Taiwan's Social Progressivism and Impact on New Southward Policy
In one day, there was two polar opposite news coming out of Asia on the issue of gay marriage. One is the de facto legalization of same-sex marriages in Taiwan's highest court, making the island the first place in Asia to expliciting state that homosexual marriages are as legal as the heterosexual kind. The other is the public caning of a man caught for gay sex in conservative Aceh province in Indonesia. The young man is humiliated in front of thousands of spectators, and Western media outlets and general public wasted no time criticizing the act as immoral and barbaric, much to the chagrin of the Islamic local population.
The two pieces of news, beyond simply illustrating the sheer diversity of values and ideologies in an already ethnically and religiously diverse continent that is Asia, reflect in some ways the possible political and economic repercussions of trying to find a balance and a compromise for such diverging views on a sensitive social issue. The LGBT issue can be a source of intense passion, both in the pro and anti camps. And given just how visible the issue can be on the streets (particularly in certain events and through social interactions), it can likely become a source of conflict.
Within Taiwan domestically, such conflict is already apparent. The anti-gay marriage camp put up a good fight in the name of preserving traditions and the sanctity of marriage, and was wholly derided by pro-LGBT groups as stubbornly backward. But say an Indonesian visitor to Taiwan casually object to the island's openness toward same-sex marriages, it would simply be of great insolence for pro-LGBT groups to deride international visitors in the same way. If they were to ridicule Indonesians for "social backwardness," an international incident would break out after headlining Indonesian media outlets and drawing public anger.
Why does this matter? While not offending conservative Indonesians is certainly a nice thing for a Taiwan dependent on many migrant laborers from the massive country to populate its factories, the economic rationale is much deeper than that. The current administration of the Tsai Ing-wen government, and to a larger extent, her Democratic Progressive Party, has staked its long-term economic policy on something called the "New Southward Policy." To summarize it simply, the Policy aims to pivot the island's economy away from mainland China where it has grown too dependent, and shift trade to Southeast Asia.
One of the key success of the Policy so far has been a steady increase in tourist inflow from Southeast Asian countries to Taiwan, allowing the tourism industry to absorb the shocks of decreasing Chinese tourist flows stemming from Tsai's confrontational attitude. Given Indonesia's massive population and increasing wealth, it would make sense for the New Southward Policy to focus on Indonesia for the Policy to remain relevant and sustainable in the long-term. To attract more and more Indonesian tourists to Taiwan would require the Taiwanese to display certain level of "cultural sensitivity."
While many Indonesians are secular even if Muslim, the majority do have some red lines that they are loathe to cross. The recent popular rallies against Ahok, the Chinese-Christian ex-governor of Jakarta, on suspicions of blasphemy is a good example of how crossing the red lines can quickly draw the ire of the general populace. In much of the same way, if the Taiwanese government is to overtly display its socially liberal credentials, it could potentially hurt the prospect of the New Southward Policy in continuing to find affinity among more socially conservative Indonesians (and Southeast Asians in general).
This is not to say it was a mistake for the Taiwanese government to legalize same-sex marriages. There is no doubt that for an Asian continent that is generally indifferent to the social injustices suffered by the LGBT community, what Taiwan achieved is indeed an admirable achievement worthy of the biggest celebrations. Yet, in the big scheme of things, with economic issues dominating the island's political agenda and people's minds, it pays to be mindful about the externalities associated with social issues like same-sex marriage. If there are economic consequences, proper actions need to be taken to mitigate potential effects.
Ultimately, it is about striking a balance between adhering to one's social beliefs and the practicalities of economic and political needs. The reality on the ground is that, for a Tsai government keen to advance Taiwan's economic position in Southeast Asia through "people-to-people exchanges," sociocultural convergence of some sort is definitely necessary. Of course, there is no need for Taiwan to uphold Islamic values to woo Indonesian tourists, but at the very least, appealing to Muslims, while it be providing halal food or keeping LGBT groups in check, would go a long way to support the island economically.
The two pieces of news, beyond simply illustrating the sheer diversity of values and ideologies in an already ethnically and religiously diverse continent that is Asia, reflect in some ways the possible political and economic repercussions of trying to find a balance and a compromise for such diverging views on a sensitive social issue. The LGBT issue can be a source of intense passion, both in the pro and anti camps. And given just how visible the issue can be on the streets (particularly in certain events and through social interactions), it can likely become a source of conflict.
Within Taiwan domestically, such conflict is already apparent. The anti-gay marriage camp put up a good fight in the name of preserving traditions and the sanctity of marriage, and was wholly derided by pro-LGBT groups as stubbornly backward. But say an Indonesian visitor to Taiwan casually object to the island's openness toward same-sex marriages, it would simply be of great insolence for pro-LGBT groups to deride international visitors in the same way. If they were to ridicule Indonesians for "social backwardness," an international incident would break out after headlining Indonesian media outlets and drawing public anger.
Why does this matter? While not offending conservative Indonesians is certainly a nice thing for a Taiwan dependent on many migrant laborers from the massive country to populate its factories, the economic rationale is much deeper than that. The current administration of the Tsai Ing-wen government, and to a larger extent, her Democratic Progressive Party, has staked its long-term economic policy on something called the "New Southward Policy." To summarize it simply, the Policy aims to pivot the island's economy away from mainland China where it has grown too dependent, and shift trade to Southeast Asia.
One of the key success of the Policy so far has been a steady increase in tourist inflow from Southeast Asian countries to Taiwan, allowing the tourism industry to absorb the shocks of decreasing Chinese tourist flows stemming from Tsai's confrontational attitude. Given Indonesia's massive population and increasing wealth, it would make sense for the New Southward Policy to focus on Indonesia for the Policy to remain relevant and sustainable in the long-term. To attract more and more Indonesian tourists to Taiwan would require the Taiwanese to display certain level of "cultural sensitivity."
While many Indonesians are secular even if Muslim, the majority do have some red lines that they are loathe to cross. The recent popular rallies against Ahok, the Chinese-Christian ex-governor of Jakarta, on suspicions of blasphemy is a good example of how crossing the red lines can quickly draw the ire of the general populace. In much of the same way, if the Taiwanese government is to overtly display its socially liberal credentials, it could potentially hurt the prospect of the New Southward Policy in continuing to find affinity among more socially conservative Indonesians (and Southeast Asians in general).
This is not to say it was a mistake for the Taiwanese government to legalize same-sex marriages. There is no doubt that for an Asian continent that is generally indifferent to the social injustices suffered by the LGBT community, what Taiwan achieved is indeed an admirable achievement worthy of the biggest celebrations. Yet, in the big scheme of things, with economic issues dominating the island's political agenda and people's minds, it pays to be mindful about the externalities associated with social issues like same-sex marriage. If there are economic consequences, proper actions need to be taken to mitigate potential effects.
Ultimately, it is about striking a balance between adhering to one's social beliefs and the practicalities of economic and political needs. The reality on the ground is that, for a Tsai government keen to advance Taiwan's economic position in Southeast Asia through "people-to-people exchanges," sociocultural convergence of some sort is definitely necessary. Of course, there is no need for Taiwan to uphold Islamic values to woo Indonesian tourists, but at the very least, appealing to Muslims, while it be providing halal food or keeping LGBT groups in check, would go a long way to support the island economically.
Comments
Post a Comment