TSI ING-WEN IN INVISIBLE NATION The woman who was the first to use the word "Taiwan" in the international context Vanessa Hope's documentary film is about Tsi Ing-wen, the first female president of the Republic of Taiwan, a country in a dangerous, pivotal position in the power conflict between China and the United States. In difficult "cross-strait" relations, the giant China is always wanting to take over the little Taiwan, whose existence as a separate country, even whose name, it refuses to recognize. The first thing to note is that Tsi Ing-wen is a very smart lady, a tough cookie, and a cool customer. But she won the presidency because of the younger generation, and all the Taiwanese that wanted their country to be firm and independent from China.
Where did she come from? how did this woman become the leader of this 20-million population? She studied law in Taiwan, then at Cornel and London School of Economics. she worked her way up in Taiwanese politics, then in US fashion served two four-year terms as President, 2016-2020 and 2020-2024. She was ranked ninth on Forbes's most powerful women list in 2021, being the second-highest ranking female politician after Kamala Harris. On Monday, May 18, 2024, Tsai handed the baton to her former premier and vice president Lai Ching-te, who was sworn in as Taiwan's new president after winning the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) an unprecedented third term in January.
Accounts of Taiwan often gloss over the fact that after centuries of domination, when it became independent after WWII, it was under martial law for forty years. This is downplayed here too. The freedoms all had to come after the late eighties, and are all the more remarkable for the long authoritarian rule. The P.R.C. (China)'s threat of domination that has closed its cruel grip over Hong Kong (we glimpse that sad episode here) hovers over the small country, which chose democracy and independence at last. Lee Teng-hui was an important leader of Taiwan - which was hardly ever allowed to be called that name internationally, such as at the Olympics, due to China's refusing to acknowledge it as an independent country.
Hope's film takes a digression to cover Freddy Lim, lead singer of the band Chthonic, which delivers heavy metal declarations of independence and condemnation of the oppressor. Speaking to the camera, now an independent legislator, explains that Taiwan has its own culture. Jason Chu of Chinese Nationalist Party explains that from the seventies and eighties Taiwan became "sort of the powerhouse of [the] global supply chain" starting with semiconductors and other high tech products.
Taiwan is disproportionally important for its size. My frame of reference is film. Though it may make fewer films than Japan, South Korea, or China, its films are extremely interesting and it has produced some disproportionately significant and varied filmmakers. (Think Ang Lee, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Tsai Ming-liang). While China has worked hard in recent years to make it tough for Taiwan, pressuring Taiwan's traditional alies to abandon them, Taiwan is emerging as uniquely progressive: notably, it is the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage. Hsiao Bi-khim, the de facto Taiwan ambassador to the US, speaks on this and other topics.
There is a lot about China, which has become more belligerent toward Taiwan. Xi Jinping is seen giving impressively totalitarian-looking speeches declaring that Taiwan belongs to China and it will use force to assert this if it wants to. It's pointed out here that in fact Taiwan has never in history been under the power of China, a fact worth remembering. Nancy Pelosi in a trenchant interview says we, the US, have always "kow-towed to China" (appropriate term indeed!) "and that is why we are where we are now." (Indeed!) We see President Joe Biden stating at a conference that we have made the committment to defend Taiwan in case of invasion. But what the pros and cons and subtleties of the US-Taiwan and US-China policy issues are is beyond the scope of this film, which is mainly to provide a context for the many interesting interviews and its up close filming of the Taiwanese president.
Tsi Ing-wen presides over military operations, planned as defensive if China attacks Taiwan. Tsi Ing-wen visits the US. But Taiwan remains excluded under Chinese pressure from nation status. She declares in answer to a press question that Taiwan is not going to declare itself to be an independent country because it already considers itself to be one.
The extent to which China has been allowed to make Taiwan suffer through external pressure on international agencies
not to grant nation status is a slow revelation of enormity. When COVIID-19 arrived, Taiwan was not provided with medical information, excluded from WHO (and UN membership), though Taiwan has been one of the most successful country in the world at combatting the pandemic. So we have the paradox of a model country that has never been more under international threat. The Taiwanese see what has happened with Russia and Ukraine, and they don't want it to be repeated with China and Taiwan. They are organizing to be prepared for civil defense and to face a national conflict. We're told their military
is well prepared, buyt the civilian population needs to be. In speeches and actions Tsi Ing-wen works to lead the country in this direction: slow, calm, and methodical in manner, she nonetheless reveals a deeply buried fighting spirit.
Director Hope has succeeded in wrangling all this information while acquiring unprecedented access in parson to her personal subject, President Tsi, and other key experts and officials in Taiwan and the US as well. The film has been accused of being hagiographic, dry, and overstuffed and not asking enough questions. I did not feel this. But it is basic and formal, and it sometimes seems to transition abruptly from one thing to another. A little bit more on Taiwan's manufacturing and cultural productivity would have been nice. But this is a lot about an important subject, graced remarkable access.
Richard Kuipers in his [url="https://variety.com/2024/film/asia/invisible-nation-review-1235874663/"]
Variety review[/url] says, truly, that this film has "no fancy flourishes" but is "strong, effective observational documentary filmmaking" that employs no voiceover or text narration and "allows viewers to form their own views." If only instructional films could be this good.
Invisible Nation, 85 mins., debuted at Woodstock Sept. 2023; also Mill Valley, SFIFF, Hamptons, New Hampshire, numerous other festivals. US release May 31, 2024.
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