7. The Termite and Taiwan

All I have examined in this work points to two views onto Taiwan, including that (1) the nation is an important international agent and independent entity, a dignified presence in global matters, and a distinguished eminence in international proceedings and transactions; but an alternative view is that (2) Taiwan is a non-entity, a wholly non-independent and in effect powerless international operative—not a “nation” at all, little more than an onlooker, one which can be all but ignored in world affairs. I need hardly inform readers that this has been an important issue in international relations for many years, pitting two very different views of just what Taiwan is and means, and in turn giving rise to many polarized and often fierce opinions in the argument. Readers of this book can clearly see which side of the dispute I am on—a fierce defender of the universal aims of pluralist democracy, citizen interests and privileges, human rights, egalitarianism, and emancipations. This view is in opposition to the world of authoritarian dictatorship, autocracy, absolutism, and despotism, wherever they may be lurking in the world.