Taiwan – between democracy and fear of China | DW Documentary

Taiwan – between democracy and fear of China | DW Documentary

The march of History will lead to the reunification of China and the rebirth of the Chinese Nation who will never renounce the use of Force Beijing should never underestimate the power of taiwan’s democracy Taiwan will use its right to defend itself we leave nothing to fate resolution of the Taiwan problem and China’s reunification are the historic missions of the Communist party we will guarantee our sovereignty and liberal democracy we are defending our na

Security a war of words is Raging between taii and Beijing it’s a high-risk show of strength between two rival capitals that began more than seven decades ago as an accident of history in 1949 Chen Kai and his army fled China as Maad Dong’s communist troops Advanced they headed to Taiwan

And took power there the island became the Republic of China from here they planned to regain control of the whole country but things didn’t go according to Plan 70 years later Taiwan is a model of democracy while Beijing remains bent on reconquering it with a population of 24 million Taiwan wants to maintain its sovereignty increasingly the country is distancing itself from mainland China but if the conflict escalates it could have consequences for the whole World The mountains of Taiwan form the backbone of the beautiful island they are also home to many of taiwan’s indigenous peoples some 16 tribes in 16 languages have survived wave after wave of colonial rulers here marginalized and stripped of their lands indigenous groups only account for some 2.5% of the

Population but at election time competition is H for their Vote we’ve got a candidate for governor here let’s give her a warm welcome pensioners are waiting for one of taiwan’s most well-known indigenous figures hello everyone how are you I’m from the Amis ethnic group my native tongue is Amis 49-year-old Kula served as spokesperson for the Taiwanese president

Before running for governor of the huan district her native region and Eastern Taiwan I wanted you to see the real me in person I’m not even wearing any makeup today I hope you’re not disappointed thank you and enjoy the event this afternoon she’s come to open a singing competition The older ones can dance with me wave your hands let’s dance together I’m going to sing love me with all your heart by Fong Fe although kaas yotaka has chosen a song in Mandarin she doesn’t consider herself Chinese ultimately kutaka won’t win the contest for governor but the former journalist for Taiwan indigenous television is still the face of a new Taiwanese Identity since we have no tradition of writing our songs and dances are very important to us as a way of communicating our feelings and our history many foreigners don’t even know that there are indigenous peoples in Taiwan they think the Taiwanese are all Chinese they’re not I’m a member of One of 16 Tribes my family has lived through Taiwan entire Colonial history 400 years ago there were only indigenous tribes living here then the Spanish came and after them the Dutch then there was the Ching Dynasty led by the Manus from 1895 the Japanese came and ruled Taiwan after they defeated the Manus my grandfather was Japanese that’s why my surname is utaka my father’s surname a Japanese Surname the Japanese Occupation began in 1895 at the time Taiwan was known as Formosa beautiful Island and Portuguese the new rulers built roads and palaces turning the tropical island into the garden of the Japanese empire the Japanese language became [Applause] compulsory this rare archival footage was filmed in the 1930s tribes still retained some of their Customs but were subject to the Japanese Emperor descent was brutally punished mustard gasp was used against One Tribe following the Japanese surrender in 1945 the Island returned to Chinese hands Beijing immediately sent troops to the island Mandarin became the new official language and Japanese names were banned it wasn’t until 2005 that kolas yotaka was able to go by her Japanese surname in local elections in 20122 she

Ran as a candidate for the Democratic Progressive Party it’s lead was the first Taiwanese head of government to offer an official apology to the country’s indigenous inhabitants and to recognize their importance to taiwan’s sense of self the Taiwanese have shaped a new identity out of these 400 years of

History with its unique cultural religious and linguistic blend our way of life even our Cuisine is a product of these 400 years kaas yotaka embodies this new Taiwanese identity open inclusive and Democratic that’s a provocation for Beijing it also represents a break with the traditional self-image of Taiwan as pronounced by Chen Kai

Shk his National Memorial Hall stands in the center of the Capital taipe these days there’s still a ritual Changing of the Guard here but the dictator’s Legacy is a controversial one y yo born in 1887 in a Chinese Province South of Shanghai Chang kek became the leader of the Republic of China in

