Hatred: Taiwan's new imaginary defense system?
Michael Turton posted an interesting analysis of an article on hatred in the media. This is a continuation of my reply to his post.
...with the KMT determined to sell the island to China, and 700 Chinese missiles pointed at Taiwan, resignation is not what the island needs right now. As a motivator, hatred will do very nicely, thank you.
China's military power is growing, while ethnic hatred, skillfully harnessed by the modern DPP, has led to the evisceration of this country's military capabilities. Worse, hatred has removed Taiwan's ability to raise an army and defend itself, as half of it would likely attack the other half. Hatred has taken away the resource that allowed Taiwan to grow from a backwater dirtball to the eight-largest economy in the world - nationalism.
"But that was Chinese nationalism," I hear the vocal online majority screaming. "It was imposed by a Leninist autocracy on an unsuspecting populace who were slaughtered haplessly on 2/28." We know, we've heard it ad-nauseam. I'll get to all that in later posts. Just hear me out, or close the page and unsubscribe if you can't stand dissenting free speech. Lucky I don't need a broadcast license to blog.
I don't agree with hatred as a motivator for national defense. I believe that Taiwan has tossed its best and only proven defense against China right into the garbage can. Nationalism was the backbone of this country, and Chen Shui-Bien has burned it to get himself into the president's office.
Let's be honest, Taiwan has never had a chance - Mainland Chinese numerical superiority beat Japan and rolled over Tibet. Take away the US aircraft carriers and there is no way that Taiwan can stand up to a concerted, long-term attack from an opponent with such deep pockets and a willingness to sacrifice bodies. Supposedly, Taiwan's fighter pilots are better trained and there aren't enough boats for the CCP to cross over, but I'd love to see any analysis that comes up with Taiwan holding back China on its own. And this doesn't look too promising. If in fact China did invade, I think the only thing could stop them or tie them down would be a united defense, people willing to give up their lives for their principles, a country working together to defeat the enemy - nationalism.
Come to think of it, there is one historical scenario, one case of a tiny, determined opponent beating back the hordes and becoming the first nation in the world to fight modern China to a stalemate, other than the US in Korea. Who is this example that we may be able to learn from? Why, it's the R.O.C. and the big-bad KMT. Oh yeah, and that autocratic monster that looks likes a cute grandpa, 蔣中正Jiang Zhong-Zhen, or Chiang Kai-Shek. The KMT beat back CCP attempts to invade, and the later battles for 金門 Jinmen and 馬祖 Matsu were the only time that the CCP has ever been stopped, to my knowledge. How did that happen? I've never been in battle, but history leads me to conclude that people will fight for a good cause or a nation.
I find it impossible to believe that all of the nearly 75,000 troops on those islands were all 'mainlanders' or 'Han Chinese'. The people supporting them and fighting in their ranks were 'Taiwanese' and 'Chinese', working together. The later economic miracle was a product of that same spirit of nationalism - it had to be, or there would have been an insurgency like in Iraq, Vietnam, Morocco, etc. That's what's possible without hatred.
My point here is that the KMT's brand of Chinese nationalism wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. It was tested, and proven, with the blood of the best friends of all those nice old guys you see walking around, slowly dying off. Taiwan's sense of national and racial unity has been destroyed within the last decade, and it hasn't been replaced with anything that can defend it any better. The sad part is that people don't seem to appreciate the value of what they are throwing away, because they're 'tired' of politics.
CCP soldiers are lining up to die in the name of their country; I doubt that we could say the same for the majority of the modern soldiers of Taiwan shuffling paper for 2 years. Die for China, for the dream of a strong nation that can stand on its own two feet? Millions of KMT soldiers have and this country is here today because of it. Die because I hate my next-door neighbor? Die for Chen Shui-Bien and the right to speak Taiwanese instead of Mandarin? You first. Oh, and I hate you too.
...with the KMT determined to sell the island to China, and 700 Chinese missiles pointed at Taiwan, resignation is not what the island needs right now. As a motivator, hatred will do very nicely, thank you.
China's military power is growing, while ethnic hatred, skillfully harnessed by the modern DPP, has led to the evisceration of this country's military capabilities. Worse, hatred has removed Taiwan's ability to raise an army and defend itself, as half of it would likely attack the other half. Hatred has taken away the resource that allowed Taiwan to grow from a backwater dirtball to the eight-largest economy in the world - nationalism.
