Fascinating report. I'm 68 years old and seen cultures cycle between repression and acceptance throughout my life. What a waste of energy to try forcing people to be someone different, but half the population keeps trying to make that happen. I am optimistic though, and I believe the younger generations are making better inroads than mine did at accepting themselves and other people as they are. All these strong men running the world into the ground these days are dinosaurs trying to escape their fate. Keep the faith and share the love.
Extremely sad to read of people being targeted and how class - i.e. the ability to afford expensive trips - affects what should be a basic human right. While I do empathize with Light, I think Taiwanese people have all the rights to be especially suspicious of any cross-strait 'bonding' activity, when survival is at stake.
I get where you're going with this - it will always be a difficult line to draw. I think 'credible existential threat' is a good place to do so. It's hard to say if the cases of the married men expelled from Taiwan for their views were, in fact, propagandists, or just caught in the crosshair of an overzealous government. But we can't judge the expulsion in a vacuum. If the PRC had recognized Taiwan as a country and without the threat of invasion, we'd be in a very different situation.
Extremely hard question, that I wouldn't be able to reply myself. If resources are unavailable to carefully check individuals in this situation, what's the next best thing to do when survival is indeed at stake?
“In 2025, three Chinese migrants living in Taiwan, all married to Taiwanese men, publicly supported the Chinese government using force to reunify the island, prompting Taiwanese authorities to take hard actions against them. The Taiwanese government accused them of violating immigration law and deported them.”
I find it astonishing that anyone could claim a free speech right to call for the use of force by a foreign country to overthrow the government. Looks more like treason than free speech if those deported had been Taiwanese citizens. As citizens of the foreign country urged to invade, the kindest treatment they could expect is deportation.
Fascinating report. I'm 68 years old and seen cultures cycle between repression and acceptance throughout my life. What a waste of energy to try forcing people to be someone different, but half the population keeps trying to make that happen. I am optimistic though, and I believe the younger generations are making better inroads than mine did at accepting themselves and other people as they are. All these strong men running the world into the ground these days are dinosaurs trying to escape their fate. Keep the faith and share the love.
Extremely sad to read of people being targeted and how class - i.e. the ability to afford expensive trips - affects what should be a basic human right. While I do empathize with Light, I think Taiwanese people have all the rights to be especially suspicious of any cross-strait 'bonding' activity, when survival is at stake.
Anyway, great article!
Thank you so much for your comment!Where do you think the line should be drawn between security and individual rights?
I get where you're going with this - it will always be a difficult line to draw. I think 'credible existential threat' is a good place to do so. It's hard to say if the cases of the married men expelled from Taiwan for their views were, in fact, propagandists, or just caught in the crosshair of an overzealous government. But we can't judge the expulsion in a vacuum. If the PRC had recognized Taiwan as a country and without the threat of invasion, we'd be in a very different situation.
Extremely hard question, that I wouldn't be able to reply myself. If resources are unavailable to carefully check individuals in this situation, what's the next best thing to do when survival is indeed at stake?
“In 2025, three Chinese migrants living in Taiwan, all married to Taiwanese men, publicly supported the Chinese government using force to reunify the island, prompting Taiwanese authorities to take hard actions against them. The Taiwanese government accused them of violating immigration law and deported them.”
I find it astonishing that anyone could claim a free speech right to call for the use of force by a foreign country to overthrow the government. Looks more like treason than free speech if those deported had been Taiwanese citizens. As citizens of the foreign country urged to invade, the kindest treatment they could expect is deportation.
“Eason now faces the risk of being forced out of Taiwan”
Huh? Surely Taiwan would not deport its own citizens?!