Taiwan and China: The Notion of Liberty

It is interesting to think how as time passes, the attitudes and behavior of people change. They would react differently to the same situation in a different timeline even though if it were the same situation. The short video “Taiwan: The Face of Free China” was produced in the 1960’s, almost fifty years ago and to think of the huge powerhouse Taiwan has become is extraordinary. It is a nation that has been constructed on the ideas of innovators and free thinkers and is now in a position in which they provide aid to developing countries.

Taiwan has truly become “Free China”; but that presents the question of whether China would have become the nation it is today if they followed western ideology of freedom. Taiwan has seemingly joined ideas of the west along with their customs and culture to create a system in which each individual has the freedom of choice. China in the past years has limited its citizen liberty and while we may see this as an injustice it would be beneficial to be in their position. Freedom to choose what we want and when we want is an ideology that in theory sound right and humane but that does not mean it always what is beneficial. If we were to give that freedom to a child, they may to choose to have candy at all times, yet as an adult we know that this is not ideal and would want to persuade them to healthier options. Freedom is a tricky situation because while it is a human right that we should all have the choice to pick what we want for our lives that same freedom can cause us grave harm.

China has followed a similar ideology in terms of not having political, religious and economical freedom, by shielding that choice away from its people it has avoided causing them harm. In is interesting now as we move along the 21st century, with globalization and connectivity being the primary reason, how the ideas of liberty will influence and change China in the years to come.