"But that was Chinese nationalism," I hear the vocal online majority screaming. "It was imposed by a Leninist autocracy on an unsuspecting populace who were slaughtered haplessly on 2/28." We know, we've heard it ad-nauseam. I'll get to all that in later posts. Just hear me out, or close the page and unsubscribe if you can't stand dissenting free speech. Lucky I don't need a broadcast license to blog.
I don't agree with hatred as a motivator for national defense. I believe that Taiwan has tossed its best and only proven defense against China right into the garbage can. Nationalism was the backbone of this country, and Chen Shui-Bien has burned it to get himself into the president's office.
Let's be honest, Taiwan has never had a chance - Mainland Chinese numerical superiority beat Japan and rolled over Tibet. Take away the US aircraft carriers and there is no way that Taiwan can stand up to a concerted, long-term attack from an opponent with such deep pockets and a willingness to sacrifice bodies. Supposedly, Taiwan's fighter pilots are better trained and there aren't enough boats for the CCP to cross over, but I'd love to see any analysis that comes up with Taiwan holding back China on its own. And this doesn't look too promising. If in fact China did invade, I think the only thing could stop them or tie them down would be a united defense, people willing to give up their lives for their principles, a country working together to defeat the enemy - nationalism.
Come to think of it, there is one historical scenario, one case of a tiny, determined opponent beating back the hordes and becoming the first nation in the world to fight modern China to a stalemate, other than the US in Korea. Who is this example that we may be able to learn from? Why, it's the R.O.C. and the big-bad KMT. Oh yeah, and that autocratic monster that looks likes a cute grandpa, 蔣中正Jiang Zhong-Zhen, or Chiang Kai-Shek. The KMT beat back CCP attempts to invade, and the later battles for 金門 Jinmen and 馬祖 Matsu were the only time that the CCP has ever been stopped, to my knowledge. How did that happen? I've never been in battle, but history leads me to conclude that people will fight for a good cause or a nation.
I find it impossible to believe that all of the nearly 75,000 troops on those islands were all 'mainlanders' or 'Han Chinese'. The people supporting them and fighting in their ranks were 'Taiwanese' and 'Chinese', working together. The later economic miracle was a product of that same spirit of nationalism - it had to be, or there would have been an insurgency like in Iraq, Vietnam, Morocco, etc. That's what's possible without hatred.
My point here is that the KMT's brand of Chinese nationalism wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. It was tested, and proven, with the blood of the best friends of all those nice old guys you see walking around, slowly dying off. Taiwan's sense of national and racial unity has been destroyed within the last decade, and it hasn't been replaced with anything that can defend it any better. The sad part is that people don't seem to appreciate the value of what they are throwing away, because they're 'tired' of politics.
CCP soldiers are lining up to die in the name of their country; I doubt that we could say the same for the majority of the modern soldiers of Taiwan shuffling paper for 2 years. Die for China, for the dream of a strong nation that can stand on its own two feet? Millions of KMT soldiers have and this country is here today because of it. Die because I hate my next-door neighbor? Die for Chen Shui-Bien and the right to speak Taiwanese instead of Mandarin? You first. Oh, and I hate you too.
posted by Taiwan's Other Side at 12:29 AM
4 Comments:
Nice post. It is definitely nice to get a view from the other side. Perhaps you are correct and say that the KMT's brand of nationalism was wonderful. However, this brand of nationalism was an attempt to force an experience upon a country which a large segment of the population could not identify with. The KMT during this experiment formented much hatred in Taiwan. The DPP does not have a monopoly on generating hatred and I actually believe the DPP does not actively promote hate. During the KMT era the 'nation' did not have a national experience and their was no true nationalism. Don't fall victim to this lie.
I think that the DPP's true aim is to generate a new nationalism which is inclusive of all Taiwanese and one that does not deny any of Taiwan's history and any one groups particular experience. Furthermore in an attempt to counter the fallacy that Taiwan has always been a part of China this inclusive nationalism will accent Taiwan's unique island ( and Austronesian) history, as well as Taiwan's colonial history. By promoting these previous neglected elements of Taiwan's history serves to further distinguish Taiwan from China. This is a longer term strategy to carve out a separate international identity among it's own citizens and in the global arena of nations. Perhaps the bitter political struggle for power sometimes colors this goal as more of an anti-mainlander/KMT strategy and a denial of the Chinese history.
