2023-07-08
The Young Generation of DPP Meets With IPAC, Discusses Key Cross-Strait Issues
On July 7, 2023, the International Affairs Department of the Democratic Progressive Party invited Luke de Pulford, creator and Executive Director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, Laura Harth, External Relations of the organization, and Chung Ching Kuong, Hong Kong Campaigns and Security Lead, to the party headquarters to exchange views on various issues. Participants from the DPP included Ruan Junda, director of the Department of Youth Development; Alysa Chiu Wen-li, deputy director of the Department of International Affairs; and DPP legislative candidates Lii Wen, Wu Pei-yi, Wu Zheng, Tseng Po-yu, along with nearly twenty other young party members.
During the meeting, Spokesperson Hsieh mentioned that the DPP was the first locally founded party in Taiwan. Thirty-seven years ago, when martial law was lifted, the founders of the DPP risked their lives in pursuit of democracy. The history of Taiwan’s democratization is also the history of the DPP. She also raised a personal example of accepting the DPP’s call to run for legislator four years ago as a rookie, further underscoring that the DPP is willing to provide plenty of opportunities for young people. There is a steady stream of young talents joining the party, allowing our democratic ideals to be passed down from generation to generation.
Wu Peiyi said that she participated in the Wild Strawberry Movement in 2008, the Anti-Media Monopoly Movement in 2012, and the Sunflower Movement in 2014. Through all of these movements, she noted, China’s suppression of democracy and human rights has never ceased. As a member of the Taipei City Council’s Tibet Connection, she also questioned Mayor Chiang Wan-an about the Two Cities Forum, urging the mayor not to stand on the wrong side of history as countries the world over are fighting against human-rights violations in China.
Wu Zheng pointed out that during the Sunflower Movement, when he was still a college student, he took to the streets to resist the Kuomintang administration’s attempts to tie the Taiwanese economy to China’s. He eventually decided to enter the political arena himself. He said that the KMT’s presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih and the Taiwan People’s Party’s candidate Ko Wen-je have both raised the idea of resuming talks on the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement ten years after the Sunflower Movement. This, he said, highlights that the problem facing Taiwan is a potent pro-China force, constantly seeking to tie Taiwan and China together.
Tseng Po-yu said that according to the China Index released by the Taiwan Democracy Laboratory, Taiwan ranks first in the world in terms of susceptibility to Chinese influence and pressure on media and society as a whole. A report by Freedom House suggested that as of 2022, Taiwan was the country most severely affected by Beijing’s media influence, but that it nevertheless managed to put up the strongest resistance. The Ukraine War has made the world more alert than ever to the threat of Chinese expansion; Taiwan has the potential to become the center of democracy in the Indo-Pacific.
Lii Wen said that because the Matsu Islands are only 20 kilometers away from the Chinese coastline, it is arguably the front line of democracy. In recent years, the islands have faced problems such as illicit cross-border sand-mining by Chinese sand-pumping ships–which has even disrupted several undersea cables. Cross-border fishing and drifting sea garbage have posed a grave challenge too. In addition, the Chinese Communist Party’s “New Four Links” plan doesn’t meet the needs of the Matsu Islands; instead, it is a ploy to use propaganda to mislead the public. All of this deserves attention from the international community. Li also took the opportunity to promote Matsu’s international event, dubbed “International Art Island,” which welcomes artists from around the world to come to Matsu to create art. The higher the level of worldwide attention, the safer the Matsu Islands will be.
