Archive for August, 2009
Letter to Congress about Formosa Betrayed Movie
Posted by 呷飽沒 in Formosa Politics, One Formosa on August 30th, 2009
Dear [Congressperson],
I recently read that The Formosa Foundation has invited you to attend a Congressional screening of the film Formosa Betrayed in mid-September. This film is significant in helping every American Citizen understand what has gone on in Taiwan and how important the Taiwan relationship is in protecting US interests in Asia; for this reason I hope that you would make time in your busy schedule to attend.
While there is no doubt that Taiwanese can stand on their own, Taiwanese have suffered throughout history from whichever conquering nation happened to rule, including the Dutch, Japanese, and Chinese. Unfortunately this situation has not changed today; Taiwanese struggle to be recognized, even by its own various cultures and ethnicities, as an island people of their own culture and identity. Much of this is due to the US government allowing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to colonize Taiwan after WWII; the KMT proceeded to convince the multi-ethnic Taiwanese that they were Chinese, and Taiwan belonged to mother China. This ethnic and cultural genocide started from the “228″ incident in 1947 and continued into the 1980’s; hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese were killed by the KMT.
Taiwan’s recent history cannot be divorced from that of the United States and the film Formosa Betrayed illustrates a critical turning-point in the democratization of Taiwan and its relationship to the United States. This film is seminal because it presents Taiwan’s human rights history and will provide broader audiences an opportunity to glimpse the human story behind the Taiwanese struggle for identity.
Many are now concerned that the democracy and human rights that people fought and died for are once again under siege; the current KMT dominated government in Taiwan is again engaging in cultural cleansing; denying Taiwanese identity and pushing a pan-”Chinese culture as superior” agenda. Now more than ever it is important that leaders in Congress understand our shared past and stand firm in support of Taiwan’s young democracy.
As this Taiwan situation is so important, especially America’s continued close relationship with the Taiwanese in acting as a counterweight to the rise of a nationalistic and increasingly aggressive China, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the film.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Debunking the Myth: “China has always ruled over Taiwan.”
Posted by 呷飽沒 in One Formosa on August 26th, 2009
One of the claims China makes internationally is that it has always ruled over Taiwan, going back to prehistory. This is the basis for China’s false claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. In fact, archeological digs in Taiwan have never found any evidence of permanent Chinese administrative structure on Taiwan.
The Portuguese in 1590 were the first to discover Taiwan, besides the original aborigine settlers who were of Polynesian descent. That’s why Taiwan’s first name was Formosa - a sailor called the island “Ihla Formosa!” when he saw it. The Dutch in fact were the first to rule over Taiwan, beginning in 1624. The first Chinese on Taiwan came as imported workers, under Dutch rule. They intermarried with the aborigines and stayed on Taiwan.
Really, the Chinese government was never interested in Taiwan back in those days. The Qing Dynasty was a land power and had no interest in the sea. After Dutch rule was overthrown in Taiwan, and piracy became a big problem off Taiwan’s coast, the American, French, and Japanese governments complained to the Qing government as the greater power in the area. The Qing’s response was “Taiwan is beyond our territory.”
It wasn’t until the Sino-Japanese War at the end of the 19th Century that China became interested in Taiwan at all. Because of the war, the land-based Qing decided in 1887 that they would like to annex the island to compete against Japan’s naval power. However, the Qing lost the war in 1895 and Japan became the ruler of Taiwan for the next 50 years.
Published in the FAPA YPG Newsleter 08/2009 By Albert Tseng