**SIDENOTE**
I must further add that your supposition that hatred is not a good motivator for self-defense is in complete contradiction with all history. Think Vietnam, the former Yugoslavia and the USSR.
Hi FreeSisyphus, welcome to T.O.S.
Sorry, but I think you're misquoting/ misunderstanding me, and you may have missed what thought was the point.
Perhaps you are correct and say that the KMT's brand of nationalism was wonderful
I never said wonderful, I'll deal with the 'White Terror' in a later post. People died and went to jail unjustly - that's not right and not something to be proud of, but I believe that the end has justified the means. Those decisions were not made out of racial hatred - they were made in the interest of the nation, though I admit its difficult to separate the KMT and the nation's interests at the time..
During the KMT era the 'nation' did not have a national experience and their was no true nationalism. Please prove this to me. Chinese history is full of the nation coming together to support the ruler that they didn't pick in the first place. You don't accept that TW is part of China so I know that doesn't work for you, but even the revisionist historians of the DPP and TSU look back on the 'glory' days of Japanese rule. Sounds like the nation coming together under foreign rule.
the DPP's true aim is to generate a new nationalism which is inclusive of all Taiwanese ,
in an attempt to counter the fallacy that Taiwan has always been a part of China this inclusive nationalism will accent Taiwan's unique island ( and Austronesian) history, as well as Taiwan's colonial history.
Okay, so there is a 'new' history and a new nationalism being pushed by the DPP. My point was not to test the validly of the idea in this post, rather to point out that a 'developing' nationalism and history mean that right now Taiwan has nothing in the real world. That leaves it open and defenseless form an ideological standpoint. Perhaps this is the reason for so much apathy in politics today, rather than the media. People don't have anything to believe in anymore.
hatred is not a good motivator for self-defense is in complete contradiction with all history. Think Vietnam, the former Yugoslavia and the USSR.
Definitely not in complete contradiction, and I challenge you to show me even partial contradiction. Are you telling me that the Vietnamese beat the US because they hated the Americans personally? If that were the case, the country would have broken up with infighting right afterwards. Yugoslavia was about territorial expansion a la fascism, rather than perceived injustices. And the USSR was clearly an economic and political revolt against injustices.
Nations are built through fire and steel, and long battles. You have to earn the right to be independent, it cannot be taken by default. Hatred doesn't last long enough to do that, in my opinion.
Hi, glad to see a new viewpoint online. That said, I've got to take issue with you on a couple of points:
Hatred: Really? There's plenty of hatred in Taiwan's politicians. There's quite a bit in Taiwan's media. But in Taiwan's population? I don't really see it. The people of Taiwan seem a remarkably harmonious bunch (especially given the history); there are differences between the various groups - and occassional tensions, but i see little evidence of hate.
I would also say that the people are pretty united in contempt for the politicians (on both sides) who are guilty of the hatred you describe - and it is *that* hatred which is causing problems.
Nationalism: yuk. The only suitable outlet for nationalism is sport. It was ugly when the Japanese tried to impose their version on Taiwan, it was ugly when the KMT tried to impose their version, and it's ugly when the DPP push their version (at least the DPP haven't got the power to push theirs as ruthlessly as their predecessors). It was certainly *not* nationalism that developed Taiwan's economy - it was sensible economic policies and capitalism which did that. It wasn't nationalism that stopped the CCP invading Taiwan (it was a big army, investment in defense, and most critically, the Taiwan Strait and the U.S. Navy).
Maybe (just maybe) nationalism is a necessary evil to help protect Taiwan from the PRC - but I'd suggest it comes a poor second to fostering a clear sense of self-preservation.
I must further add that your supposition that hatred is not a good motivator for self-defense is in complete contradiction with all history. Think Vietnam, the former Yugoslavia and the USSR.
Not to mention modern Iraq. One of the KMT's successes was suppressing a positive sense of Taiwan nationalism among the locals, with the result that a positive nationalistic feeling doesn't much motivate the Taiwanese. They are still in the phase of building a national identity....
Michael
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