Are Taiwan's people better off under the current leadership? I have many Taiwanese friends who complain to me that life isn’t as good as it used to be. They say that Taiwan has become an "M society" -- the rich are richer and the poor poorer, with hardly anyone in between. At the same time, both my Hong Kong and mainland Chinese friends in general think their life is better off than before.

When looking at the Taiwan issue, we can't simply say that Taiwan is a democracy and China is totalitarian, so Taiwan should have the freedom to decide its independence. Apart from politics, emotional ties, economic ties, nationalism and a sense of pride and unity all play very major roles in this sensitive issue.

Taiwan has its own independence without the public voting on it. Taiwan’s leader wants to hold a democratic vote on whether to declare independence from China not because he believes that Taiwan’s people should decide their own fate; this move is not for the sake of the Taiwanese people at all. Despite the cloak of referendum and democracy, the purpose of such action is to provoke the mainland and play hardball with mainland China's leaders.

I believe that the best way for Taiwan's leaders to protect Taiwan’s democracy is to avoid direct confrontation and possible war, especially when mainland China is engaged in its own slow process of democratization.