Op-Ed

The result of last weekend’s presidential election was going to be scary no matter what.

Taiwan elected just its fourth president since martial law was lifted in the late 80’s by Chiang Lin-guo. Chiang Lin-guo’s father, Chiang Kai-sheck was a dictator of the Republic of China for much of the twentieth century and has left a very confusing legacy for China and Taiwan. The rest of the world kind of ignores the situation hoping it will go away.

The Republic of China was began in 1911 in China by Sun Yat-sen. He promoted democracy and an end to dynasties. His two protégés, Mao Ze-dong and Chiang Kai-sheck never agreed what the future of China should be like.

Chiang Kai-sheck, the self-titled the Generalissimo, was the president of China during World War II. The Japanese overran China. The infamous Nan Jing massacre took place at this time.

After World War II, Japan gave Taiwan and other lands back to The Republic of China, but a civil war broke out. Chiang Kai-sheck brought his party, the KMT and his government, The Republic of China, to Taiwan. He said that he ruled all of China, however, the mainland didn’t listen to him very well. He began martial law and was supported by the U.S. In fact, a major avenue in Taipei was named after Franklin D. Roosevelt because of the American contributions to Taiwan.

Mao Ze-dong’s People’s Republic of China began their communist rule on the mainland, naming Bei Jing as the capitol. Chairman Mao claimed that he ruled all of China, including Taiwan.

This was the beginning of the bizarre squabble that still exists to this day.

The current lame duck president of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bien, is the first non-KMT leader Taiwan has had since the Japanese left in 1945. His party, the DPP, is very forthright about Taiwanese independence. They do not claim to rule mainland, but they do claim that a nation, named Taiwan, exists and should be accepted as such by the rest of the world.

China has over a thousand missiles pointed at the Island of Taiwan that say otherwise. They say that Taiwan should not dally with this crazy idea of independence. Since Chen Shui-bien’s election and subsequent reelection, there has been much saber rattling and posturing on both sides of the Taiwan Straight.

In the meantime, China has pressured almost all other nations to stop recognizing Taiwan as a country. They have pressured the UN, WHO and WTO to not even consider allowing Taiwan entry. (The WTO did accept Taiwan, but only after they admitted China as well.) Taiwan’s economy has suffered drastically from this.

The winner of last weekend’s election was Ma Ying-jeou. Harvard educated, like G. W. Bush; A member of the KMT, like Chiang Kai-sheck; and pro-relations with mainland China.

A stunning majority of Taiwan is rejoicing with the election, believing that economic good times are just around the corner. No matter who was to win, the future is curiously cloudy between the two Chinas.

Ed Eibel is Ed Eibel has written for Seattle Dining.com, Sound Rider and Sounds of Seattle. He engineered the live music show, The Live Room, on KEXP in Seattle for three years before moving to Asia. He now is desperate for opportunities to speak in English and is happy to share with you the insight into the Western World he has gained while not living in it. First off, traditional Asian toilets suck. Otherwise, it's the end of the world as we know it.
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