Canada and the United States are two key allies of the island, barely larger than Vancouver Island, located 40 kilometres off the coast of China. Taiwan’s political status is quite unusual: since 1949, the island has hosted the government of the Republic of China, defeated by Mao Zedong’s Communist Party in the civil war. This government in exile on the island still enjoyed international recognition until 1971, when its seat at the United Nations was transferred to the Communist government. Since then, it has been the status quo, a term frequently used, and cherished, by a large part of the Taiwanese political class: the Communist Party governs China, but Taiwan claims its autonomy.
De facto, this autonomy is for the moment total, although Taiwan is excluded, under pressure from the Chinese government, from the majority of international organizations, such as the World Health Organization. Above all, Taiwan is careful not to assert total independence, because China has made it clear that this would provide grounds for invading the island and putting an end to the vigorous democracy that was established there in 1996.
Notwithstanding this, some analysts claim that China is preparing to invade the island by 2027, although others believe it is more likely that the giant will attempt to assimilate the recalcitrant island “peacefully,” through disinformation and intimidation. Few, however, deny that if the Chinese government had its way, Taiwan would not exist as an autonomous entity for a long time to come.
For the Taiwanese government officials we met, the country’s survival depends on only two things. First, the security guarantee that the United States has maintained on the island since the end of the Chinese civil war, and which involves a set of military alliances that include Canada, Japan and the Philippines. Second, the considerable importance – prodigious – that the island has managed to acquire in the global economic system, thanks to its unequalled mastery of the production of semiconductors, these small chips at the heart of almost all current technologies.
Cultivating these two fronts, diplomacy and economy, Taiwan is trying to show that attacking it would not pay off. Bringing young professionals from Canada and the United States to the Mosaic Taiwan program to show them the dynamism and determination of Taiwanese society is part of this strategy. As the first participants in this program selected by the new Taiwanese office in Quebec, we were touched by the strength of the efforts made by the island to mobilize the entire civil society, while preserving individual freedoms, to face its challenges, which are enormous from the Quebec perspective.
Disinformation and propaganda
Mosaic Taiwan participants attended a panel on disinformation and foreign interference that highlighted various propaganda methods employed by China. These tactics spread false information to instill fear of war and distrust of the United States.
We met many media industry players (researchers, producers and journalists) who all place at the heart of their daily work a desire to resist this disinformation. This involves, for example, awareness campaigns on common forms of disinformation, the creation of content that is both “healthy” and modern enough to compete with the regiments of disinformers on the Internet, or the creation of platforms for ” fact-checking » accessible and easy to consult.
Resilience and innovation
The fact that the island’s roughly 20 million people are still resisting pressure to submit to Beijing’s authority is something to be admired for. Yet Taiwan is not in a defensive position either: it continues to take the lead on many fronts. We were impressed by how proud the officials we met are that their country is the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
Similarly, many initiatives are being taken on the island and supported by the public authorities to actively consider how Taiwanese society should reorganize itself to make environmental protection a priority. The profusion of waste sorting bins as well as displays encouraging non-food waste, water conservation and, in general, responsible consumption show a real effort to adapt to this contemporary challenge. Taiwan also continues to invest in the development and patenting of new technologies, in addition to financing the construction of new factories in its allies, particularly in the United States.
We were also able to visit two non-profit organizations, the Kuma Academy and the Forward Alliance, whose mandate is to provide survival, first aid and self-defense training to prepare the population in the event of a disaster. These organizations have already trained several million Taiwanese, demonstrating both their effectiveness and the dynamism of the population. Taiwanese society is currently undergoing a major transformation: while the majority of the population considered themselves primarily “Chinese” in the early 2000s, the balance has shifted, especially among the younger generation, and it is now the “Taiwanese” identity that prevails and is the consensus.
Transpacific Friendship
Taiwan is an island rich in culture and experiences, heir to a Chinese culture that it has sought to preserve in its institutions and practices as well as a complex history that has seen several colonial empires pass through it (Spanish, Dutch, Japanese).
We believe that Quebec has everything to gain from intensifying its dialogue with this country. The tact with which Taiwan faces its extraordinary destiny in the world, its pragmatism with regard to a status quo from which it seeks to make the most, although it is far from perfect, and its culture of a national identity that is open to the world and welcoming, but firm in its attachment to liberal values and the rule of law, make it a model for our province.
We also believe that Quebec and Canada are natural allies for Taiwan, given our political tradition rooted in multilateralism, compromise and peace. Several of our Taiwanese counterparts have told us about a dominant trait, according to them, of Taiwanese culture: the horror of conflict, which is entirely consistent with the thin line that the country is trying to follow, this famous status quo. It is a trait that we also recognize here at home, although in a much less difficult context. This is why, in its efforts to survive, Taiwan resolutely maintains (paradoxically, according to some observers) its strategy of not antagonizing China, and continues to maintain a great deal of trade with it.
It is crucial that this balance in Asia be maintained, and the Taiwanese must continue to be able to decide for themselves. We in Quebec must take a greater interest in this country and, more generally, in this region of the world, where a significant part of the future of humanity is currently being played out.