Recent media reports have speculated that President Chen Shui-bian (
The KMT was the first one to weigh in on the issue, saying that allowing Taiwanese businesses in China to be listed here was already part of the party's economic and trade policies and the platform of the KMT-PFP alliance. The KMT ridiculed the DPP's ambivalence about cross-strait economic and trade policy and compared it to what KMT said was its early formulation of policy guidelines that will provide direct fundraising channels for Taiwanese businesses in China, including stock market listings and Taiwan depository receipts.
The KMT is once again living up to its name: the Kuomingtang of China. "China" was taken out of its English name in order to show that the party has been localized, but the KMT still blows bubbles for China. Ever since losing power, the KMT has ganged up with the pro-unification propaganda machine and hyped China's markets relentlessly, as if China is a panacea for all of Taiwan's woes. This has been done to achieve its goal of using business to pressure the government and using China to pressure Taiwan.
As for the nation's diplomatic predicament, the KMT advocates acceptance of Beijing's "one China" principle -- as if China will give up its attempts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically once Taipei accepts the principle, as if Taiwanese would be able to sleep easily from then on and other countries would spontaneously establish diplomatic relations with Taipei. The KMT advocates marching west into China, including direct links. Now they want Taiwanese businesses based in China to get listed in Taiwan. They are not only encouraging capitalists to move money to China, but also want to allow them to scrape away the money of small-time pop-and-mom investors and take it to China.
Once the KMT wanted to re-conquer China. Now it wants to use Taiwan's power to make China strong. Of course, the party leaders will not admit it, so they hype up China's political and economic power.
The pro-unification forces represented by the KMT have always attacked the DPP for its suspicions about China, saying they are driven by ideology. But the pro-unification camp's superstitious obsession with China's power is so far above ideology that it has become a fanatical religion.
Even under the transparent political and economic environments of Taiwan and Western countries, the financial structures of listed companies are not easy to monitor. Major shareholders of listed companies frequently hype information and exploit investors. Given China's opaque environment, the situation is much worse. Taiwan's authorities cannot reach the Taiwanese businesses operating in China. Beijing will not allow Taipei to monitor them. Under these circumstances, the lack of transparency in China will only encourage unscrupulous businesspeople and pro-unification forces to join hands to manipulate the market.
If even the DPP thinks the China fever is a vote winner, then why should the electorate cast their votes for a party that changes its position for the sake of elections instead of voting for the KMT, which has never lost its love for China.
The government should not get caught up in the myth of China's great market and economic opportunities. It should have confidence in the rational forces of its people. After all, not everyone in Taiwan is a businessperson and not everyone believes in China's power. The government must stand firm and show confidence in formulating policies for Taiwan's political and economic lifelines.
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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