In his latest book, titled Believe in Taiwan -- President A-bian's Report to the People, President Chen Shui-bian (
Describing China's rise as a power in Asia as the realization of the Chinese "Monroe Doctrine," Chen says China has become a hegemonic power in Asia, generating mixed feelings among Asian nations.
The notion of the Chinese "Monroe Doctrine" has resulted in an unbalanced cross-strait relationship in at least four ways:
First, no Chinese leader dares to take the initiative to adjust Beijing's Taiwan policy for fear of being victimized in an internal power struggle. Since Deng Xiaoping (
Nevertheless, the gradual opening of Taiwan's democracy, coupled with a growing national identity in Taiwan, has widened the gap between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The fact is, the "one country, two systems" formula is opposed by over 70 percent of Taiwanese people and does not enjoy international approval either. Conservatism, rigidity and the fear of facing reality have shaped Beijing's inflexible policy toward Taiwan.
Second, the Chinese leadership has never had the courage to recognize the consolidation and deepening of Taiwan's democracy. While Chinese leaders have repeatedly stated that their "hopes lie with the Taiwanese compatriots," the people have countered their expectations with a grand transformation of economic liberalization and political democratization -- all within a span of less than 20 years.
At a time when China has only just entered the embryonic stage of democracy characterized by local elections, people in Taiwan already enjoy the more progressive "popular sovereignty" of national referendums.
Far outpaced by Taiwan's rapid democratic progress, China has no option but to suppress Taiwan's efforts to enhance its democracy.
Third, China always lacks the courage to face the fact that there is one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait.
In addition to threatening Taiwan's international place and rooting out the nation's diplomatic allies, Beijing has on many occasions used its influence to try to prevent Taiwan's accession to the WTO and its attempts to join the World Health Organization.
Such moves not only have pushed the people of Taiwan further away from but also failed to draw Taiwan into the narrow confines of the empty "one China" framework.
The fourth element contributing to an unbalanced cross-strait relationship is the military imbalance across the Taiwan Strait. The situation causes great concern among the Asia-Pacific countries and the US.
These inherent factors that lead to an asymmetrical cross-strait relationship deserves global attention.
To help balancing current cross-strait relations, a "peaceful referendum" can be regarded as the first step to demonstrate 23 million Taiwanese people's steadfast intention to call for a peaceful transformation of its relationship with China.
With a new mandate on such a peaceful resolution on cross-strait disputes, whoever wins the March 20 presidential election in Taiwan will have full legitimacy to deal with Beijing for the sake of protecting Taiwan's interests. Pragmatic policies can be implemented based on parity and mutual benefit.
This is the essence of maintaining the status quo.
Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.
What began on Feb. 28 as a military campaign against Iran quickly became the largest energy-supply disruption in modern times. Unlike the oil crises of the 1970s, which stemmed from producer-led embargoes, US President Donald Trump is the first leader in modern history to trigger a cascading global energy crisis through direct military action. In the process, Trump has also laid bare Taiwan’s strategic and economic fragilities, offering Beijing a real-time tutorial in how to exploit them. Repairing the damage to Persian Gulf oil and gas infrastructure could take years, suggesting that elevated energy prices are likely to persist. But the most
In late January, Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), completed its first submerged dive, reaching a depth of roughly 50m during trials in the waters off Kaohsiung. By March, it had managed a fifth dive, still well short of the deep-water and endurance tests required before the navy could accept the vessel. The original delivery deadline of November last year passed months ago. CSBC Corp, Taiwan, the lead contractor, now targets June and the Ministry of National Defense is levying daily penalties for every day the submarine remains unfinished. The Hai Kun was supposed to be
The Legislative Yuan on Friday held another cross-party caucus negotiation on a special act for bolstering national defense that the Executive Yuan had proposed last year. The party caucuses failed to reach a consensus on several key provisions, so the next session is scheduled for today, where many believe substantial progress would finally be made. The plan for an eight-year NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.59 billion) special defense budget was first proposed by the Cabinet in November last year, but the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers have continuously blocked it from being listed on the agenda for
On Tuesday last week, the Presidential Office announced, less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to depart, that President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned official trip to Eswatini, Taiwan’s sole diplomatic ally in Africa, had been delayed. It said that the three island nations of Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar had, without prior notice, revoked the charter plane’s overflight permits following “intense pressure” from China. Lai, in his capacity as the Republic of China’s (ROC) president, was to attend the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession. King Mswati visited Taiwan to attend Lai’s inauguration in 2024. This is the first
RSS