OPINION:
The mettle of U.S. foreign policy in the new phase of the worldwide struggle between democracy and totalitarianism is being tested in two islands: Taiwan and Cuba.
There are great cultural differences between the two, but the modern history of both is shaped by the struggle for freedom and against communism.
The prosperous democracy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is today’s equivalent of pre-World War II Czechoslovakia. A republic whose very existence signifies defiance of a great power’s ambition to establish a totalitarian regional and world order. In pre-war Europe, that power was Nazi Germany. In 21st century Asia, that power is the People’s Republic of China.
Our resolve in supporting Taiwan’s existence as a self-ruled, democratic polity is essential.
Any weakness or faltering in U.S. commitment to its defense will send all the wrong signals to an expanding dictatorship whose world vision is as totalitarian as that of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union once was. A world that accepts PRC’s conquest of Taiwan will inevitably be a world shaped by the dominance of China. In such an international atmosphere, those very domestic freedoms we treasure will be diminished by the reality of the United States becoming a second-tier power.
In some ways, pre-1959, Cuba was to Latin America what Taiwan now represents for Asia and the developing world.
Cuba gained independence in 1902 after a hard-fought struggle and a devastating war. A sugar-producing island, as Taiwan once was, Cuba struggled through periods of military dictatorship to build an inclusive democracy, also just as Taiwan. Starting from a war-ruined economy, Cuba’s social and economic gains placed it at the forefront of Latin American countries. In 1949-50, the same year the Republic of China reestablished itself in Taiwan, Cuban GDP ranked seventh of the 47 Latin American nations, nearly three times that of Taiwan’s.
Today, Taiwan is the world’s 21st largest economy, a technological powerhouse with top living standards, and Cuba’s economy is ranked 64th in the world, with a calculated 70% of its population mired in poverty.
Whereas Taiwan turned toward the private sector’s leadership in the economy, Cuba had a revolution that had promised to reestablish constitutional order, and free elections turned dramatically toward communism.
Both the freely elected government of Taiwan and the dictatorship in Cuba have adversarial relationships with the huge powers they are close to. The communist regime in Cuba is closely allied with the People’s Republic of China, and Taiwan has a close alliance with the United States.
As the world faces both the COVID-19 pandemic and a dangerous resurgence of the totalitarian virus, driven by China’s accrued economic power, Cuba may offer a ray of hope for the cause of democracy. On July 11, an unprecedented number of Cubans throughout the island participated in mass protests for freedom. The regime’s secret police services could not stop the national civic uprising. U.S. financial sanctions and citizen non-cooperation have severely weakened the regime’s network of neighborhood informants and thugs.
With support from the PRC, the Cuban dictatorship brought down the internet to cut off protesters from the world. The Black Berets, special repressive forces trained by Chinese advisors, spread out at night to arrest thousands of youths.
Shaken by the July 11 uprising and the continued citizen defiance, the communist regime in Cuba is grasping power through whatever means necessary. The thousands of protesters on July 11 were very clear in their demands: Their goal is liberation and an end to communist rule, to enjoy the same kind of freedoms people around the world, such as those Taiwan now enjoys.
At this crossroads, a clear-minded and principled U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba and Taiwan is imperative. No concessions should be made on either one. Taiwan must be protected from aggression. The Cuban people deserve decisive support to regain the freedom they have struggled so long and so hard for.
Democratic change in Cuba would bring about profound changes in Latin America and the world. If the aggressive Cuban totalitarian state were to be replaced with a thriving democracy, the global resurgence of authoritarianism would receive its first powerful push back.
Two of the decisive steps that the United States can take to support Cuba’s fight for liberty are, in the first place, to implement a wide array of communication initiatives to break the regime’s censorship of the information that reaches ordinary Cubans, as well as to actively engage with the Cuban resistance in the island to bolster a national and international civic campaign for democratic change.
Preservation and attainment of freedom for Taiwan and Cuba would usher in a better 21st century for all the planet.
• Dr. Orlando Gutierrez is the coordinator of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, a U.S.-based nonprofit pro-democracy organization that has also worked closely with Taiwanese leaders and democracy movements.
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