Double Ten Day and to win over china

Today is a very important day for the Taiwanese. October 10 or Double 10 is a lucky day for Nationalist China, the force that won over the empire in the mainland and saw the establishment of the Republic of China. This is the day of democracy based in Taiwan and not of the dictatorship in Beijing now under the control and domination of president Xi Jinping.

The pages of Chinese history tell us that on October 10, 1911, the Chinese nationalist revolutionaries were able to persuade and convince the old Empire of China's modernized army corps, headquartered in Wuchang to change their loyalty from the emperor to the revolutionary people. Due to that historic game changer, or powershift, if you will, the peoples' movement for nationalism gained tremendous momentum. That landmark in Chinese history gave impetus to the establishment of the Republic of China, which turned out to be the first internationally recognized republic in the whole Asia. Today, Taiwan celebrates Double Ten in the same fervor that America celebrates the Fourth of July, the Mexicans honor their "Cinco de Mayo," and the Filipinos the Twelfth of June.

The mainland China however does not celebrate on October 10 but on October 1 and the Communist Chinese spend the whole week celebrating, calling it the Golden Week. The Peoples' Republic of China abhors the idea of Taiwan asserting itself as independent. Beijing, from the very start, considers Taiwan as a mere province of China. The United Nations adopts the so-called One China Policy, which means that the only China is the one based in the mainland. For this reason, both the US and the Philippines do not have embassies in Taiwan. The US has an institute and we have the Manila Economic and Cultural Office. But we practically do everything that an embassy is supposed to do.

Beijing's claim that Taiwan is China's province is rejected by the government in Taipei. The Chinese Communist Party of China drove out the nationalists from the mainland who were thereby pushed to occupy Taiwan and established a government that is not under the control and domination of the party. In Taipei, the nationalists led by their original leader, Chiang Kai-shek are dreaming to retake the whole China from the hands of the communists. The conflict between Beijing and Taipei continues today as Xi Jinping keeps on destabilizing the region with its intrusions into the territories of independent states, including Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries.

The crucial role of the US in this region is to help Taiwan, Japan, even South Korea, and most especially the Philippines so that these smaller nations would not be forever bullied and intruded into by the behemoth of a country which is China. The presence of American warships and aircraft carriers in this region is to keep the balance of power. otherwise, the aggressions and intrusions perpetrated by Beijing, in gross violation of international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas. To defeat China and to stop its high-handed and arrogant use of its superior navy and coast guards against us inside our territories and exclusive economic zones, is for the US to unite the American allies in the region including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, supported by the EU and the NATO and to defend the west Philippine Sea and the territories of Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

The building of more US bases in the Philippines and elsewhere in the region has been made imperative by the continuing illegal acts committed by Beijing against our own people inside our own territories and exclusive economic zones. We cannot just fold our hands and tolerate shameless acts against our fishermen, coast guards and navy officers and men. We, together with our allies are standing up to the bullies including not just China but also Moscow. The greatest threats to peace and stability in Asia and the world are Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Since these two dictators have assumed office, the region has become unstable and our peace precarious and uncertain.

We win by using diplomacy as our principal instrument of national policy. But we should also be ready to fight against Beijing, with all our allies behind us. If Ukraine can last for more than a year defending itself against the dictator in the Kremlin, then we can also stand up and not yield to the dictator in Beijing. This is our one and only country. We should defend every inch of our national territory. Nobody else will.