When I was in 7th grade, I was a 13-year-old girl, and I didn’t know anything about politics. In that year, we had the president open voting for the first time in Taiwan, and everyone who had the right to vote was very excited. It was an important time for Taiwan because that was a significant process of our democracy. The meaning of that election was much more symbolic than substantial because the advocates of the other candidates were far fewer than those of President Lee. However, it was also a tough year for Taiwan.

We were threatened by the government of China that we could not have this election. It was really hard for me, in my age, to understand why another country wanted to conquer us just because of an election. The spokesman of the Chinese government claimed that they would consider using military force if Taiwan didn’t cancel the election. The media keep played the video of that claim and reported the conjecture of how many missiles were already aiming to Taiwan. At the same time, the American government sent aircraft carriers to provide help for Taiwan. People in my hometown were frightened that we would have a war in Taiwan. Some people even immigrated to other countries. Ultimately, we still held the election, and China didn’t attack us. There was no war between us, yet.

There is a complex political situation between Taiwan and China. In spite of the fact that we are two separate places, and became two different political individuals, China still does not give diplomatic recognition for Taiwan and doesn’t allow other countries to do that. We suffer a lot of pressure in diplomatic aspects. However, I believe that some day, people in Taiwan can decide their political situation by our own will, and governments in Taiwan and China can solve this difficult situation with a peaceful solution.

I believe in human’s conscience. I believe that people have the desire of peace and the aspiration of a better life. When I came to the United States to learn English in 2006, I met people from all over the world, people from Angola, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and Kuwait. All of my classmates came to the United States to learn other cultures and valuable knowledge, and all of them want to bring their new ideas back to their home. Hopefully make differences to their own countries. Angola is recovering from a 27-year-long civil war. Puerto Rico has held Status Referenda four times to determine their policy status. Every country has its own background and stories, but all of us respect other’s cultures and try to learn something from them. I believe that as people keep this attitude, not only the situation in Taiwan, but also other difficult problems in other countries can be solved peacefully, one day.