The thirst for individual freedom remains the strongest force

Seasons greetings from Taipei! This is the last edition of my newsletter before we greet the new year and I hope that you read along, comment and share with friends.

From microchips to civilian ‘Rambos’: a talk with Robert Tsao?

Last Tuesday, I met with iconic Robert Tsao, the founder of UMC, Taiwan’s first microchips company established back in 1980. Small beginings that led to an unprecedented global position for Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. As he said to me, it is out of the wildest dream that it got that big.??

And big it is, indeed! Taiwan occupies such a vital position in our tech-globalization that both Nikkei Asia and Rhodium Group by Agatha Kratz estimate that several trillions – roughly Italy’s annual economy - would be shaved off the world economy in a conflict scenario over Taiwan. That’s also why some call it Taiwan’s silicone shield, named after the production material for semiconductors.??

Yet even with his personal important role in developing semiconductors, Robert Tsao takes issue with that Taiwan needs to rely on the silicone shield. What should be Taiwan’s real shield, but that needs strengthening, is the mind-set of the citizens. And Tsao is on a mission to do just that. He has pledged 100 million Taiwan dollars to civil defense of Taiwan and some of it to Kuma Academy. In a later edition of this newsletter, in January 2023, I will join their activities and tell you more also from my interview with Tsao. Meanwhile, I recommend Helen Davidson from The Guardian and Sebastian Stryhn Kjeldtoft from Politiken excellent interview pieces with Tsao.??

From Taoyuan to Izium in Ukraine’s defense??

On Friday evening, I had the pleasure to share a meal with 呂子豪 (Tony Lu), a Taiwanese fighter from Taoyuan, close to Taipei. Tony used to work as a butcher and went to support and to fight with as an international volunteer in Ukraine from March until June.

Tony lets me scroll through the photos and videos on his phone while he explains; the trip into Poland, then Liev in Western Ukraine, his enrollment into the Ukrainian army, his meetings with Ukrainians and other internationals, including two other Taiwanese. Several times, he stops my scrolling at the photo of another soldier. ‘He died’ he adds. An Australian, who went by the nickname Ninja. A Colombian. A Ukrainian.??

Why did he go, is my question? Tony says that ‘he wanted to help other people’. He didn’t like to see a big country bully a small country. When I ask him if he thinks his fighting mates will return the favour and come to protect Taiwan if attacked by China, he feels certain about that. To reinforce his point, Tony shows me a Facebook page with a female soldier, standing next to Tony, stating that she will come to Taiwan’s defense.??

Tony mentions a very close call at the front near Izium. He shows me the video on his phone to explain. A bomb hits just next to his trench but the soil is soft, so the bomb never exploded. It does indeed look very scary to me, too. He says he wasn’t religious before but now maybe a little.??

In comparison to the many #UkraineWillWin hashtags, that we all produce every day on social media, Tony’s actions are the real deal. Godspeed to you, Tony. You did your part and the right thing.???

Nylon Cheng – 100% freedom of expression for Taiwan?

On Saturday, I was so fortunate to be invited by Emily Y. Wu 吳怡慈 to an exhibition about the life and mission of Nylon Cheng, a Taiwanese democracy activist, born in 1947 and active until his untimely death by self-immolation in his news bureau office in 1989, after being sought after by the authorities.??

Freedom is the right to say no, said Orwell. Cheng did. And he pushed the boundaries of press freedom with his publication ‘Freedom Era Weekly’ from 1984, when martial law was still in place. Cheng played a ‘cat and mouse game’ with censoring authorities. He had applied for numerous printing licenses so each time one was forbidden, another took over. That secured an uninterrupted streak of 302 magazines. ‘100% Freedom of Expression’ was his motto. My Danish friend Jacob Mchangama would applaud.?

Check out the original cover above of the last issue of ‘Freedom Era Weekly’ from 1989 with the - unfortunately – still relevant title: ‘Will China invade Taiwan?’ The front page depicts a tank that runs over the island.???

Click here for Emily speaking first chapter of Nylon’s story in English. More to come. And thanks to Nylon Cheng Foundation director Luna Liu for taking time to explain about Cheng.??

Hong Kongers in Taiwan – a revolutionary T-shirt that went out of fashion?

On Saturday evening, I had the great opportunity to reconnect with a Hong Kong friend here in Taipei. In the heyday of demonstrations in 2019, he came to Denmark and gave me the t-shirt above. ‘Defend and destroy’ – the embodiment of the street fights with the brutal police force. I brought the t-shirt with me to Taiwan.??

The revolutionary fever had gone down many degrees with my friend in 2022. In hindsight, he talked about the democracy movement being ‘romantic’. His practical advice was that Hong Kongers at home and abroad needed to embark on a new life chapter in local terms. For me, it echoed the disillusionment of George Orwell or Hemingway after the republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War. Sometimes the good side loses.??

I want to end with sharing a personal reflection with you.???

Often, we in the democracy field, wring our hands about the decline world-wide in democracies. True. Yet what a year to shake up the belief in the inevitability of autocratic power. The brave Ukrainians repelled the Russians, a much bigger army but that doesn’t know what it fights for apart from Putin’s follies. The Chinese leadership under untouchable Mr ‘zero-covid’ Xi Jinping experienced Covid-demonstrations that spread to demand for freedom of expression and change in leadership. All the authoritarian surveillance had to be put in action to quell it. Meanwhile, zero-covid policy vanished so suddenly, that propaganda outlets had a hard time keeping up with the new situation of ‘Covid-chaos’ while still praising the competence of the great leader in Zhongnanhai. In Iran, the brave women show defiance and a demand for personal liberty over their own lives.??

The thirst for individual freedom remains the strongest force. That gives hope and perspective for 2023.?