But in 2017, I visited Namibia. In a region that once pursued separation and independence, I heard people there telling about the changes in their mental journey and seeing the inspiration that Namibia can give to Taiwan.

[Text/Observer Network Columnist Yin Yiwen]

Taiwan and Namibia are two far apart, and it seems that the wind and bulls and horses are incompatible. But in 2017, I visited Namibia. In a region that once pursued separation and independence, I heard people there telling about the changes in their mental journey and seeing the inspiration that Namibia can give to Taiwan.

Reflection of separatists

Namibia is a rare "successful country" in Africa. It has a stable society and good economic development. It has become a "middle-high-income" country. , which has authoritative influence in economic comments, rated Namibia as the best emerging market in Africa economy . Transparent International's clean index ranks Namibia in a very high position. Its position is not only higher than most Asian, African and Latin countries, but also higher than many EU countries.

Namibia became a German colony in southwestern Africa in 1884. At that time, Germany wanted to connect its colonies in western Africa with the colonies in eastern China, so it had a territorial exchange with Britain in exchange for a very narrow and long territory to connect. This narrow and long territory is located in the northeast corner of Namibia, and the terminal extends along the Zambezi River to the vicinity of Zimbabwe in eastern Africa, called " Caprivi Strip ".

Old map of the Caprivi region. At that time, Namibia was still called "Southwest Africa" ​​

Caprivi was the name of a German Chancellor. The Germans arrogantly imposed a German name on this place. People in the Caprivi region and people in other parts of Namibia do not have a traditional sense of belonging naturally formed in history, and Germany forced it into Namibia for its own colonial interests.

Caprivi, but his predecessor is more famous - Bismarck

From the terrain, it can be clearly seen that this "attribution" is far-fetched. The main territory of Namibia is very "neat", but a stalk has grown in a hard corner. This stalk is the Caprivi area, which is called the "pot handle", just like a pot handle installed on a rice pot. This far-fetched belonging laid the "separation and independence" knot of Caprivi.

Germany was defeated in World War I , and its colonies were divided by the "victorious countries". Britain was the victorious country, so Namibia gave the former British colony the white South African regime, where they continued to colonize. In the 1960s, the national independence movement broke out in Namibia. Caprivi was a strategic location. In order to combat guerrillas, the South African colonial authorities established the "pseudo-independent" East Caprivi "homeland" there, which was directly under the jurisdiction of the central government. This "pseudo-independence" further strengthened Caprivi's "separation and independence" knot.

The flag of East Caprivi

1990 Namibia finally gained independence. After Namibia's independence, a separatist movement emerged in Caprivi, and the separatists advocated leaving Namibia and establishing their own country. In the late 1990s, the separatist movement used to be very turbulent. For example, in 1999, separatists used force to attack police stations and military facilities in the region's leading cities, and occupied local state radio stations, making a fierce voice of separation and independence.

The leader of the Caprivi separation movement was Mishake Muyonga, who fought side by side with people from other parts of Namibia during the era of fighting the South African colonial government. At that time, the most important organization in Namibia's fight against the South African colonial government was the "Southwest African People's Organization", referred to as the "People Group Party".

Mu Yongge joined the People's Group Party and held a high position within the Party. But later he had conflicts with other leaders of the People's Party and was ruled out of the Party. He organized his new party and joined the alliance of some other small party organizations in Namibia.

In the 1994 presidential election, Mu Yongge participated in the election. His votes were much lower than those of the candidates for the People's Party, so he could not realize his political ambition to be president. Since then, he has gradually publicly advocated the promotion of the Caprivi separation and independence movement.In the mid-1990s, the "Caprivi People's Liberation Army" appeared in Caprivi and carried out an armed struggle. Muyonggo became the general leader of the Caprivi People's Liberation Army in 1998.

