By Anthony Chung-Yi Ho
When we are celebrating Women’s Day on August 9 in South Africa, we should never forget the history of this special day. On this same day in 1956, Amina Cachalia, Mma Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, and Ray Simons led a protest fighting for human rights, for women’s equality and dignity. We admire their courage and the resilience they demonstrated for the causes that they had dedicated their lives to.
Just one week before Women’s Day this year, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker in US history, led a US Congressional delegation to visit Taiwan. President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, the first woman President in Taiwan and first female head of state among Mandarin-speaking countries, received Speaker Pelosi’s delegation. They exchanged their views on issues of freedom, democracy, and human rights, which Taiwan deeply values.
The meeting between the two outstanding female leaders, however, was not well received by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as it unilaterally claimed that the visit and meeting were in violation of China’s policy. China has conducted a series of live-fire drills in the air and sea space surrounding the Taiwan Strait following Pelosi’s departure from Taiwan. Multiple batches of aircraft have crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, and several missiles were launched by the PRC into the areas surrounding Taiwan’s territorial water, intruding into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, causing many civilian flights into and out of the island to be cancelled or diverted. These actions have not only seriously threatened Taiwan’s national security and people, but also undermined the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
As a sovereign, pacifist and fully democratic country, Taiwan continues to exercise self-constraint in the face of continuous and escalating military threats from China. The international community has been highly concerned about the security of the Taiwan Strait and China’s frequent campaigns of political and economic coercion. G7 Foreign Ministers’ Joint Statement reiterated once again their firm commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and called on China to not unilaterally alter the regional status quo by force. In addition, many political leaders in South Africa and around the world have expressed their support for Taiwan.
The Taiwanese government will never provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait, neither will it back down from China’s military pressure. As the 21st largest economy in the world, it shares the universal values of democracy, freedom, and human rights with South Africa and many like-minded countries in the world.
The people in Taiwan have been making efforts in maintaining their way of life, a life with guaranteed freedoms and human rights, under a democratically elected government. It is the same aspiration that Madiba fought for throughout his life. And, definitely, it is also the same aspiration that the 20,000 South African women wanted to achieve when they decided to march to the Union Building on August 9, 1956.
*Anthony Chung-Yi Ho is a Representative, Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa
