During the KMT's national congress on Sunday, Chairman Lien Chan (
Even if Lien wins next year's election, we are curious about what kind of "equitable interaction" and "win-win cooperation" his proposed visit can bring to the people of Taiwan. Is Beijing likely to interact equitably with Taiwan?
Beijing has long made it clear since the days of Deng Xiaoping (
Remember, Beijing has always been willing to sacrifice Taiwanese lives. After the 921 earthquake, Beijing insisted that international aid and rescue teams could only go to Taiwan with its approval. Chinese authorities have not only tried to hide its cases of what is now called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) from its own people and the outside world, but continues to obstruct World Health Organization personnel from going either to Guangdong Province -- the suspected ground zero of the disease -- or to Taiwan.
In fact, within Beijing's "one China" framework, it is impossible for it to allow the two sides of the Strait to coexist as two equal governments -- because this means there will be two Chinas. Beijing has always opposed the "two Chinas" model and the "one China and one Taiwan" model.
Therefore, Lien's talk of Taiwan and China getting along with each other on an equal basis is just wishful thinking.
Lien said that a "division-of-labor" structure is now gradually forming between the two sides, as local businesses keep their management and headquarters in this country while moving their production and operations to China. He also claimed that the government can create a win-win situation if it upholds its policy of "active opening, effective management." But where do Taiwanese workers fit into this picture? Who can be sure that rising unemployment will ease after Taiwanese industries relocate to China en masse?
Nobody could blame Lien if he were simply stating his personal views about China. He would merely be ridiculed as a modern-day Don Quixote. But he will certainly be suspected of carrying out a "journey of surrender" if he claims to represent the Taiwanese people when visiting China. After all, when a president full of unrealistic ideas visits Beijing and claims to represent mainstream opinion in talks with Chinese, who would not be worried that he would be selling out his own country?
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
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