Lü Shulian, Former Vice President of Taiwan
Former Vice President of Taiwan Lu Shulian, who met at the Donga Media Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 28th of last month, said, “The three countries, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, which are commonly threatened by China and North Korea, have a relationship between ‘mouth’ and ‘tongue.’ He emphasized that the three countries should respond by strengthening cooperation. Reporter Hyukjoong Choi sajinman@donga.com
“As the threat from North Korea and China escalates, South Korea and Taiwan, each threatened by both countries, must come together. In particular, it is important to strengthen cooperation in the semiconductor sector, which is the core of self-development.”
These are the words of former Vice President Lu Shulian (呂秀蓮, 79), who served as Taiwan’s first female Vice President from 2000 to 2008. Now that the US and China are fiercely competing for supremacy in the information technology (IT) field, if the two countries with world-class semiconductor companies, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and TSMC, respectively, unite and exercise their influence, no major power will do anything to South Korea and Taiwan. He repeatedly emphasized that he could not.”
Having recently visited Korea for a lecture, he held an interview at CC Cube on the 20th floor of the Donga Media Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 28th of last month and said, “If China tries to invade Taiwan, South Korea and Japan will also be in danger in the current international situation.” He recommended that the three countries, Taiwan and Japan, prepare for this by creating an ‘Asian democracy-economic prosperity bloc’ similar to the European Union.” He said that the three countries should strengthen military and economic cooperation as the four months until May of the same year, when Taiwan’s presidential election will be held in January next year and the new president who won the election will take office, are particularly dangerous.
She is called ‘the godmother of Taiwan’s democratization and women’s movement’. In 1979, when the Kuomintang was in power for a long time, the ‘Meiliao Crisis’ broke out, a democratization movement led by democratic figures involved in the progressive magazine ‘Meilidao’. At the time, he was arrested for speaking at a rally and sentenced to 12 years in prison, serving more than five years.
The first president from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and former president Chen Shui-bian, who advocated an anti-China line, entered politics after working as a lawyer in the case at the time and even rose to become president. Former Vice President Lü served as the first female Vice President during the time of former President Chen.
He went through life and death many times. He battled cancer as a young man, and in the 2004 assassination attempt on former President Chun, he was also shot in the knee. After retiring as deputy president, he focused on gender equality and environmental movements. He repeatedly emphasized ‘self-strength’, saying that we should not succumb to China’s oppression, but it is also difficult to follow the United States one-sidedly. As a single man, he smiled broadly, saying, “I value not only Taiwan’s freedom but also my own freedom.” The following is a question and answer.
―Why is semiconductor cooperation between Korea and Taiwan important?
“The two countries have many things in common: advanced science and technology, democracy, market economy, Confucian culture, and facing military threats from powerful countries. In a situation where the United States and China are fighting for supremacy in all directions, cooperation between Korea and Taiwan, which have excellent semiconductor technology, can create tremendous synergy.
TSMC decided to build a semiconductor plant in Arizona, in the western United States, but it is not suitable for a semiconductor plant where industrial water is important because it is a desert area. The United States has strict labor laws and regulations, making it difficult for workers to work day and night, as in Korea and Taiwan. If the semiconductor companies of the two countries join hands, they will not have to spend astronomical money to build factories in the United States, and neither country will be able to do anything with Korea and Taiwan. This is a ‘win-win’.”
―Projects are raised one after another that next year, when both Taiwan and the US presidential elections are held, China may invade Taiwan to take advantage of the political turmoil in both countries.
“China’s invasion of Taiwan will not happen arbitrarily. It is expected that it will happen at the same time as North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, or that North Korea’s invasion will come before China’s invasion. If China attacks Taiwan, Japan, which is adjacent to Taiwan, will also be forced to participate in some way, which could escalate into ‘World War III’.
In particular, the four months until May of the same year when Taiwan’s presidential election will be held in January next year and the new president who won the election will be inaugurated are very dangerous. Anything can happen during that time. That is why it is important for Korea, Taiwan, and Japan to cooperate even militarily. I am grateful for President Yoon Seok-yeol’s statement that ‘the Taiwan issue is not China’s internal affair, but a global issue’.”
