TAIWAN: Low-key National Day Brings Thoughts of Near, Far Mainland
Ten days after China’s mammoth Oct 1. parades celebrating its 60th anniversary as a communist nation, Taiwanese celebrated their own National Day with thoughts of brighter days despite overcast skies — and ties with the near yet far mainland.
This year’s Oct. 10 marked Taiwan’s 98th Double Ten National Day, which signals the start of an uprising in 1911 that led to the collapse of China’s Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China in January 1912.
Taiwan continued to celebrate National Day on Oct. 10 after the Republic of China government kept control of Taiwan but lost control of mainland China in the wake of the communist victory of Oct. 1, 1949. That day is celebrated by the People’s Republic of China as its founding day.
The past year has seen warmer cross-strait ties between Taiwan and China, said Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, whose tenure since 2008 has often been described as having brought the most normalisation with the mainland in decades.
To many in this island of more than 23 million people, the passing of yet another anniversary also brings thoughts of what binds the people in Taiwan and China despite the backdrop of political tensions and sabre-rattling that have arisen from time to time over the last six decades.
'I think closer economic cooperation can help to ease political tensions between both sides,' said Lee Guo Guang, a 55-year-old professor. 'For now, it will be good if we don’t put too much emphasis on confrontational issues.'
'A confrontation will not be good for any of us,' Wong Sheng Ya, a 19-year-old undergraduate said. 'Taiwan’s economy is interlinked to China’s, and we should aim for amiable cooperation with a little give and take.'
In his National Day address — muted because this year’s celebrations were cancelled after Typhoon Morakot hit southern Taiwan in August and left at least 700 people dead or missing — President Ma recalled that China and Taiwan have signed nine agreements building on the 1992 Consensus, also called the ‘One-China principle’.
The 1992 Consensus refers to the outcome of a meeting between China and Taiwan officials in Taiwan where both state that there is one China. However, the two sides hold different interpretations of which one is the sole legitimate representative of China’s sovereignty.
Both sides are also looking to broaden their scope of cooperation, which currently spans areas as diverse as tourism and food safety.
'This is the result of hard work on both sides but we must remember that the doubts and differences that we have are rooted in historical issues and cannot be solved overnight,' Ma said. 'We must maintain confidence, face reality and gradually build trust.'
According to figures released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan, its bilateral trade with China between January and July 2009 reached 43.47 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 22.4 percent of total foreign trade.
Under Ma, also chairman of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) party, Taiwan opened direct sea, air and mail links with China and ended a decades-long ban on such linkages. The highest-level visit by a mainland Chinese official to Taiwan also occurred in late 2008, though met by protests by some quarters here.
But in his National Day address, Ma was quick to assure the population that he has not forgotten about the possible military threat across the strait. 'We are actively seeking peaceful cross-straits relations, but will not sacrifice national security in doing so.' He vowed, 'We will actively develop a professional army that is small but strong for national defence.'
Such ambivalence is not lost on many here. Twenty-year-old Ann Wu, an undergraduate student, said: 'You don’t feel the tensions strongly in your everyday life, but they definitely exist.'
'It feels like peaceful relations are possible when nothing comes up, but once there is a conflict, you realise that there’s still a huge gap between both sides, and you start to think that a military solution is not impossible,' Sukao Chang, a 36-year-old graduate student said.
While it is apparent that cross-strait issues remain a balancing act, Ma expressed confidence about the future. Citing the examples of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and Typhoon Morakot as proof of cross-strait amiability, Ma said that the sentiment of 'blood is thicker than water' on both sides is cause for optimism.
'Looking at China’s 60th anniversary, of course I have mixed feelings, but I do feel happy for them that they are able to stand up and celebrate in this way. After all, we are of the same descent,' said Lee, the professor.
'I don’t think their celebrations really hurt anyone’s interests. It is something that is worth celebrating in its own way,' Wu agreed.
For now, Taiwan is looking ahead to celebrating its upcoming hundredth anniversary in 2011 with a blast.
During his address, Ma announced that a 111-member committee would organise a full year of activities for the occasion.
This might just be what the people are looking forward to. 'National Day was not exceptionally memorable this year. It was a little bland, and in fact, some people even seemed to have forgotten about it,' Lee lamented.
© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service