◎ The establishment of the people
Well-known writer and host Tsai Kang-yung was recently criticized by Chinese nationalist pink fans for appearing at the inauguration meeting of Democratic Progressive Party's Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang's campaign headquarters. He was not only reviled and boycotted on social platforms, but also a Chinese manufacturer hastily announced a cut. Cai Kangyong later responded in a low-key manner through his agent, emphasizing that this trip was only for possible future interviews with candidates, and hoped to see the scene in person and listen to different voices. However, these words, which are ordinary to the ears of Taiwanese people, hit the fragile nerves of China's totalitarian system accurately, and once again showed the world that the core values of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are divided between Chu and Han.
Well-known host Tsai Kang-yong (right) recently was criticized by China's little pink for appearing at the founding meeting of the Democratic Progressive Party's Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang's general election. (Taken from Wu Xindai’s Facebook)
In democratic Taiwan, campaigning for elections is a daily part of people's lives. Whether you are a common citizen or an influential public figure, going to a campaign venue to observe and listen to the political opinions of different camps is not only a basic human right guaranteed by the constitution, but also a concrete demonstration of citizen participation in a democratic society. Tsai Kangyong said that listening to different voices is the most precious asset of a democratic system, which is tolerance of diversity and mutual understanding.
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However, for the Communist Party of China, which has long been accustomed to one-party dictatorship and one-minded ideology, and its brainwashed little pinks, different voices are poison that shakes the legitimacy of the regime and are heresies that must be completely suppressed. Tsai Kang-yong's experience has ruthlessly exposed the illusion that China has long created a peaceful united front with Taiwan and that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. In China's totalitarian logic, there is never a so-called neutral space or a pure observer. Anyone who does not take the initiative to express allegiance or even just attempts to understand Taiwan's local political spectrum will be forcibly labeled as a politician. This kind of indiscriminate online witch-hunting and commercial sanctions does not reflect the confidence of a rising power, but the collective anxiety of an extreme lack of security. A regime that cannot even tolerate the simple listening of intellectuals. Its external force and internal interference and autocratic hegemony have been fully exposed.
Tsai Kang-yong's experience has exposed the illusion that China has long cultivated a peaceful united front against Taiwan and that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. In China's totalitarian logic, there is never a so-called neutral space or a pure observer. (File photo)
In sharp contrast to China's stifling political censorship, Taiwanese society shows maturity and magnanimity. Faced with Tsai Kang-yong's appearance at a green building event, not only the person involved, Shen Boyang, took a positive view and pointed out that participating in political activities should not face fear, but even the KMT Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan, who has a different political stance, also showed his grace and proactively issued invitations to welcome Tsai Kang-yong to participate in different activities to gain an in-depth understanding. This is what Taiwan's democracy is most proud of. We may have different positions, but we are willing to defend everyone's right to witness and listen. This kind of cross-party democratic literacy is a state that is difficult for totalitarian China to understand and will never be able to achieve.
When Jiang Wanan heard that Cai Kangyong was sent out, he also showed his grace and took the initiative to send invitations to welcome him to participate in different activities. (File photo)
For a long time, many Taiwanese art and entertainment figures who travel across the Taiwan Strait have been forced to keep silent or even cater to the official theme of the CCP in order to survive in the Chinese market. However, the appetite of the totalitarian system can never be satisfied, and political red lines are always floating arbitrarily. One day you can be completely banned for attending a rally, and tomorrow you may be ruined because of an unintentional everyday remark. The malicious boycott that Tsai Kang-yong suffered is undoubtedly a deafening alarm bell for all Taiwanese who still have unrealistic illusions about the Chinese market.
Democracy and totalitarianism are like water and fire, incompatible. China's bullying of Tsai Kang-yong cannot undermine Taiwan's democratic values. Instead, it makes the Taiwanese people see more clearly the authoritarian nature of the Chinese Communist regime. Facing the CCP’s increasingly rampant civil and military intimidation and all-pervasive cognitive warfare, Taiwanese society must be more united and resolutely defend our hard-won free breathing space. Because we know very well that only in a country that allows different voices to be heard can the dignity and thoughts of the people be truly stretched.
(The author is a freelancer with a professional background in military and political science)
