China's bullying tactics won't work

After the release of China's white paper threatening Taiwan, Beijing's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhu Bangzao (朱邦造) revealed that not long ago the US and China engaged in security talks during which the US indicated that the theater missile defense system (TMD) was intended to deal with "rogue states." China alleges that the US was making-up excuses and that the development of the system will only hinder the security and peace of the region.

Actually China is the one making excuses. The development of TMD will balance power in the region, which will only foster peace and security of the region.

The US' choice of words -- "rogue state" -- has made China look bad. Since everyone has been speculating about whether the US will include Taiwan in the TMD, obviously China is one of the "rogue states" referred to by the US. However, since the US did not explicitly state that China was a "rogue state," why is Beijing stamping her feet so hard over the TMD? By doing so, China has essentially publicly stated that "I am the rogue state."

Of course, China never would have agreed to the US' inclusion of Taiwan in the TMD under any circumstances, so it had to come up with such a convoluted story. In any event, China is indeed a "rogue state" in the eyes of the rest of the world. Only a rogue would release such a white paper.

China obviously intended to use the white paper to meddle in Taiwan's presidential election -- to coerce the candidates and voters to confine Taiwan's China policy within the framework set up by Beijing.

On the one hand, China talks about unification and on the other, she demands Taiwan acknowledge that it is a province under Chinese rule, totally disregarding the reality that China and Taiwan are under separate rule.

China is pressuring Taiwan because it considers itself a superpower, especially in terms population and territory. In terms of military and economic influence, it enjoys the upper hand as well. China continues to flex these muscles in a bid to drive Taiwan to the negotiating table. China exploits the US' greatest vulnerability -- the fear of war casualties -- by issuing nuclear threats against the US in an attempt to force Washington to relinquish its responsibility toward Taiwan. President Bill Clinton, by being such a pushover, has only made China more bossy than ever. Walking all over the weak is a sure sign of a rogue.

What took China by surprise, however, was that, despite Clinton's attempt to persuade the Congress to grant a permanent normal trade relationship status to China, the White House, the Congress and the Department of State reacted strongly to the white paper. Clinton even said that the US continues to reject the use of force to resolve of the Taiwan issue, and that the problems between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait must be peacefully resolved with the consent of the Taiwan people.

Public opinion in the US uniformly condemned China. Of course, the lawmakers and public sharply criticized the failure of the Clinton administration's China policy.

After her threats failed to work, China showed its timid side, a side reserved only for those more powerful than itself. On the surface, China has continued to criticize the US, but it has begun to look for a way out of the frying pan. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US immediately explained that the white paper was not an ultimatum, despite its explicit statement that if Taiwan indefinitely refuses negotiations for unification, China will use force.