What is the worlds smallest Holocaust museum doing here?
The next day, in the lovely city of Tainan, where the ships of the Dutch fleets first anchored in the 17th century, the mayor, Xu Tian-cai, opened the conversation with us by declaring, “Taiwan is a multicultural state.” A member of the Democratic Party, the mayor’s position on the issue of Taiwan’s independence is far more clear-cut than that of the government his party heads: “President Chen must insist on independence,” he says, “even contrary to the position of the United States. Taiwan has to be independent, because more and more of its people recognize themselves as Taiwanese.” He attributes the shift in the perception of national identity among Taiwan’s residents to the opening of the gates between China and Taiwan and to the fact that many Taiwanese visit China “and see the difference,” but also to the fact that “the government has undertaken activity to reveal the history and culture of Taiwan.” Since the start of his term of office, he adds, he himself has succeeded in bringi
