[quote=“sofun”][quote=“Gain”][quote=“Dirt”]
The KMT gave Taiwan something Imperial Japan would not: democracy.[/quote]
There were elections on local levels under Japanese rule in 1935 and 1936
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese … ions,_1936
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese … ions,_1935
And please, KMT did not give Taiwan democracy, it was fought for by the Taiwanese then handed by the Americans. KMT was (and still is) about as anti-democratic as a political party could get, they were not that much better than the Commies in China or Russia. CCK was forced to abolish martial law because of pressure from America. That’s pretty much the only reason.[/quote]
If you were to follow Dirt’s logic, be sure to say it like “The Japanese gave Taiwan something the KMT would not: democracy and rule of law.”
NO, KMT you did not. You learned democracy from Taiwan. You receive it from Taiwan. You didn’t give.[/quote]
Upvote!
If in 1949 or shortly thereafter, the ROC/KMT held universal elections for their actual citizens (Taiwan and the minor islands) then there would be some validity to Dirt’s claim. But after 45 years, thousands of lives, exile, torture, assassinations, secret police, 3 unelected dictators, protests, martial law, and soldiers firing on civilians - credit for democracy goes to the people of Taiwan, not the regime opposing it.
I would say the same about the Japanese colonial years. Less oppression is not a substitute for enfranchisement.
As a Taiwanese person (well, Taiwanese American) who does identify as Chinese, it depresses me that democracy has only found expression in Chinese communities that were colonialized (TW, and the less democratic versions in SG and HK). It doubly depresses me that more Chinese don’t seem to value it, but I accept that my values are not evidently shared by most of my co-ethnics (and hence my relative comfort with PRC rule for TW).