Muyonggo back then is now in exile in Denmark. Image source: wiki

Namibian government launched a strong strike against the armed struggle of Caprivi separatism. The militants were killed and injured, and many others were arrested. The area declared a "state of emergency." Under severe crackdowns, many separatists fled abroad to "take refuge". Mu Yonggo also fled abroad. He was very "lucky" to escape to Denmark and "take refuge" in a high-welfare country. Others are not so "lucky", they cannot get "visa" from developed countries and are all stranded in refugee camps in neighboring African countries. After the severe crackdown on

, Caprivi settled and the economy gradually developed. Many local people have joined the People's Party. They agree with the People's Party's policy and believe that such policies can make Caprivi stable and develop. People in refugee camps in neighboring countries are also gradually returning, seeing the development and changes of their hometowns, and they are willing to live in such an environment. Now, not only does Caprivi have no separatist violent actions, but he even rarely hears separatist rhetoric.

In 2017, I went to the Caprivi area and arrived at the easternmost and border areas of the region. It is a huge inland island in the Zambezi River called "Impalilla Island", with a large population on the island. Impalilla Island is very far away from the capital and major cities of Namibia, and is very close to the cities of neighboring countries Botswana, Zambia, , and Zimbabwe. I talked to people on the island about the separatist movement, and they told me that no one wants independence anymore, and they talked about two important reasons.

The river east of Impalilla Island is the only "junction of four countries" in the world: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana , Namibia

First. They said that people here realize that in addition to some tourism resources, there are no more valuable natural resources such as minerals, and the resources of education, medical, financial technology, are also very backward. Those resources with high value and high level are all in other places in Namibia. If they become independent, the resources from other places will no longer be used here, which will make economic development difficult here.

Their understanding is very rational and not emotional. Indeed, separation and independence are like cutting off the pot handle, and integrating into the community of Namibia can share resources and have greater room for development.

Second, they say that integration into Namibia also allows them to participate in and influence the politics of Namibia throughout. They told me that there are people on the island who are now serving as members of Congress and can have an influence on political decision-making throughout Namibia.

A person specifically told me that although no one on the island has become the minister of the cabinet, there may be any future. Unfortunately, I didn't ask him carefully whether anyone else in Caprivi outside the island had become the Minister of Cabinet. However, even if no one becomes cabinet minister and only someone becomes a member of parliament, they can already see the influence they can have on the entire community of Namibia. Moreover, while creating influence, we can also see that they have surpassed the "small pot handle" pattern and have a broader vision and a broader mind.

enlightens Taiwan’s experiences and lessons

Listen to the Caprivi people’s resolving and transforming the “separation and independence” knot, I thought of Taiwan.

When they talked about the first reason, I thought of Hung Hsiu-chu 's "Standing on the shoulders of giants".

Standing on the shoulders of mainland giants, letting Taiwan's economy take advantage of the momentum. This is Hung Hsiu-chu's statement, which is very similar to Caprivi's later path. They stood rationally on the shoulders of giants and allowed themselves to take advantage of the situation. Although Taiwan seems to be more developed than Caprivi, its own resources and competitiveness are limited, and many industries are also in decline. Separation from the mainland will be harmful to Taiwan's economy without any benefit.

When they talked about the second reason, I thought of Lin Yifu.

Lin Yifu is from Taiwan Province. After he came to the mainland, he became an outstanding economist, had a great influence on China's economic decision-making, and also contributed to China's economic development. Not only that, as a Chinese, Lin Yifu has also become the vice president and chief economist of World Bank , a position considered one of the most influential positions in the field of world economics. If he is in Taiwan, it will be difficult to gain such influence.

Lin Yifu's world-class influence, those Caprivi people have never imagined it, but their ideas are similar to Lin Yifu.

The case of Namibia is worthy of deep thought by Taiwanese people.

In the case of Namibia, there are two experiences and experiences about not separating, as well as painful lessons about separating. Their experience shows that without separation, you can obtain more development resources and create greater influence. Their lessons show that separatist leaders encourage independence for their political ambitions, pulling people onto the chariots, causing bloody turmoil. As a result, leaders can go to developed countries to "take refuge" while ordinary people are trapped in refugee camps.

Taiwanese people should think carefully about these experiences and lessons from Namibia.

For a detailed introduction to the successful development of Namibia and the mental journey of the Caprivi people, please refer to "Governing the Country" (Yin Yiwen: "Governing the Country", Peking University Press , 2021).

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