In Taipei, freedom of expression and assembly reigns.

What a week! I enjoyed my second week in Taiwan, hope yours has been good wherever you have spent it.??

I joined two more solidarity demonstrations at Liberty Square in Taipei in support of the Chinese protests. The A4-revolution has questioned the holy trinity in the People’s Republic of China: the zero-covid policy, the CCP’s censorship, and Xi Jinping’s leadership.??

As expected, despite?the regime being initially surprised, it unfortunately now uses all its tools to curb dissent. Most significantly, they are deleting people’s photos and recordings directly on their phones. The demonstrations get scrubbed away digitally. In practice, we witness why the Chinese model of authoritarian surveillance is so nefarious to individual rights and privacy. The next step is harassing and arresting what are perceived by the regime as protest leaders to silence them. Last small concessions by the Chinese authorities by adjusting the zero-covid policy. Still, there remains no easy and quick way out of the zero-covid policy for the regime stuck in a hole of its own with public lies, and unnecessary vaccine-nationalism.???

Some question if it makes sense to demonstrate in support of the Chinese people protesting. In short, it makes perfect sense. Why? Because, we can and because we know the costs for those protesting inside China. If we don’t do it when it is easy and the only demand is to hold up a piece of paper, then who will????

In Taipei, freedom of expression and assembly reigns. By now, it is the only part of Chinese civilization (of course, I know it can be discussed how Chinese Taiwan is) with such liberties. In yesterday’s demonstration at Freedom Square, there was space and voice for everyone. Tibetans, Uyghurs, Tiananmen-massacre veterans, and Hong Kongers, to name a few. The woman in the photo at the top of this article had listed almost all the world’s oppressed people. I asked another young Taiwanese organizer why she did this, she replied “because I’m a human being and these are all human beings”. Good answer.????

The Ukrainian flag also waved in the wind at the demonstration. Blue and yellow with a dove – symbolizing peace, I imagine. That has been the other big topic on my mind this week: Taiwan’s small but solid contribution to Ukraine’s defense.??

This week, the family of Jonathan Tseng (曾聖光) returned with his urn. Jonathan was a 25-year-old Taiwanese soldier who died in combat in Ukraine. When he was born in 1997 in Hualien, a smaller city on the east coast of Taiwan, it would be hard to imagine that he would die fighting far away from home, his first time in Europe.??

As his mom said sobbingly in the airport on Wednesday,? ‘he saw people, women, and children affected by this war in the media, he couldn't endure it, he couldn't stand by’. And she continued, ‘He would rather sacrifice for faith than live in an unjust world, so he chose to go to Ukraine’.??

I have been going through Jonathan’s social media profile, the digital equivalent of old-fashioned obituaries. In a picture, he shows with pride the army tag for his uniform, he has sewn with the Taiwanese and Ukrainian flags together. On 25th of September, Jonathan updated his profile photo on Facebook, a selfie in full Ukrainian army gear. That remains as his eternal digital legacy. May he rest in peace. I salute his courage and willingness to pay the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.??

I have been trying to get in contact with other Taiwanese soldiers fighting in Ukraine, but so far unsuccessfully. If you, dear reader, happen to know of some, it would matter to me and my project to speak with Taiwanese soldiers to understand their motivations to fight for Ukraine’s defense.?Please comment below or reach out to me here on LinkedIn.?

This week’s shout-out goes to:

The transatlantic delegation of Europeans and Americans visiting Taipei from German Marshall Fund of the United States led by Bonnie Glaser , a skilled long-standing Taiwan expert from the US. We shared a good meal of xiao long bao together. A pleasure to see Arnaud DANJEAN , Nathalie Tocci , Jerker Hellstr?m , Heather A. Conley and Janine Davidson, Ph.D. among others.

Movie recommendation of the week:

‘Untold her Story’. I saw it this week with Taiwanese friends who highly recommended it. The film?tells the story of a group of female “thought criminals” during the white terror period in Taiwan in the 1950s transferred to the penal colony at Green island. It gives good insight into the complex story of Taiwan and the authoritarian period. Taiwanese people suffered so much injustice and hardship to arrive at the free society they now enjoy.??

I’m quite excited that more than 700 already subscribed after the first edition of the newsletter! Do share it with a friend or two. And do give me feedback – also on topics you would like to see covered from Taiwan.???

With my best wishes for a free and healthy week ahead to you all,???

Jonas Parello-Plesner??