THE 11th Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy opened on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 in Taiwan’s capital. Sponsored by Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the U.S.-based National Endowment for Democracy, the organizers of the three-day event claimed the summit is a gathering of like-minded partners who want to strengthen efforts to resist authoritarianism.
The organizers’ claim appears plausible on the surface, but reducing the issue of Taiwan’s assertion of independence to a battle between authoritarianism and democracy constitutes intellectual dishonesty.
The Taiwan issue is much more complex. What’s worse is the organizers’ attempt to equate Taiwan’s case to the struggle of Ukraine against Russia, but Taiwan’s issue is fundamentally different from Ukraine as the former is historically and inalienable part of another country, which is a sovereign state.
Meddling the internal affairs of other states by Western powers led by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia may force a sovereign nation to take necessary measures to defend its territorial integrity.
The attitude of the West constantly dipping its fingers in the internal affairs of others can be a bane not only to the Indo-Pacific region but also to the world’s economic stability. The world has already seen and suffered the consequence of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war even if the conflict is far away from home.
If conflict arises in the region, production and supply chains will be disrupted with poor and third world countries like the Philippines expected to be the first to bear the brunt. Society can’t afford to have another big skirmish, especially between two super powers.
It is in the best interest for all nations that the Taiwan issue must be resolved without firing a single bullet. This can only be achieved without the intervention of outside state actors with their interests at the backdrop. Summit like the Global Assembly only instigates and hastens confrontation between major powers and cementing the resolve of a sovereign state to take any actions to safeguard its principles and protect its territory.
If the U.S.-based National Endowment for Democracy truly believes what it preaches, then it must launch a massive campaign to dismantle the monarchy and authoritarian regimes in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia, a staunch ally of their government.
Without taking similar steps against undemocratic regimes of U.S. allies, the action of the National Endowment for Democracy can be simply viewed a double standard. Citizens can’t blame others if they will suspect that the organization’s primary initiatives are just another tool of soft interventions by the West under the pretext of promoting democracy. (SPONSORED CONTENT)