The Cross Strait Times

Today is October 10th.

In Taiwan, Double Ten Day is being celebrated amid tense political deadlocks as opponents gather together in Taipei to celebrate the birth of the Republic of China (ROC). In Mainland China, the people of Wuhan are celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution. And here in Boston, Cradle of the American Revolution, the proud flag of the Republic of China flutters over every street corner of Chinatown.

Today belongs to all Chinese people, whether mainlander, Taiwanese, or expatriate. Despite our differences — be they geographical, cultural, or political — we celebrate October 10th together, as one united nation. On this day nearly a century ago, we overturned over 2000 years of imperial rule and gave China to its people. On this day nearly a century ago, we sowed the seeds of democracy for countless future generations to enjoy. On this day nearly a century ago, we stood up as one and embraced our bright, new future.

Today, 23 million citizens of the Republic of China are able enjoy the fruits of that labor. After decades of struggle, the Republic of China has achieved, at long last, a free and democratic society for our people. Yet not all of our people can enjoy this free and democratic society. Since 1949, China has been divided by an unresolved civil war between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the Mainland and the ROC on the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. While the Republic of China on Taiwan has evolved in these past decades into the free and democratic society originally envisioned by our founder Sun Yat-sen, democracy has been slow in coming to our neighbors across the strait. Even today, despite massive political and economic reforms in the last decade, the PRC still has restrictions on free speech and religion, little transparency or popular involvement in its political operations, and a standard of human rights very much different from the rest of the free world.

For those of us who believe in a reunified and democratic China, our convictions are being tested; our beliefs attacked; our purpose questioned. On one side, the Communists are pressuring us under threat of war to give up our freedoms and join their version of China. On the other side, Taiwanese separatists are pressuring us to give up on spreading our vision of the Republic of China to the Mainland to form the Republic of Taiwan. More and more Taiwanese are rejecting our brothers and sisters across the Strait. Some extremists are even calling on us to discard our old traditions and culture simply because they represent our Chinese roots. But just because our political views have diverged, does that mean that we should no longer recognize our neighbors as our brothers? In this crucial time for our country, can we allow ourselves to be divided into isolation? Do we still dare to dream of the day when our people on both sides of the Strait can come together in the name of democracy?

I know that many of us are having a crisis of faith. Many of us are having doubts that the Mainland will ever be able to join us in democracy. Some may even feel that the Taiwanese separatist movement is the only way to regain our sense of national direction, to regain our long-denied but well-deserved international recognition. But consider: the moment that we renounce our Chinese origins and become the Republic of Taiwan, we announce defeat. We announce to the world that a Chinese democracy cannot and will never survive. We abandon our commitment to the memory of Sun Yat-sen and resign the Mainland to an eternity of totalitarian rule.

Remember — we need not divorce ourselves from the Mainland in order to love Taiwan. We need not retreat into isolationism in order to preserve our ideals. Ours is a proud tradition. Our fathers and grandfathers have fought for the last half century to uphold the shining beacon of the Republic of China. Through wartime and peacetime; crisis and scandal, the people of Taiwan have stood united against all odds. Our hearts will always be with our homeland of Taiwan, but our duty lies with the Republic of China — the lone torchbearer of democracy in all of China.

So, fellow Taiwanese — what choice will you make? Shall we shrink back, or stand tall? Should we settle for an island, or aim for China? Is our commitment to democracy too heavy for the Taiwanese people to bear, or shall we press forward as our forefathers have done before us?

If you still believe in the Republic, as we do . . . If you still believe in Sun Yat-sen and his Three Principles of the People . . . If you still believe in democracy in China . . .

Join us. Rally around our standard — the flag of the Republic of China; the flag which once flew over all of China. Stand with us in support of a free China reunited under the banner of democracy. Sun Yat-sen’s dream for China still lies unfulfilled today, but with your help, we may yet triumph.

Today, on October 10th, we celebrate not only the birth of a nation, but also the birth of democracy in China. Today, we celebrate the inauguration of the newest front for freedom and democracy — The Cross Strait Times.