More than Just a Vote
The Taiwanese presidential election that took place this past Saturday was about more than just pro- versus anti-independence — voters on all sides were casting a ballot for their story, identity and survival.
Taiwanese party identity and politics are complex and difficult to fit into the left versus right spectrum of U.S. political ideology. Citizens were voting for their own versions of democracy, and their feelings were both emotional and deeply tied to cultural identity. Working in the progressive field in Washington D.C., I often encounter young liberals who — after realizing that I am Taiwanese — jump and cry out, “free Taiwan” while waving peace signs in solidarity. But “freedom” is more complicated than that. In Taiwan, there is a generation of people who remember leaving their homeland and seeking refuge on the island, and raised their children with that trauma. They believe this place of refuge to be temporary; home is still across the ocean.
Waishengren. They’re part of my grandmother’s generation, who raised my mother’s generation. “We are Chinese. We lost our land to the Communist Party and escaped to the island of Taiwan. We are descendants of the Chinese population in exile who fought for democracy but lost, and we want the opportunity to fight back one day,” my mother tells me. “We are all Chinese and ‘freedom’ means freeing our siblings suffering under communist rule.” For these generations of self-identified waishengren, recognition of Taiwan as an independent country signals the erasure of their struggle and history, and a complete invalidation of their lived experiences. It means that the war for China’s independence from the Communist Party would no longer be on pause. It means admitting defeat.
My mother’s generation believe firmly that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is manipulating people’s fears of communism to win this election. “The Kuomintang (KMT) has always been pro-democracy or else we would have never left China. Any suggestion that the KMT is pro-communism is slander,” my mother continues. “Of course, we have cooperated with the Chinese Communist Party in the past. We are a small country with little international recognition and limited military power; any cooperation or negotiation with the Communist Party is out of desperation and survival.”
To my mother, the story of Taiwan will always be one of sadness, exile and a war unfinished.
But to the younger generation, Taiwan is not just a place of refuge — it’s home. Taiwan is an autonomous land with a vibrant and distinct culture, and they will do whatever it takes to protect its livelihood. Amid the ongoing Hong Kong protests, they cannot help but see a foreshadowing of their own future. They know the KMT as the past enforcer of martial law and an outdated party with no fluidity or willingness to change. I-Hsuan Lin, an activist and recent graduate of Tamkang University in Taipei, advocates for more young people participate in politics.
“We were voting for our lives here. The KMT started as an anti-communist party but their ultimate goal is to reunite with China. The only way to unite with China is to live under communism, and deep down they know that there is no foreseeable future for the KMT to rule China again,” she says. “The older generation grew up under a different education system that used propaganda praising the KMT,” Lin added. “In fact, many of them think that the Hong Kong protests aren’t real because the news they watch has been influenced by the Communist Party.”
For Lin and many others of her generation, the final straw was this: The KMT candidate [Kuo-yu Han] is sexist and racist, and does not reflect the values of young people. Ing-wen Tsai, the DPP candidate, supports gay marriage and Taiwanese independence. Young people wanted to vote for a candidate who would recognize the importance of democracy, and who would not perpetuate bigotry toward marginalized people.
Everything political is personal, and this was particularly true of Saturday’s election. Examining and understanding the emotional motivations behind how people voted in this election is crucial to analyzing the issues at hand. Taiwanese citizens are pro-democracy overall, our politics are not binary, and we cannot be viewed through a reductive lens trying to fit into a U.S. frame. Generational differences and war trauma have a huge impact on the way people vote and as with voters anywhere, their choices will be deeply rooted in personal history and experiences. The one thing that all generations can agree on is that the results of this election has changed Taiwan’s trajectory forever.
