Sat, May 29, 2004 page8

• Editorial: China can learn from KMT's defeat

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  President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) showed a positive approach to cross-strait relations in his May 20 inaugural speech, but China has not only rejected his goodwill, it has also sought to suppress democracy by various means in the name of acting against pro-independence movements, leading to a decline in democracy in China and Hong Kong and weakening democratic movements abroad.

  China's Taiwan Affairs Office, in its battle against independence and democracy, claimed in a statement on May 17 that "if Taiwan's leaders should move to provoke major incidents of `Taiwanese independence,' the Chinese people will crush their schemes firmly and thoroughly at any cost."

  In response to Chen's speech, Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) said on May 24 that "[Chen] is at the edge of the cliff right now." Although Chen's speech successfully deprived China of any excuse to attack Taiwan, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) recently revealed that China is going to create a "unification law" (統一法), which will serve as the legal basis for using military force against separatist movements. But unification is not something that can be achieved by wishful thinking on China's part. Calling it an "anti-separatist law" (反分裂法) would probably tally better with reality.

  Although it has been nearly seven years since Hong Kong's handover to China, the people of Hong Kong are increasingly displeased at its deteriorating economy, as well as Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's (董建華) lack of achievement. Their discontent has grown into a full-blown democratic movement demanding direct elections. To curb the growing democratic movement in Hong Kong, Beijing has been airing an "anti-independence" message through pro-China media and academics. It has also singled out talkshow hosts, some of whom have been forced to resign in the interest of personal safety, causing the media to adopt a generally low profile.

  Even more oddly, in the run-up to the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, China's Department of National Security accused Taiwan of using overseas dissidents to collect information through family and friends in China, as well as helping to organize a Chinese opposition party abroad. There seem to be some inconsistencies in the timing, location and people involved, however. The directors of Taiwan's intelligence and cross-strait affairs agencies have denied these claims. This is clearly an attempt by Beijing to kill two birds with one stone: to attack overseas organizations of Chinese dissidents and tarnish Taiwan's image.

  China's measures against independence and democracy are familiar to many people in Taiwan. During the period of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule, communists, advocates of Taiwanese independence and people "outside the party" were viewed as a "three-in-one" enemy. The KMT's high-pressure tactics forced many democracy advocates into exile. Although these hateful methods delayed the emergence of democracy in Taiwan, they also strengthened democratic ideology so that it was able to respond more powerfully when its time came.

  The KMT, which seemed set to rule for 10,000 years, has now been pushed out of office through a popular election which placed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in power in its stead.

  China should study the path taken by Taiwan's democracy, which has become immune to tyrannical methods through its experience with the KMT. If China's senior government officials think they can continue to threaten their citizens in China and Hong Kong, they should take a look at what has happened to the KMT, to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe's communist regimes. The democratic spirit expressed in the phrase "the needs of the people are always in my mind," is the best way to deal with the threat of separatism.
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