Why a poised Taiwan welcomed Pelosi
Social media in Taiwan 鈥� as vibrant and playful as the island nation鈥檚 democracy 鈥� was in full swing for the controversial visit by Nancy Pelosi this week. One widely popular meme depicted the U.S. House speaker as a goddess from Taoist fairy tales. The meme鈥檚 point: The Taiwanese may share a cultural heritage with China, yet their collective identity is firmly grounded in the global family of democracies.
Taiwan鈥檚 growing national consciousness around shared civic values is what really worries China鈥檚 autocratic leaders 鈥� more so than a visit by Ms. Pelosi. In Beijing, the symbolism of the visit in signaling Taiwan鈥檚 independence may weaken Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He is bidding to stay in power and someday unite the island with the mainland. Yet the visit also reinforces how much the Taiwanese are admired 鈥� as are Ukrainians fighting Russia 鈥� for safeguarding a young democracy that is accountable, egalitarian, and transparent.
Through free and open elections, Taiwan has had three peaceful transfers of power between rival parties since 2000. Such freedoms help it maintain a gross domestic product per capita that is nearly three times that of China.
鈥淭aiwan, by virtue of both its very existence and its continued prosperity, represents at once an affront to the narrative and an impediment to the regional ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party,鈥� wrote the country鈥檚 president, Tsai Ing-wen, last year.
While Taiwan鈥檚 military still needs more reforms as well as greater U.S. security assistance, the island鈥檚 best defense remains its unity around a civic identity.
鈥淲e are Taiwanese in our thinking,鈥� Li Yuan-hsin, a high school teacher, told The New York Times. 鈥淲e do not need to declare independence because we already are essentially independent.鈥�
Taiwan鈥檚 values of equality, freedom, and diversity are creating a 鈥減ost-materialist鈥� national consciousness, writes Simona Grano, director of Taiwan studies at the University of Zurich. While China is in a 鈥渨olf warrior鈥� mode, Taiwan is fighting back differently, she writes in the online publication Taiwan Insight. Its new identity, based on civic and democratic values, proclaims Taiwan as a sovereign nation.
Visits by foreign dignitaries such as Ms. Pelosi only confirm what the Taiwanese simply know to be true.