1928 when Japan said about conquering China in the late 1930s he led the war of resistance during World War II he formed alliances with Britain and the United States after Japan’s defeat in 1945 Civil War resumed pitting the Nationalist government against the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong though Chinese is still fighting Chinese the Communist victories which began in man inria have now spread their control over a vast area South to the yansi river their dominance in North China is rendered complete with the fall of Bing in September 1949 communist troops entered Beijing madong was [Applause] Triumphant [Applause] the nationalists were defeated foreigners left the country and Chen Kai Sheek followed suit with him he took many Treasures from the Forbidden City along with 2 million nationalist soldiers and their families [Applause] they headed for Taiwan under the protection of the American 7th Fleet Taipei became the new capital of the Republic of China the only Chinese government recognized by the International Community but now two Chinas existed each fiercely opposed to the other with American Financial support Chen Kai Czech launched huge agrarian reforms output grew and the economy Boomed in 1960 US president Dwight Eisenhower the anti-communist islands protector and Godfather came to see it for Himself P out For Chang Kai died in 1975 a year before Mao he might not have won back Beijing but in economic terms Taiwan was the winner wealth per capita was five times higher than in mainland China a gap that increased in ensuing years under the leadership of the dictator’s son changqing

KU his massive infrastructure investment programs brought Western business to the country it was the beginning of the iconic made in Taiwan Label How many hours do people here work a day usually 10 to 12 hours a day 7 days a week they don’t get any days off they get three days off a month maximum and when there’s too much work they just keep Working opposition was banned and the prisons were full as a Swiss TV report filmed in 1967 shows anyone who doesn’t tow the party line ends up in prison many of these men are indigenous Taiwanese who regard the 2 million Continental Chinese who arrived in 1949 as occupiers they believe the government is

Illegitimate repressions began in 1947 with a bloody Crackdown against a series of protests a massacre on February 28th became known as the 228 incident between 18,000 and 28,000 people were killed martial law was enforced from 1949 to 1987 the regime locked up almost 140,000 political prisoners and sentenced

Between 3,000 and 4,000 of them to death their names are recorded at the entrance of this prison turn Museum it’s a memorial to the white Terror the name chosen to describe this period of History that long remain Taboo Taiwanese Cinema has grappled with this history since the late 1980s but only recently has it dealt with the stories of the countless women incarcerated by the regime They loved to read they had great ideals they just didn’t know that these ideals would get them arrested and deported if they hadn’t been arrested they could have fallen in love they could have had boyfriends continued their studies they would have had a bright future they

Could have been among the first group of taiwan’s female intellectuals they could have educated the Next Generation and won equality for Taiwanese women sooner zero Cho is a Taiwanese filmmaker famous for her feminist films she made a featurelength film about this dark chapter of History stills from the shoot are exhibited at the

Museum get the film tells the story of three women imprisoned in the 1950s and deported to Green Island off the coast of Taiwan in the Pacific the characters are based on three real women and their [Applause] Fates before I made Untold her story I did a lot of historical research and read many books and of course I looked at a lot of photos among them were 14 prisoners condemned to Death they were all in different prisons but without talking to each other they all did the same thing before their execution they smiled at the photographer they had incredible levels of Integrity they couldn’t be broken I imbued one of my heroins with this spirit I wanted the audience to ask

Themselves how they would have reacted if they’ been sent to prison for political [Applause] Reasons welcome to this preview of Untold her story which opens in cinemas tomorrow director zero Cho is here on the red carpet welcome and thank you along with several victims of the white Terror a prominent guest is here tonight taiwan’s Deputy president the Island’s second most powerful politician

A member of the democratic Progressive Party The film’s producer a former politician himself is also the son of a victim of the white Terror in this film you find out the dictator is the source of suffering not only for his victims but also for his accomplices I want this film to make it clear to everyone as long as we don’t come to terms with what the dictator did or if this process of coming to

Terms with it is interrupted our people will be left with a huge open wound since the end of taiwan’s dictatorship debate over Chang Kai cheek’s Legacy has persisted only after half a century of authoritarian dictatorship Taiwanese citizens voted in free presidential elections for the first time in

1996 Jen KK’s son himself had backed the peaceful transition to democracy it was a historic moment the election was won by the nationalist party’s Lee tangui a technocrat born on the island as the country’s first popularly elected president he pushed through reforms helping to bring the autocratic regime to an

End but the new political era didn’t mean The Disappearance of Chen Kai Sheek from public Consciousness Most of the Island’s statues were moved to this park in the 2000s but the dictator continued to appear on banknotes and coins for Years that’s thanks to the qua menang nationalist party one of taiwan’s two main parties a statue of Chen kek is still enthroned in its entrance hall today the Kua mang was the only authorized party during the dictatorship today it refuses to renounce its former leader as you know a commissioner stated

