Written by Yuan Hongbing（袁紅冰）
The world has entered a time of great upheaval. East Asia faces profound changes. Humanity is once again compelled to make a momentous decision that will determine the fate of the century.
The Mandarin-speaking world is made up of 1.5 billion people and Taiwan is regarded as the only sacred land of freedom. Taiwan’s independence from the tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a political entity symbolizes a call for freedom and the hope for democracy in East Asia—this dark continent under communist totalitarianism.
The Kuomintang (KMT), established over a century ago, is decaying day by day. Its old and young adherents betray its history, defect to the CCP, and betray Taiwan, turning into political agents and the Fifth Column within the CCP’s strategy to conquer free Taiwan. Against this backdrop, the independent spirit and national dignity of free Taiwan, along with the belief that Taiwan’s destiny and political future should be decided by the Taiwanese people, have become the only and irreplaceable political force and conviction to oppose the conquering will of the CCP’s totalitarianism.
Under such circumstances, the direct collision between the conquering will of the Chinese Communist totalitarianism’s global expansion and the independent national dignity of free Taiwan is inevitable. A historic decisive battle between totalitarian dictatorship and freedom and democracy has already taken shape; the battlefield is located precisely in the Taiwan Strait.
The outcome of this battle will determine the fate of humanity for the next hundred years, or even a much longer period. Free Taiwan, chosen by destiny, becomes an international political pivotal point in humanity’s resistance against the global expansion of the CCP’s totalitarianism.
If the international community allows the CCP tyranny to trample on the Taiwanese people’s right to decide their own political destiny and merely watches from the sidelines, then the emerging international alliance to resist the CCP’s totalitarian expansion will, in effect, collapse due to the destruction of its geopolitical foundation. The relentless wave of the CCP’s totalitarianism expansion will surge like a great flood, overflowing across the globe and becoming increasingly difficult to contain—ultimately turning the Greater East Asia into a political and economic colony of CCP tyranny. The core values of human freedom and democracy, along with their political systems, will be face an unprecedented catastrophe.
The national dignity of de facto independence is the steadfast shield protecting the free and democratic way of life of the Taiwanese people. Once the CCP succeeds in conquering Taiwan, its 23 million free people will become political slaves of CCP tyranny; the only sacred flame of liberty in the Mandarin-speaking world of 1.5 billion people will be extinguished.
Conquering free Taiwan will surely trigger the political effect of strengthening the CCP’s totalitarianism dictatorship. It will make the dream of democracy and freedom which the Chinese people have cherished for over a century become even more remote; the resistance movements of various ethnic groups on the mainland of East Asian fighting over a hundred years will also face even greater dangers and hardships.
The CCP tyranny has already launched decisive strategic actions to conquer free Taiwan. Free Taiwan thus fatefully becomes the most critical international political nexus in this great contest. The fate of free Taiwan is closely intertwined with that of all humanity—bound together in life and death.
In facing the force of the CCP’s totalitarian expansion, our era bestows the following recognition of the glory of truth:
Defending the independence of free Taiwan from CCP tyranny is to protect the hope for democracy and freedom of the Chinese people and all ethnic groups across the mainland of East Asia;
Defending free Taiwan against the oppression and abuse of CCP tyranny means to uphold the universal values of humanity and the political moral bottom line of liberal and democratic nations, which form their foundation.
——Defending free Taiwan is to defend the cause of human freedom. It is also the international obligation and moral duty that all human beings who uphold the belief of freedom should bear.
Based on the aforementioned understanding, we propose the establishment of the International Volunteers to Defend Free Taiwan, to stand together with the Taiwanese people in facing hardships, resisting strong enemy, and forging a solid shield against the global expansion of the CCP totalitarianism.
We reiterate our serious and urgent warning: The curtain of the century’s decisive battle concerning humanity’s future is being drawn open; the battlefield is located in the Taiwan Strait.
At the inevitable critical moments of the crisis caused by the global expansion of the CCP’s totalitarianism, the International Volunteers to Defend Free Taiwan solemnly take the following oaths,
If the decisive battle between free Taiwan and the CCP tyranny is an unavoidable curse of fate, and if CCP tyranny, against the conscience of the world, launches a war to conquer free Taiwan, we, the warriors of the International Volunteers to Defend Free Taiwan, will fight shoulder to shoulder with the Taiwanese people —— our blood will flow in defence of free Taiwan, and our determination to resist CCP oppression will be engraved upon the summit of Mount Jade. Facing the forces and weapons of CCP tyranny, we will never leave the free Taiwanese people alone;
We call on peoples and governments of all nations worldwide to support and assist in establishing the International Volunteers to Defend Free Taiwan, because defending free Taiwan is equivalent to preventing a catastrophe——the global expansion of the CCP’s totalitarianism that could threaten all of humanity;
We call on the Chinese people to support and assist in establishing the International Volunteers to Defend Free Taiwan, because preventing the CCP from conquering free Taiwan is essential to the future democratization of China;
We call on all ethnic groups across the mainland of East Asian to support and assist in establishing the International Volunteers to Defend Free Taiwan, because the independent existence of a free Taiwan benefits resistance movements among all ethnic groups on the mainland to break free from the chains of CCP tyranny;
We call on the Taiwanese government and the people of Taiwan to support and assist in establishing the International Volunteers to Defend Free Taiwan, because our unwavering conviction that we defend Taiwan and resist CCP tyranny with our lives is pure, sincere, and loyal.
Heaven and earth may have their limits, but our resolve to fight knows no end. We pray that the heavens protect free Taiwan and bless the brave warriors of the International Volunteers to Defend Free Taiwan——in the name of freedom.
(The Declaration is first published on the 6th June 2018 and amended on the 19th November 2022)