Hello everyone, this is Klaus.
The topic of unity and independence hasn't just been trending recently.
It has always been a topic discussed by the Chinese worldwide,
especially mainlanders, Hong Kongers and the Taiwanese.
So today, in this video,
we will talk in-depth about the logic of unity and independence.
I hope you enjoy this video.
Some people believe that a nation must be unified,
that no matter how many lives are to be sacrificed, unity comes first,
and that unity is worth all the bloodshed.
They see the word "independence" as something evil, no matter what.
Logically speaking,
people thinking that way see unity as the ultimate goal.
We can ask these people,
"You say that unity comes first. But what is the purpose of unification?
What can unification bring us?"
They will definitely say that only unity
can make our country richer and stronger, and our people happier.
Basically, they admit that unification is not the end goal,
and that the betterment of the country and the people is.
In order to make people happier,
do you have to make the people sacrifice themselves first?
Does that even make sense?
If I were to tell you that I want to stab you with a knife and make you happier later, would you want that?
You would say, "There are so many ways to make me happy. Why would you choose to hurt me first and make me happy later?"
We often see in TV series as well as in real life
parents cruelly separating the two lovers
and hooking the girl up with a rich old man,
and then comforting their daughter by saying, "We did this for your own good."
They sacrifice their daughter’s happiness for her own good or to get what they want?
Communist China says "unity at all costs". But what are those costs?
Unity at the cost of peace and young lives.
Sacrificing the happiness of the people to pursue happiness of the people?
That sounds so twisted, literally.
Is it for the happiness of the people, or the selfish desires of those in power?
I hope we can all be rational.
Don’t be fooled and eventually become cannon fodders.
Unification is just a means to an end, not the end itself.
Also, it is merely a means that some people believe in.
So logically speaking,
as long as the end goal, happiness of the people, can be achieved,
it doesn’t matter whether there is unity or division. Unity is not the only way.
Theoretically,
if every province in China were to be an independent country,
and everyone in China were to be happier that way,
then why not?
This idea might blow some people's small mind wide open.
But I'm just talking about theory here. It's just an assumption.
The theory is logically justifiable.
National unity or division
is like our concept of marriage on a personal level.
Marriage is not the goal, but a means to an end.
What do you get married for? Happiness, of course.
If you are not happy after getting married,
why not get a divorce?
If a couple don’t love each other anymore,
but both people can have a chance at happiness again after a divorce,
then why not?
My parents told me,
"Be careful whom you marry.
Marriage is for a lifetime."
I believe that the Chinese have this way of thinking
because they were educated under the ideology of unification in China.
I don’t know how many Chinese people have also heard this statement.
I'm curious. Let's conduct a survey.
If you have also been taught the concept of a lifelong marriage,
please leave a comment below.
Like I said, marriage is not the goal, but happiness is.
Unification is not the goal, but peace is.
To simply define supporters of unity as good people
and supporters of division as bad people
is wrong and radical.
When someone asks me if I support Hong Kong independence,
Taiwan independence, Tibet independence, etc.,
my answer is, "I only stand with the people.
If unity is better for the people, I will support unity.
If independence is better for the people, then I will support independence."
What I want to tell you is this:
I am not promoting unity or independence.
I hope the Chinese people can realize that
unification is a means to an end, not the end itself.
Seeing unification as an ultimate goal that must be achieved at all costs
is very dangerous.
Forcibly bringing together people of different cultural backgrounds and ideologies at the cost of peace and people's lives
will only bring about an increase in a country's size,
as well as hatred and revenge.
That's it for this video.
There will be a part 2 in the future.
If you are curious about part 2,
you can diverge your thinking.
The answer is hidden in the last line of my video essay.
Please help us promote this channel.
This is Klaus.
See you next time.