Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the June 4th Incident in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Time truly does pass by quickly. Children born that year are now emerging as the backbone of mainland China’s latest generation of young adults.
Over the past 20-plus years, the mainland's economy has grown rapidly, its people's lives have improved dramatically, and its overall competitive strength has soared. However, the June 4th Incident left a wound that remains unhealed to this day. In the eyes of the international community, the human rights picture at the time of the June 4th Incident remains the descriptor of human rights in the mainland today.
But within ethnically Chinese societies the world over, the prevailing view is that conditions are ripe for the mainland to move toward a more diverse, open, and democratic society. Dealing with the wound inflicted by the June 4th Incident could be the first step in a process of political reform. In our view, this would help to heal the wounds of history, reduce the degree of estrangement between the authorities and the people in the mainland, and improve their international image.
Carrying out democratic reform would also be conducive to internal stability in the mainland. If the mainland authorities can act during a time of rapid economic growth to adopt a set of coordinated political reforms, it would be an effective response to rising calls for reform in the mainland that have come about following the rise of a middle class and the emergence of a powerful private sector. The several hundred million Internet users in the mainland are capable of obtaining and disseminating information at astounding speed. In this respect, they overwhelmingly outperform the preceding generation. Internet users in the mainland closely followed the recent presidential election debates in Taiwan and events surrounding Chen Guangcheng (陳光誠), and vociferously expressed their views. If the mainland authorities were to align themselves with these forces by expanding political participation, building up human rights safeguards, and treating dissidents well, I believe they would deliver the democratic reforms that the people are looking for; and beyond that, I further believe that such a course of action would contribute to lasting political stability in the mainland.
We are all ethnically Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. We are both heir to the same precious cultural heritage. We both know the story of Zichan (子產), the famed reformer from the 6th century BC who rejected the advice of those who suggested draconian action to stifle public discussion of political matters. Our shared cultural background means we are both familiar with the ideas that "the world belongs to all of us in equal measure," that "government posts should go to those best qualified," that "a ruler should treasure all people and things," and that "the people are more important than the ruler." Implied in all these ancient maxims is a commitment to the progressive concepts of freedom, democracy, and human rights. These things are to be valued and preserved.
We need to stress once again that we cherish the peaceful tenor of cross-strait relations that the two sides have cultivated over the past four years, and we hope that healthy interaction between us will continue. Of course, there are still differences between Taiwan and the mainland in terms of democracy and human rights, and these differences present difficulties that will have to be overcome if deeper cross-strait ties are to come about. It is our belief that Taiwan's experience in the transition to democracy has shown that democracy can take root and flourish in an ethnically Chinese society. We fervently hope to see the mainland achieve progress in democracy and human rights, and hope that the two sides can one day engage via private civic groups in dialogue on democratic governance and the protection of human rights. We will continue to take a well-intentioned interest in the development of democracy and human rights in the mainland. This is also the most effective way to lessen the feeling of "otherness" between people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.