Yesterday I was on my way to a concert at the National Concert Hall, and I encountered a traffic jam. The taxi driver thought it was an accident but it was actually a demonstration or rally. We couldn't quite get to where we were going, so I got out of the taxi and walked through the rally. The people were chanting "UN for Taiwan. Peace forever." It doesn't seem to be much to ask for does it?

Taiwan was pushed out of the United Nations while it was still under martial law imposed by Chang Kai Shiek. CKS was the legal premier of the Republic of China when the communist movement started gaining strength in China. So CKS moved the Republic of China to Taiwan which had been under Japanese control and took over the country. When the United States decided to recognize the Peoples Republic of China, CKS's government felt pushed out of the UN and resigned under protest. Taiwan has had no representation in this world body since. China has fooled and bullied most countries into believing that Taiwan is a rogue, run away province of China but this isn't exactly so.

Whether you want to call Taiwan, Taiwan or Republic of China, this island nation was given by the Chinese to Japan in exchange for the Japanese promise to leave Manchuria. China didn't mind giving Taiwan away because it was a rather minor outpost that they had invaded and sort of had governed for about 400 years. It was poor and backward and the indigenous peoples didn't like being under Chinese rule. So when Stalin and Roosevelt in their division of the world had to deal with Taiwan, they just gave Taiwan back, but didn't specify to whom. The only real stipulation was that Japan couldn't regain the island as part of their country. So under CKS, the island became a nation.

In the last 20 years following CKS's death and the repeal of martial law, Taiwan has become a vibrant democracy. It has a modern economy and a fully functioning national government including a banking system, military and police, a postal system, a health care system, educational system, and departments in the government rivaling the United States,. Incidentally, Taiwan has a free press. By some measures, the press is freer than in the United States.

Taiwan in other words, does not resemble the Peoples Republic of China. These is no shared value system, no shared system of government. Currently, of the 26 million residents of Taiwan, only about 4% were born in mainland China. Many people do have Chinese blood because of the waves of immigration during the 400 years before the Japanese occupation and the wave that came with CKS. The indigenous people, according to recent genetic studies are more closely related to the Australasia peoples. These are the ocean faring peoples who moved to settle Polynesia and even Hawaii.

None of the means much to the United Nations though, so Taiwan's future is cloudy. I have trouble believing that the world would allow China to absorb Taiwan, just because they want to but that is actually the position of the Secretary General of the United Nations. The United States, who should look at their allies in the Pacific and value Taiwan more, just doesn't want the apple cart upset. It might happen anyway.

Taiwan holds their national elections in a couple of months. They will hold a referendum on whether Taiwan wants to join the UN as an independent country. The last time Taiwan was this cheeky, China tried to intimidate the Taiwanese by shelling some of the outer islands. Well it backfired and pro-independence candidates won. We'll see what happens this time.

The rally was peaceful. There was a crowd of over 1000 people, men, women and children. They were chanting and waving glow sticks and torches and marching. It was peaceful and there was a wistfulness about it that moved me to tears.

As they marched off I went into the concert hall and enjoyed the concert. The march created a more lasting memory though.