Taiwan Independence Referendum Would Be More Disastrous than Brexit

 Taiwan Independence Referendum Would Be More Disastrous than Brexit

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

April 8, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

If one wants to find an example of "much ado about nothing," Brexit should be number one in the world. The UK adopts the parliamentary system, rarely exercising the right to referendum; former Prime Minister Cameron abruptly called for a "Brexit referendum," which unexpectedly was passed to the surprise of many His successor, Prime Minister May, has been embroiled in headaches over the Brexit program and the British society was torn apart, impacting the economy as well. The British example tells us that referendums cavalier and irresponsible to the path of the country bring disaster, not blessings.

Referendums only need a simple majority for their passage; the result was that Brexit was adopted by a vote of 52% to 48%. The facts have proven that there is no such thing as "painless Brexit"; with such a narrow margin, the referendum has torn the British society apart, with the country henceforth mired in endless disputes and divide.

The United Kingdom has provided the world with an excellent caveat: committing vital national policies to a referendum has to be extremely cautious, and requires passage by an absolute majority, and cannot cavalierly be made a tool for political operations or fulfilling the dreams of a minority, because it involves national development and survival. The Formosa Alliance initiated a proposal of "Independence Plebiscite, Joining the United Nations under an Altered National Title," which is completely impracticable in international reality, and could also induce crisis and disaster for Taiwan. Taiwan cannot enter the United Nations because of opposition from the Chinese Mainland; a referendum on independence with an altered national title will only enrage China to up the ante in oppression, even possibly stepping on the red line and triggering a military attack. If one truly believed that independence with an altered name could open a viable road for Taiwan, that would only be daydreaming. If the referendum were used for electoral operations, then that would be irresponsible in using the people in Taiwan as sacrificial lambs.

To this, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokesperson Amanda Mansour clearly indicated that opposition to a referendum on Taiwan independence was a long-term policy of the United States. She reminded the deep Green independence faction that the US always believed that neither side of the Strait should attempt to unilaterally change the status quo, saying that if one believed that “if China adopted non-peaceful means against Taiwan, the US would protect Taiwan,” "that commitment had never been absolute." When the US military risked lives for Taiwan, US leaders would have to measure whether the move would conform with US interests, and President Trump harbored an attitude of suspicion toward this security commitment, she concluded.

When the whole world looks at a UK full of chaos, feeling if such was the case why it bothered in the first place; we in Taiwan should heed this caveat with respect to our own actions. Because the UK looked for trouble when there was no trouble, it, however, would still probably not end up in a demise; for Taiwan’s irresponsible referendum, the cost could be far more disastrous.

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