In its report that Taiwan should erase all traces of a chang face from the public space what’s the official position of the quing tong about this um I feel that the Democratic Progressive Party has already removed enough statues the Quint Tang believes it’s important not to forget Chang Kai shek’s

Many contributions to our history they’ve already started altering the school books they don’t teach the history of the Republic of China or the qu Min Tang anymore for example I don’t think that’s right it’ll have a huge impact on the Next Generation in recent years the Kua minang has championed the islands

Chinese ties it supports a conciliatory attitude towards Beijing in 2015 then President Ma Ying Jo a member of the Ku minang party shook hands with Chinese president xiin ping this historic encounter in Singapore fueled debate both outside the party and Within while the party’s youth sees itself as Taiwanese the Old Guard support Swift unification with Continental China many people see the word China as a bad word but for me it’s an asset because China doesn’t just stand for the Communist party or People’s Republic China stands for 5,000 years of history

And that includes Taiwan so right now we’re in a state of Separation perhaps my ideas are not those of the majority of Taiwanese but I think that deep down 40% of the population feels like I do Chinese or Taiwanese or Taiwanese and Chinese that’s the question frequently put to the Island’s population just 20% of the population identified as Taiwanese when the dictatorship came to an end in the 1990s today that number is 64% considerably higher almost no one regards themselves as purely Chinese and yet the two economies have never been so interl hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese work on the mainland China consumes 40% of taiwan’s exports yet even in the business world people are increasingly turning away from the People’s Republic My name is Robert S I’m one of the pioneers of the semiconductor sector in Taiwan 76 year-old Robert sa is the founder of the United micro electrics Corporation or UMC with some 20,000 employees it’s the third largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world yes in 1976 Robert sa was part of a group of brilliant Engineers sent to the US by the Taiwanese government to train in this futuristic Technology today his component parts are found in countless everyday objects cars computers smartphones and Taiwan has a virtual monopoly in the 2000s when China began to open up Robert Sao inaugurated the first semiconductor Factory on the continent at the time the Avid collector of Chinese art was close to beijing’s

Regime he was Pro unification at that time the situation in mainland China was very promising the economic boom was feeding growth across the world there was hope that the country could become a democracy that hope was Mistaken the 2019 Hong Kong riots affected him greatly the city state had been returned to China by the British under the Proviso that it preserve a special one country two systems Democratic status but in Spring 2019 the Chinese regime announced reforms that broke that pledge effectively ending Hong Kong’s special Status Robert sa was living in Hong Kong at the time the Chinese Communist Party recruited criminal gangs and on the 21st of July sent their henchmen to Yan long station they beat Hong Kong citizens with sticks they wanted to instill fear and stop the protests this kind of hooliganism

Destroyed any faith I had in the Chinese Communist Party the billionaire was convinced that unification with Beijing would lead Taiwan to suffer the same fate as Hong Kong he returned to Taiwan to prepare for the war that he believed was inevitable and pledged to donate € 100 million for the defense of the Island 30 million EUR have already paid for a civil defense training college named after taiwan’s emblem the black bear on the battlefield you always have to be on high alert the enemy can creep up on you without you even knowing it be on your guard when your colleague is

Treating somebody tell him to hurry up and as soon as they’re finished leave immediately okay this afternoon a fireman is giving a course on treating War wounds giving first aid treatment and how to protect yourself against online disinformation the course lasts for 2 days since launching in 2021 it has been fully

Booked as soon as you finished raise your hand and Shout great everyone is fast 30 seconds perfect in Taiwan only men are called for military service until now training lasted Just 4 months from 2024 it’s extended to 12 months still hardly anyone feels prepared in case of an

Invasion and Russia’s attack on Ukraine has done little to reassure people we’re prepared for the worst you can’t just walk into an unknown situation without being prepared I hope to learn something here that can benefit others too I was born in the 1950s so I’ve known hard

