Tang Meng Kit
History shows that revolutions rarely start with clarity. When the Second Continental Congress convened in 1774, the American colonies were split – loyalists hoped of compromise with Britain while the patriots demanded for self-rule. The Olive Branch Petition of 1775 was aimed at a final peace offering, but King George III outrightly dismissed it. With diplomacy rebuffed and compromised shut out, the colonies stumbled into war. The violence at Lexington and Concord marked the start of a war that would claim 25,000 American lives.
The events following Lexington are as significant as the battle itself. Faced with the reality of war, the Continental Congress quickly united the colonies by forming the Continental Army in June 1775 and appointing George Washington as its leader. They began reaching out to France for diplomatic and material aid and tightened their boycotts to weaken Britain’s economic grip.
Amid chaos, a strategy of internal unity coupled with external outreach emerged. That mix transformed scattered resistance into collective defiance. This strategy echoes Taiwan’s 2025 challenge, where internal divisions threaten resilience against Beijing’s pressures. The parallel is clear but limited: unlike the colonies’ gradual unification, Taiwan’s compressed timeline demands swifter consensus to counter gray-zone threats.
Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Kuomintang (KMT) mirror the Loyalist–Patriot split, clashing over identity and strategy. The DPP, led by President Lai Ching-te, asserts Taiwan’s non-subordination to China, a view backed by 80% of Taiwanese opposing unification. Yet, disputes over defense budgets expose fractures that weaken Taiwan’s stance.
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