The Wisdom of Asia №5

 Part Ⅰ：How to Deal with China and America

Chapter One
Expanding Potentials in Asia by “Taiwan's Choice”

President of Akita International University 　Nakajima Mineo

3．Nurturing Taiwan's Identity

　　　　We may look at Taiwan and consider her democratization as occurrlng along one great horizontalaxis，but we must also take into account a great vertical axis，namely，the deepening of Taiwan’s sense of identity．This，too，has an extremely important historical signifisance.
　　　　There is no adequate word for ”identity”  in Japanese．One can say ”same as self” or “proof of existence，”but neither expresses the full meanlng of the English word，leading one to express it in English，using katakana，the Japanese alphabet for writing foreign words．Taiwan’s word for “identity. ”Jen-tung（認同），is very easy to comprehend．It means “a correct recognition o f our collective sameness and oneness．”　　　It was only after the inauguration of the LeeTeng-hui regime  that Taiwan for the first time experienced the development of a sense of identity，and saw it strengthened and deepened and acquiring definite direction．It is historically important to continue to appreciate this fact and see its meaning in a historical light．
　　　　Now，two decade after the end of the cold war，the world everywhere is seeing the rise of ethnic identities．In the Timor Island of lndonesia，the Chechen Republic of Russia，and the Kosovo autonomous Province of Yugoslavia，rising ethnic identity is taking the form of ethnic conflict and causing terrible calamities．
　　　With Taiwan，identity was established alongside social development．Taiwan's new identity was formed in a politically mature society．One based on the will of the people，running parallel with the Progress of democratization．This is an important point，and one that is very rare in the world．It is not simply the result of a change of electoral system，or political system，or policy modification．
　　　The Japanese would not have paid attention to Taiwan，nor been attracted to her，if that alone was the case．It was the combination of the horizontalaxis of democratization and the verticalaxis of deepening identity that supplied the drawing power，so to speak，that has attracted us．The
strengthenig of identity，however，unaccompanied by democratization，works to incite ethnic conflict．
　　　The People of Taiwan are in the midst of a period of tremendous political growth as they enter the "post LeeTeng-hui era". With the start of the new Chen Shui-bian government，people with many different points of view are appearing on the stage，all made possible by the painstaking care of President Lee．New voices will be heard．
　　　Taiwan has matured tremendously as a state because of its progress in democratization and the deepening of its identity special state-to-state relation；Jian Zemin，the continent's  former head of State，it is regrettable to say，does not seem to possess the sensibilities to understand this matter．The idea of  “a special state-to-state relationship”  clearly established Taiwan's position in the international community as an undeniable sovereign state．There is no doubt that Taiwan has also liberated Asia's international relations space from the world to the Chinese.
　　　I have now at hand a copy of the People's Daily（dated November 4，1999）．It carries a critique of President Lee's article “Understanding Taiwan：Bridging the Perception Gap，” that appeared in Foreign Affairs in October／November l999．
　　　　Those criticisms have all missed the target because they show little understanding of Taiwan's democratization and deepened identity．The result is that any one with a little knowledge will conclude，once they read the criticism，that "they are again talking nonsense．" The criticism that Lee Teng-hui，the trouble-maker，even before the aftermath of Taiwan's earthquake disaster on Septernber 21，1999，has settled and has started divisive activities against the motherland are total1y lacking in persuasive power for the people of Taiwan who witnessed how President Lee exhausted himself day and night in post-earthquake rescue and reliefwork．
　　　　Aside　from such criticism，one can say that，in  achieving democratization and indeepening its identity，Taiwan has raised deep issues before today's international community．In 1971 mainland China joined the United Nations，forcing Taiwan to withdraw．Since then the international community has stood still，maintainlng the 1971 framework，remaining content with the status quo．But a new Taiwan，totally different from the past，has appeared in the world's identity，which are principles worthy of guiding the 21st century．
　　　　Taiwan's identity is neither exclusive nor a simple nationalism．Rather it is an identity with a universal significance，presenting the international community with such questions as “How is happiness to be pursued？ and "How can the world be changed？ That is why Taiwan today is able to take a stand toward China，insisting on "a special state-to-State relationship．”The sight of President-elect and Mrs．Chen Shui-bian visiting President and Mrs．Lee Teng-hui at the presidential residence soon after the election and expressing their unchanging respect for President Lee as “the father of democracy” was truly delightful to see．

"The Wisdom of Asia" Translated by Alexander K. Young 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Akita International Univwrsity Press

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