Shaneland

If I were asked to introduce myself, the first thing I would say is that I am not British. I am Irish. I’m from the Republic of Ireland. I’m from a small island that claimed independence from its larger and more powerful neighbour. Ireland shares a great deal with Britain in culture, politics, way of life and language. For a very long time our destinies were intertwined. Until 1922 we were part of the British Empire. But we insisted on a separation from our ‘parent’ nation.

Perhaps this situation sounds familiar to Chinese readers.

The island of Taiwan is featuring in Western news media more than ever. As the national election comes closer, and with it a referendum on independence, tensions with Mainland China appear to be escalating. A situation is being reached where Taiwan may attempt to select a path that will lead it irrevocably away from the mainland. On either side of the Taiwan Strait a historical juncture is being reached.

I have a lot of friends from Taiwan and China, and I find myself living with two completely different opinions regarding the independence argument. For my Chinese friends, Taiwan is a breakaway province, home of a Nationalist government that lost a war more than a half century ago. It is a part of China that has been too long separated from its rightful parent. For my Taiwanese friends, Taiwan is an island with a history of oppression and outside governance on the part of Japan and Mainland China. It is a pacific island that shares a culture and language with China, but not a national identity.

My Chinese friends often suspect I will have little sympathy for their thoughts on this matter because of my own nation’s history. For the same reason my Taiwanese friends often expect my complete support regarding their views on independence. However, in actuality my thoughts on this matter - and on my own nation’s past - come in the form of a question.

Why is it that people who are so similar have such trouble getting along?

Taiwan and China share something in common with Ireland and Britain. They are both situations where people who have the same language, and have much the same culture, end up being worst enemies. It is as if the more people share, the more likely they are to form unsolvable tensions. This is ironic, and it is tragic.

Perhaps such tensions arise because people understand each other too well. Perhaps they arise because of perceptions of inequality. Perhaps it’s a simple matter of wanting self-determination. But however they come about, these tensions lead to unbelievable amount of pain. There is suffering not through war, but also through the huge strain on societies that live with the pressure of a constant threat.

Hopefully dialogue will be used to solve the problems that China and Taiwan face today. If any proof is needed of the desirability of such dialog, the bloody history of my own nation can be used. Uncountable numbers of people endured dreadful standards of life and died in Ireland because of a lack of meaningful negotiation and conciliation.

It would be nice if someday I could have a conversation with my Chinese and Taiwanese friends without the spectre of China-Taiwan hanging over the conversation. It would be even nicer if someday I did not have to worry about my friends on either side of the strait being hurt in a conflict that could only serve to worsen the situation. The Chinese population of this planet have suffered enough in both recent and past history. I only hope that they do not have to face any more loss, and that leaders on both sides of the dispute recognise and respect this.

This article was originally published on Dimsum. Copyright (c) 2006 Shane Coughlan.