‘Taiwanese don’t want to end up like Hong Kong’

Father Giuseppe Didonè has lived in Taiwan for 58 years and has seen the evolution of Taiwanese society, determined not to be robbed of the future. The population, accustomed to living under threat, continues its life with tranquility. Last month the 70th anniversary of the Camillian presence on the island was commemorated: “The government greatly appreciates the work of the Church”, the priest told .

Milan () – “Pelosi’s visit brought tension, but now people’s lives continue calmly”. Therefore, the crisis is over, considers Fr. Giuseppe Didonè, a missionary of the Camillian order from the Italian province of Padua who has lived in Taiwan for 58 years.

“The Taiwanese are not as worried as in Europe,” he tells . “They know that China is a threat, but if it were to really try to invade the island, they also know that they are protected by the United States and Japan.”

Tokyo claims that four of the five ballistic missiles fired the other day by the Chinese military and falling within the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone flew over Taipei first, something that had never happened before. With these intense military operations, which will continue for another two days, China is showing that it is capable of occupying the air and sea space over which it has long claimed. However, analysts point out that, in the event of an invasion, the first thing that would happen would be the interruption of global supply chains, generating a crisis worse than those we have already witnessed with the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Just think that more than half of world seaborne trade passed through the Taiwan Strait this year.

So it was just a crisis on Twitter, as some claimed? We must not forget that in Hong Kong, largely absent from the debate and analysis of recent days, things did not go well: “Beijing had proposed to Taiwan to obtain the same status as Hong Kong according to the ‘One country, two systems’ rule – comments the priest -, but the Taiwanese immediately refused. They don’t trust China and in no way do they want to end up like Hong Kong.”

The Chinese repression in Hong Kong was pointed out as one of the factors that favored the election as president of the candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, in 2020. Paradoxically, the Kuomintang, the heir party of the Chinese nationalists who took refuge on the island in 1949, was more lukewarm towards the Dragon and later that proved to be fatal in the presidential elections.

Taiwanese society does not want to be robbed of its future. “When I arrived here in 1965, the population was very poor”, continues the missionary. “Sixty years ago we mainly helped the aborigines”, the indigenous peoples who had been on the island of Formosa since before the arrival of the Chinese in the 17th century. “They used to be the poorest segment, but now they too can come to the city, find a good job and lead a decent life.”

The situation on the island of Taiwan is on hold. On the one hand it is a Chinese province that Beijing considers “rogue”, on the other a nation-state with its own currency and its own passport. Precisely the threat of the Dragon is what has brought to the fore what in recent years are becoming the traits of the identity of Taiwanese society.

One of the differences with China is the relationship that Tapei has with religious minorities: “The Church here is highly respected, they appreciate us a lot for all the work we do, especially in the social field.”

Initially, Fr. Didonè was in charge of the administration of St. Mary’s Hospital, in Lutong, as Bursar and Deputy Director. The regular Clerics Ministers of the Sick, the official name of the Camillians, also undertook to found kindergartens in the parishes, a task that the government later assumed. The main activity that Fr. Giuseppe Didonè develops now is the direction of residences for the elderly and assistance to people with physical and mental disabilities. Many stigmas still exist and children with disabilities are often abandoned at birth. “They were completely discarded, nobody wanted them. In the Camillian centers they receive quality care and assistance. Some leave in the morning and return in the afternoon, others stay in the residence all day”, continues the priest. “That’s why people have great respect for the Church.” The Camillians arrived in Taiwan in 1952 and the 70th anniversary was commemorated on July 14. “President Tsai Ing-wen came to congratulate us to show that the government really appreciates what we do.”