It’s time to go home

As the saying goes: “Democracy is the art of disciplining oneself so that one need not be disciplined by others.” Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Vice Chairman Zhang Mingqing’s (張銘清) statement that there will be no war if Taiwan doesn’t proclaim independence is a good illustration that Chinese officials need a long time to learn the art.
China is still an authoritarian regime controlling people with fear. There is no freedom of speech or religion where Zhang comes from. Human rights abuse and corruption are widespread.
And Zhang feels entitled to discipline and chastise Taiwanese, forgetting that on this free island it is the right of the people to decide whether they want to be independent or not. They have a choice that Zhang’s fellow countrymen are not given.
We all know China is a nation of great ambition, but to really get a “place in the sun,” it has to build a modern society. And the truly modern are those with integrity, those whose integrity is supported by a network of political and civil rights, those who can vote and argue freely.
It is high time for Zhang to go home and discipline the fellow members of his political clique.

Taipei Times