Times I don’t want Taiwan to experience that again it’s clear now that our neighbor wants to enslave us and that’s unacceptable 3,000 people have taken the course in a year but that’s not enough says Robert sa his ambition is to train 3 million citizens he’s also launched a media campaign against Unification do you really want to hand over a sovereignty to the mainland do you really want to live under an autocratic regime we have to be United and if War comes fight like the Afghans did against the Russians and the Americans to unite the island citizens behind a clear position the billionaire is calling for the unthinkable amending the Constitution and changing the country’s name from the Republic of China to Taiwan Beijing has warned that this symbolic step towards independence would constitute an act of War although the vast majority of Taiwanese are against unification they’re also largely for preserving the status quo they don’t want to provoke China especially in the regions closest to the mainland like kin Men kinmen is small groups of islands surrounded by the communist Mainland and within sight of Chinese skyscrapers the archipelago already saw conflict and Devastation in the 1950s a point of tension in international relations hman remains isolated behind a barrage of shells from communist China’s Coastal batteries the military Hospital treats many civilian wounded the streets and buildings bear the scars of War Only a few people live in this Village which of house is still standing but two shells hit the front building and on the third floor there were three more One shell ripped into my arm it took three operations to sew it back on but that’s not the worst of it the worst is here on my hip you see there isn’t any bone left Lin mang was born on kinmen serving as a professional Soldier he lived through the Cold War

Here at the time the islands were under military control 100,000 soldiers were stationed in a huge network of Bunkers shells rained down almost daily into the 1970s at that time kinmen was taiwan’s Outpos when the winds are favorable huge balloons float to the Communist Mainland less than 5 km away carrying small Goods designed to sap enemy morale packets of biscuits tubes of toothpaste and female undergarments wrapped in the portrait of Chang Kai Sheek fall on the People’s Republic like Mana from heaven and loudspeakers broadcast

Nationalist slogans against beijing’s regime to the Communist Mainland 15 hours a [Laughter] day By 1994 the vast majority of the soldiers had left soon to be replaced by millions of tourists from mainland China today Beijing supplies water to the islands and has even suggested building a bridge kin men’s inhabitants would welcome it especially those who fought in the War they constantly yelled at us 24

Hours a day and we did the same to them we had been taught to hate them now we have friends and family there they often take the ferry to visit us and when I used to travel I went to the Mainland while Lin matang supports unification he mostly just wants peace he doesn’t want to see taiwan’s powerful neighbor provoked into carrying out the threats it makes so publicly on Chinese State television Taiwan is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China China is opposed to any form of official

Interaction between Taiwan and other countries with diplomatic links to China we warn the Taiwanese authorities once more any action on their part that could interrupt the course of history and any act against unification will be forcefully rejected by the people of China China will never allow Taiwan to

Claim its independence all of its leaders dream of achieving reunification while they’re in power to leave their mark on History one country two systems of course or else there’ll be War do you talk to your children or your grandchildren about politics not Really if he were to ask his children and grandchildren about their views he might be surprised 83% of Taiwanese between the ages of 18 and 29 say they identify as exclusively Taiwanese born after the end of Martial law this generation of Millennials is more oriented towards Japan New Zealand or Europe than

China they’re not afraid to voice their opinions and they openly mock mainland China and its heavy-handed propaganda using social media and satirical videos hello and welcome to this foreign Ministry press conference for Chinese and foreign media this parody could almost be the real thing except for one detail the red

Flags bearing the face of Winnie the Pooh a satirical depiction of Chinese president xiin ping I have no interest in answering that fatuous question next the video was produced in this taipe studio by this young Woman not yet 30 Sandra ho is already a rising star in Taiwanese media scenes the sign above the spokesperson generally shows the English Shand for the Chinese foreign Ministry but we made a conscious decision to write Ministry of Winnie Affairs instead the word Winnie is completely banned on Chinese social media so it’s

Obviously far more interesting and a lot more fun for us to use Winnie in our sketches as much as possible during a student journalism trip to China financed by B Bing Sandra Hall got to see how propaganda functioned on Chinese State television up close she started lampooning it with stunning

Success the ictv channel a play on Chinese state broadcaster’s name CCTV has some 1.2 million YouTube subscribers a true social Phenomenon since the outbreak of the Ukraine war everyone’s become aware that old style war is a possibility and their worries are Justified but we don’t know how long this threat will last if war will break out or when life still has to go on our program just helps people to channel their emotions

Our nation is officially called the Republic of China but since everyone knows us as Taiwan there are both names on our passports taiwan’s bizarre situation and chaotic history are another source of inspiration the Channel’s most popular program pokes fun at the dictatorship of Chen kek hello everybody hello everybody let’s celebrate our national

Day we’re broadcasting today from the final resting place of our late leader Chang Kai Sheek in this year of pandemic and War we are glad to feel his Spirit please join in our Anthem In Praise of our motherland and a free China everyone watching at home please stand up now the tone is

