Taiwan Needs a Revolution of Thought

 Taiwan Needs a Revolution of Thought

China Times (Taipei, Taiwan)

November 22, 2017

Translation of an Excerpt

Trump has concluded his East Asia tour, showing Sino-American relations and the big picture in East Asia are the top priorities for him; however, a tidbit has become the focus of global attention, that is, President Trump’s granddaughter performed a talent show in Chinese, indicating that the little girl had studied Chinese for a long time. Parallelly, the renowned American investor Jim Rogers also exhibited his two daughters’ Chinese talent. In fact, the American mainstream society has set off a Chinese learning fever. The reason is no other; Rogers has said, “If the 19th century belonged to Britain, and the 20th century to the United States, then the 21st century will surely belong to China. My advice: Make sure your kids learn Chinese.” Whether Americans accept it or not, this is a fact.

However, the development of the situation has exceeded Taiwan’s imagination; the Mainland has also seen its economy soaring and has changed the global scale with a speed unimaginable by other countries in the world. Entering the 21st century, the Mainland has even made continuous breakthroughs in economic and technological areas; the Chinese century has gradually become a reality in the hands of the Mainland. In the course of this process, Taiwan has moved against the trend of history, beginning to adopt a closed-door policy, and becoming marginalized out of complacency.

Since democratization, Taiwan has harbored a sense of superiority toward the Mainland; yet its development of democratic politics is not mature, nor is it perfect by any means, so much so that it remains oblivious to the crisis of governance as a result, nor does it plan to make improvements. This indolence of thinking is akin to an ostrich burying its head in the sand, being unable to look squarely at the fact of China’s rise, and adopting an attitude of wholesale negation toward the experiences of the Mainland’s development.

Being unable to face the Mainland’s achievements or reflect on one’s own deficiencies is not an objective or rational attitude, only to be mired in the vicious cycle of failures. Taiwan should learn anew to understand the Mainland and cooperate with the Mainland with an open mind.

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