After going through Taiwan's and US's presidential elections, I have a better understanding how people vote according to their insecurities. While many are shocked by how many Taiwanese support Trump, many in Taiwan and Asia are similarly shocked by ...
... how some US progressives support China's government because of anti-imperialism. It was only during Taiwan's presidential election this year that I realize how much votes are correlated with a sense of national insecurity, with very low correlation with economic insecurity,..
... because of how China's threat on Taiwan's sovereignty has driven people toward a party which can articulate their fears - the @DPPonline. I do not know what drives the insecurities in the US though some research point to economic insecurity as a driving factor toward ...
... voting more conservatively because insecurity causes people to become more fearful of change, or voting for strongman rule because insecurity drives people to vote for someone who can help give them a sense of control and stability. Similarly, Taiwanese's insecurities ...
... have also driven them to support Trump on the basis that his erratic madness has been able to disrupt Xi Jinping's ability for control and reprieve for Taiwanese sovereignty to thrive. In both countries, the polarized media has a part to play at entrenching these views, ...
... and their one-sideedness. I do not know why US progressives 'tankies' support China, though some commenters have pointed to how the West's history of imperialism has led to an over-compensation among some who therefore perceive the Chinese government as a victim of ...
... US's imperialism. Is this driven similarly by fear or insecurity? Is this driven by partisan media? I don't know. What I've realized further however is that while the idea is that the Chinese government creates propaganda to tie its citizens to a sense of national identity,..
... a democratic country facing national security crisis can similarly undergo such national identity expression - Taiwan having done well in #COVID19, @iingwen's successful re-election, among others, have strengthened the sense of national identity among citizens, and while ...
... this is good, but coming from a position of national insecurity, the threats are starting to show, in how people retaliate against viewpoints that do not provide solace for their views of the Taiwanese national identity - so much so they would go to the ...
... Facebook page of the American Institute in Taiwan to criticize Biden's win, and the @MOFA_Taiwan has had to rein them in. While I do not think the @DPPonline government has intended to use national identity to rouse people into action, it is letting me understand ...
... how national security threats can nonetheless become a potent danger if not adequately discussed. Taiwan's homogenous media culture (in the news it chooses to report) has therefore abetted national identity becoming weaponized, and the DPP's focus on national identity ...
... while I do not think is intentional, is also causing Taiwanese to become nationalistic, and the way it is shaping, it can potentially become a populist force that people might use to start othering, and we might start seeing racist attitudes become more overt...
... While I understand white people might find the talk of racism unsettling coming from the white supremacy and racist history, such attitudes are capable of forming in other societies, albeit in different ways. But how do we recognize these issues, while understanding ...
... the baggage we carry, and yet be able to take an honest perspective toward objectively confronting these issues? It is difficult, as we have seen from the polarization and illogic in support for the US election and for China's authoritarian government...
... Though I do not think DPP's government is to blame for the rising nationalistic sentiment, I do however question DPP's lack of action in mediating it - do we first recognize how insecurity can become a dangerous weapon? If we do, how we we try to reduce the insecurities? ...
... Would a Taiwanese who live in a more equal environment feel more secure and more logical in their way of thinking? I've spoken to two DPP hard independence supporters who chose to believe that Taiwanese voters are more logical because of their support for a ...
... Trump who they believe can curtail China's increasing threat, though like some have pointed out, they remain blind to how their support against populist Han Kuo-yu puts them on the opposite tangent to how they are arguing for Trump now. But the US and Taiwan are ...
... poor examples to compare. US has increasingly become more autocratic, while Taiwan is still undergoing democratization, and both countries under the influence of neoliberalism means poor regulatory culture in ensuring greater equality. US is one of the most unequal ...
... advanced country while even though Taiwan's income inequality is low, its wealth inequality is actually high. And how is this shaping people's mindsets, when they are living in economic insecurities? And this is something that can be acted on. The election of @JoeBiden ...
... is a change at US moving toward more progressive policies, and as @AOC pointed out, the states which the @TheDemocrats won were also leaning toward more progressive policies. US therefore is being put a path toward greater equality, and with it greater understanding, ...
... but this requires undoing how the decades of neoliberal inequality has increased insecurities and distorted the mind. But at least US has a chance - the situation in Taiwan is that China's threat has become an excuse (as well) not to change for fear that drastic changes ...
... can result in Taiwan losing its footing. While this is true to some extent, it surely shouldn't lull Taiwan's government into inaction? We cannot on the one hand talk about national identity and pride but accept that Taiwanese companies who have no pride over the country ...
... might pack and leave, and therefore that we cannot change policies to ensure their compliance to fairer policies? Then, national security and pride, while real, also become only rhetoric. A national security strategy should surely include ensuring Taiwan's wages increase ...
... to provide a sense of security, and for Taiwanese businesses to abide by such regulations, and to strengthen the Taiwanese ability, both in wealth and the ensuing mindset changes, to then not only galvanize around a national identity, but to also be part of the bottom-up ...
... transformation. In other words, how do we develop a less secure environment to prevent people from voting along lines of illogic, and enable democracy to be better made use of? While China's threat cannot be removed, it is possible for Taiwan's government to implement ...
... more equal policies. While Taiwan already has a world-renowned health insurance system, but its unemployment benefits remain accessible by a low percentage of unemployed workers, wages are comparatively low and workers work among the longest hours in the world ...
... Taiwan's government should therefore stop hiding behind the fear of instability and do more to push for higher wages and greater wealth equality, in part because this would help develop a fairer society in which clearer minds and logic can prevail, and support ...
... Taiwan's democratic transition. Coming from Singapore, I have seen how both national and economic insecurity have been used to tie people down toward voting for a singular party, out of the fear that has been entrenched in people's minds for the last 6 decades ...
... And if a party, either @DPPonline or @TheDemocrats, are sincere about protecting the democratic development of their countries, then I would think it is time to push back against neoliberalism and to push for fairer policies. Progressive policies should no longer be ...
... demonized as being a threat to economic security, or that it is causing voters to move further away. It is our job to understand how progressive policies will create a more equal society where clearer minds can prevail, and to then create better understandings, ...
... greater communication, and stronger foundations with which to build a democratic society on. I think the US election and its responses in Taiwan as well is giving us pause to think about how we need commensurate policies for the social development of Taiwan.
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