Sardonic Sandra ho is part of a democratically mature generation and an era that has its origins in the sunflower movement of 2014 at the time hundreds of students occupied the Tai anes parliament in protest over a planned free trade agreement between the Kua mangled Taiwanese government and the People’s Republic of China effectively a first step towards unification symbolically at least taiwan’s young people had seized power and set change in

Motion for me the most important outcome of this movement was that everyone realized the importance of talking about po itics and of getting involved some of us started to work for greater involvement of young people in the political process so our voices could be heard in the public Debate the occupation of the parliament lasted 3 weeks and ended peacefully the trade pact was abandoned 2 years later later Taiwan elected a new president Sai in Wen of the democratic Progressive Party her government included several prominent members of the sunflower movement one of them was the minister for digital Affairs 42 year-old

Transgender self-taught hacker Audrey Tang they’re an embodiment of taiwan’s new democracy hi there so govern why are you filming our Interview we believe in transparency and openness with regard to our fellow citizens we follow the same principle with all our guests and journalists it allows everyone to see how the interview was conducted and allows them to use it it’s called The Creative Commons licensing principle creative

Comm Audrey Tong made a success of this radical transparency when the co pandemic hit in 2020 rather than locking down the Taiwanese authorities focused on artificial intelligence and information sharing Audrey Tang organized an initiative created by hackers a realtime map of mask stocks in the country the

Result Taiwan had one of the lowest death rates in the world at the time it was a stark contrast to China and its authoritarian methods online the minister became a popular figure Got hello I’m Audrey Tong T digital Minister really happy to share with friends around the world about our digital democracy anyone can raise a citizen in the clip the minister promotes an Internet site that lets even the youngest Taiwanese citizens shape the legislative process by putting forward their own

Proposals it’s believed that half of taiwan’s population has visited the website Vote or participate in referenda they could already propose for example that we ban plastic straws from our bubble tea takeouts and that’s the spirit of Taiwanese digital Democracy the world’s first transgender government Minister and an avowed anarchist Audrey Tang has developed a new definition of Taiwanese identity we’re a society of immigrants my father’s father for example came here from sichan Province in China my paternal grandmother was from the city of lugang You could say that several memories coexist in Taiwan along with several languages we have 20 national languages how can we live in harmony with such a diversity the question is an important part of our Identity uh I Define myself as non-binary in terms of gender and I have no official political orientation there’s a fusion of cultures genders and generations in my opinion this is the kind of identity that helps us find consensus in times of conflict Taiwan experiences three small earthquakes on average every day this

Has led to the formation of Mount Jade our highest peak which grows up to 3 cm every day in other words it’s our resilience that allows us to create common values that for me is real Identity according to The Economist magazine Taiwan ranks as the eighth most democratic country in Asia and 10th worldwide ahead of Germany and France the island serves as both a model and a place of Refuge it out for example the lgbtq plus Community is welcomed here in 2019 Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage taipei’s Pride March is growing every year with 120,000 people taking part in 2022 less than four decades after martial law was lifted Taiwan commands respect it also inspires artists like the film director zero Cho who Brave the rain to attend Pride with her partner this kind of atmosphere makes me feel proud of my country I love the fact that Taiwan has

Done away with strongman politics a great nation doesn’t need a strongman cult but a civil society that’s what makes a mature Society Open strong and confident taiwan’s new identity exudes optimism but the question remains will that be enough to hold off Beijing W

Taiwan and China are engaged in a bout of saber rattling that could lead to war. This documentary shows why the Taiwanese don’t want to be seen as Chinese: their open, democratic society stands in contrast to that of totalitarian China.

Taiwan has had to endure foreign rule by European, Chinese and Japanese colonial powers – as well as occupying powers and the dictatorship of Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. Modern Taiwan has emerged from this painful past as an open and dynamic society – one that stands in total contrast to that of totalitarian China.

Since 1987, Taiwan has forged its own impressive path and evolved into a robust democracy that grants its people full political participation and observes human rights and freedom of expression. Since 1996, the president has been directly elected by the people to serve a four-year term. That president is responsible for appointing the prime minister. Taiwanese politics is dominated by two parties: the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2024.

With a political system that’s seen the democratic transfer of power several times, an empowered civil society that observes the rights of ethnic minorities and the LGBTQI community, and an economy based on cutting-edge technologies like the indispensable microchip, the island has many trump cards up its sleeve. But will they be enough to preserve Taiwan’s political autonomy and unique identity?

Against the current backdrop of Chinese saber rattling, the documentary provides insights into Taiwanese society and history; it also explains why the Taiwanese don’t see themselves as Chinese.

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