrote that pandas are not important, and the key issue is whether Beijing can share democratic values found in Taiwan.
[Taiwan]
6 comments:
question for you:
is lung pro-democracy? is there conflict between disagree with your party and pro-democracy?
I don't have a party, Sun Bin, I have a position, so I'm not sure what you mean about "my party" (I strongly support all three of Taiwan's pro-democracy parties, the DPP, the TSU, and the Green Party). As far as I know, Lung believes she is pro-democracy. Also, it is my understanding that she supports annexing Taiwan to China, and she voted for longtime anti-democracy stalwarts Lien and Soong in 2004. *shrug* Lung is a nice representation of the difficulties and contradictions of being a pro-democracy mainlander. Classifying her is not easy.
Michael
i do not like lien or soong. i think KMT still has problems to be fixed. same for your 3 parties.
but is it fair to forever mark a party, which has largely trasformed with its past?
are the ex-ruling party of Czech and Hungary, which voluntarily reformed and gave up power by introducing democracy to their countries, anti-democracy parties?
but is it fair to forever mark a party, which has largely trasformed with its past?
What do you mean, Largely transformed from its past? The same people lead the party that came up through it in the authoritarian days. No attempt has been made to purge the KMT of its (1) connections to organized crime (2) corrupt leaders (3) links to the murderous days of the authoritarian era. When I see that people like Soong, Ma, Lien, Yen Ching-piao and other allies and followers of the KMT no longer have influence, then I'll believe that it has transformed. When it see it has a commitment to good faith democratic politics, then I will believe it has transformed. When I see a real apology for its brutal treatment of Taiwan, then I'll believe it is transformed.
Michael
I constantly see the similarities between DPP in Taiwan and GOP in US. First of all both can't govern, but wins election by polarizing tactics. GOP is being hijacked by Christian right wing fundamentalists, they have no reservation to rip open the wounds and polarize the nation whenever they run into trouble during elections. Similarly DPP /CSB hugs their independence-now, anti-mainland deep green minority whenever they run into trouble. These tactics however sad are perfectly understandable.
I didn't quite agree with this comment in the article: "People in Taiwan welcome money flowing in from China....". That's a very lopsided view - it would be equally, if not more accurate, to say that the Mainland welcomes the flow of capital and technology from Taiwan.
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