Taiwan opened its doors to China to let in direct charter flights, in exchange for Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) vice chairman and deputy director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Sun Yafu (
Traveling as private representatives of ARATS chairman Wang Daohan (
Although this tone of voice clearly is yet another expression of the hostile attitude that there should be no contact with Taiwan, the two did in fact meet with high-level officials from the council for secret talks. After returning to Shanghai, Sun said that ARATS and the council in the future "will continue their good exchanges, contacts, negotiations and talks."
When Wang Zaixi gave a video interview to People's Daily Online, he said that "the year of the monkey leaves a mood of audacity behind, and the year of the rooster calls for a new dawn," which would seem to imply an optimistic view of the future for cross-strait relations.
The outcome is clearly different from their approach prior to the event. I don't think that this is because the council capitulated to ARATS during the "secret talks." Rather, China's typical trick of signalling a left turn before turning right created misunderstandings and unexpected results.
At the same time, this is a negotiating trick: First you pressure the opponent by taking an unreasonable approach, and then almost walking away before making a small concession as a show of "good will." That's intended to make the opponent feel grateful, so that the whole deal can be concluded in a win-win manner.
As expected, this statement has been played up as meaning that the year of the rooster will bring a new dawn and that spring is here. The stock market rose as well.
In fact, if we look back at the relationship between ARATS and the council, China took the initiative in ending contact with the council, because the council insisted on the principle of not selling out Taiwan's interests, and this irritated China. The one who tied the bell around the tiger's neck should also be the one who undoes it. But Taiwan had to remove the council's vice chairman Hsu Hui-yu (
China has, of course, paid a price for putting an end to contacts in the form of a growing Taiwanese consciousness and the further distancing of Taiwan from China. This means that although contacts have resumed, we will still have to wait and see what that will bring.
The key to cross-strait relations still lies with China.
First, China's military threat has not decreased, while there is no sign for the suspension of the "anti-secession law."
Second, in terms of the diplomatic aspect, China has continued to lure away Taiwan's diplomatic allies. Recently, Taiwan lost another ally as Grenada officially established diplomatic ties with Beijing. Moreover, after Chinese President Hu Jintao (
China always attempts to divide the pan-blue and pan-green camps through the unification-independence issue. But it is also trying to create divisions within the pan-green camp itself. For example, during a recent meeting held to mark the 10th anniversary of former president Jiang Zemin's (
Before China abandons the possibility of attacking Taiwan by force and ceases its oppression of Taiwan's diplomatic space, we should not easily believe its goodwill.
In particular, Taiwan should prepare an "anti-annexation law." If China's National People's Congress passes the anti-secession law, Taiwan should immediately pass the anti-annexation law in response. The international community will have a sympathetic attitude towards us. We can even launch a referendum on this if necessary. Once we lose this chance, it will be too late.
Paul Lin is a political commentator based in New York.
Translated by Eddy Chang and Perry Svensson
Singaporean former Prime Minister and current senior minister Lee Hsien- Loong(李顯龍) last month stood on Chinese soil and told Beijing that Singapore cooperates because of “shared interests”, not because of common “ethnic descent,” a significant statement that has upended China’s cognitive warfare tactics of “ethnic nationalism.” Along with using its military buildup and economic growth to expand its international dominance, China has long deployed ethnic politics to promote the idea that all ethnic Chinese around the world, regardless of citizenship, share a tight bond with the Chinese motherland, by which it means the regime of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
A recent report concerning a student who is suing his teacher posed the question in its headline: Does failing a student in two subjects constitute bullying? The college student in Chiayi County apparently sought NT$2 million (US$63,603) in state compensation, but a court dismissed the case. The first reaction of many might have been to ask: What has happened to students nowadays? Some say that teachers have lost their authority, while others say students are overindulged. Some even start reminiscing over the days when “whatever the teacher says goes.” However, the real issue might be overlooked if emotional reactions like that are the
When I visited Taiwan last summer, I called on the nation to use its status as a technology superpower to build superweapons. It is obvious to me as I return a year later that Taiwan is now answering that call. By 2030, Taiwan envisions a domestic drone hub, capable of producing large quantities of drones per year. The nation continues to tighten cooperation across the private sector, scientific researchers and the elected government, on creating new and innovative production avenues for defense, while efforts to become central to the “democratic supply chain” are only increasing. Anduril is seeing all of these positive
On Thursday last week, the Philippines and Japan issued a joint statement on their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, reaffirming the need to further promote peace, stability and mutual trust through maritime cooperation grounded in respect for international law. They also announced the commencement of formal negotiations on the delimitation of their respective exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and continental shelves, to be conducted in accordance with international law — particularly the relevant provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) — and with reference to relevant international judicial precedents, with the aim of enhancing legal certainty in the
RSS