10 oktober 2011 - Taiwan firar hundra år

Måndagen den 10 oktober 2011 kommer Republiken Kina att fira sitt hundraårsjubileum och sin nationaldag. Jubileet kommer att uppmärksammas med fyrverkerier och festligeter, både i och utanför Taiwan.

Den 10 oktober 1911 blev Republiken Kina den första republiken i Asien. Det senaste seklet har präglats av kamp men också framgångar. Nedan finns en artikel från Taiwan Review som ger historiska återblickar på Taiwans enorma utveckling.

Celebrating the Centennial

Come October 10, the Republic of China (ROC) will celebrate its centennial with a torrent of festivities and fireworks, but the day will also provide an opportunity to reflect on a century of great struggle and tremendous success. The ROC became Asia’s first republic on October 10, 1911 as the result of the efforts of founding father Dr. Sun Yat-sen (孫中山, 1866–1925) and other revolutionaries. The early decades were turbulent, but 1947 saw the promulgation of the ROC Constitution, which mandates a government of the people, by the people and for the people—the fundamental principles of democracy.

After the government relocated to Taiwan in 1949, policies such as the land reforms of the 1950s and the Ten Major Construction Projects of the 1970s led to the island’s “economic miracle,” which transformed an agrarian economy into one based on services and knowledge. The development of democracy and social rights accelerated when martial law ended in 1987, resulting in the lifting of bans on new political parties and newspapers. The next steps came when the ROC’s first direct presidential election was held in 1996 and the first transfer of power from the ruling party to an opposition party occurred peacefully in 2000.

In the international sphere, the ROC endured several trying decades after it left the United Nations in 1971 and saw the severance of diplomatic ties with the United States in 1979. Since taking power in 2008, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has worked strenuously to improve relations with mainland China, rebuild links with the United States and enhance the ROC’s peaceful image and world status. As a result, ROC citizens now enjoy visa-free entry in 117 countries and territories.

Moreover, the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and mainland China in 2010 has proven crucial for continuing Taiwan’s economic development. ECFA allows the nation to tap the mainland market, participate in the regional economy and has led to trade negotiations with other countries.

Taiwan has also become known for taking the best elements of Chinese culture and blending them with distinctive local characteristics, yielding a mélange that is a primary reason more than 2.5 million tourists from mainland China have visited the island since agreements establishing closer sea and air transport links took effect in 2008.

Taiwan’s unique social blend has led to the development of a cultural and creative industry that leads the Mandarin-speaking world. The island’s New Wave Cinema movement, for example, attracted international critical acclaim during the 1980s and gave rise to world-renowned directors such as Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) and Ang Lee (李安). A more recent renaissance can be seen in movies like director Wei Te-sheng’s (魏德聖) 2008 box-office smash Cape No.7.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s philanthropic spirit can be seen in the donation of more than NT$5.7 billion (US$196.6 million)—more than any other country in the world—by the ROC government and private individuals to victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11 this year in Japan. Another example of Taiwan’s humanitarianism is the work of vegetable vendor Chen Shu-chu (陳樹菊), who was selected as one of the world’s 100 most influential people of 2010 by Time magazine for her large donations to charities.

ROC citizens now enjoy a vibrant multiparty democracy, resilient economy and full freedom of speech, as well as comprehensive social welfare and human rights safeguards. When the fireworks explode on October 10, they will honor every individual who helped the nation reach such milestones, as well as illuminate a future of peace and sustainable development.