―The outlook for next year’s presidential election… . Some believe that China will intervene in the election in some way to drop the anti-China Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party candidate Lai Qingde.
“I am not very concerned about Chinese intervention. Since incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen won re-election by a landslide margin in 2020 in the aftermath of Hong Kong’s anti-China protests, not many pro-China candidates have won major national elections. Even if China were behind the scenes, Houyoui (侯友宜) and Ke Wenje (柯文哲), candidates of the People’s Party, are unlikely to win.
Vice President Lai has extensive administrative experience, having served as a member of the National Assembly, mayor of Tainan, head of the executive branch (prime minister), and vice president. He is a medical doctor and is sincere and fluent in English to the extent that he earned a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University while serving as a member of the National Assembly. He is a strong character who has long emphasized that ‘Taiwan is a sovereign country’.
China is protesting against Vice President Lai’s transit through the United States to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Paraguay, Santiago Pena, on the 15th. There are no direct flights between Taiwan and Paraguay, so how can you go to Central and South America without a stopover? When I was vice president, I also went through the United States several times while going to other countries.”
―After Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power, relations between China and Taiwan deteriorated rapidly.
“All Chinese leaders believe that ‘China is the center of the world and the earth revolves around China’. President Xi is especially harsh because he thinks of himself as more than Mao Zedong, who founded the People’s Republic of China. Issues such as the sudden resignation of former Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Kang and the diplomatic disrespect of Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming cannot happen in a democratic country, regardless of the real cause. The CCP does not know what democracy is. We should not provoke President Xi who created this situation too much, but we should show China how frightening the cooperation and alliance of the rest of the world is.
Some say ‘Taiwan is next to Ukraine’, but Taiwan will never become a ‘second Ukraine’. When North Korea fires missiles, South Korea looks the most dangerous in the world, but when you come to South Korea, how peaceful and developed it is. The same goes for Taiwan. Taiwan has never been part of China.
President Xi insists on ‘one China’, but this is unilaterally forcing ‘communism’ on Taiwanese living in a democratic society. Instead, I would like to refer to ‘One China’. I would also like to emphasize this concept of ‘one nation can become many nations’ to President Xi.”
―Some parts of Korea are hesitant to cooperate with Japan because of the past.
“It is regrettable that Japan and Japan are losing ground because of their past history. Isn’t it much more important to jointly deal with North Korea’s nuclear threat right now? Korea, Taiwan, and Japan should create an ‘Asian democracy-economic prosperity bloc’ like the EU. The similarities between Korea and Taiwan mentioned earlier apply to Japan as well. The three countries can create a ‘golden triangle’.”
―After retiring, he focused on gender equality and environmental movements.
“The whole world is going through a national challenge such as an extreme climate crisis. There are many times when it feels like the distinction between party affiliation, gender, and nationality is meaningless in resolving these issues.”
―Taiwan, like other major Asian countries, has fallen behind in women’s rights in the past. Also, most famous female politicians in Asia have risen to high positions through the halo of their fathers or husbands, but she grew up in an ordinary family and became the first female deputy president. What advice would you like to give to younger women?
“Go your own way without caring about the opinions or evaluations of others. Some people call me ‘the godmother of the democratization movement’, but I don’t want to define myself with any words or expressions. ‘Being yourself’ is the most important thing.”
Lü Shulian, Former Vice President of Taiwan △ Born in Taoyuan in 1944
△ 1967 Bachelor of Law, National Taiwan University
△ 1978 Master of Laws, Harvard University, USA
△ Arrested and imprisoned for the 1979 pro-democracy movement ‘Mei Lidao’ incident
Released in 1985
1990 Joined the Democratic Progressive Party
△ 2000-2008 Taiwan’s first female Vice President
Reporter Ha Jung-min dew@donga.com
2023-08-06 14:45:00
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