The Chinese Communists have always been famous for their propaganda skills. When the PRC was established only 22 countries recognized it. Today, it has diplomatic ties with more than 160 nations, thanks largely to Bei-jing's propaganda. But when it comes to Taiwan, China's progressively more belligerent tactics -- missile threats, the White Paper and so on, leave us wondering where exactly the much-vaunted Communist acumen lies.
I made this point quite frankly during a conference on cross-strait issues held in Xiamen on May 9. I even added that China should feel embarrassed about this state of affairs.
To be honest, cross-strait relations have suffered some historic twists and turns -- from a "liberation by force" and "bloodbath in Taiwan" to "one country, two systems" and "peaceful unification." These are the products of Zhou Enlai's
Apart from toeing the pair's line, the Chinese authorities should also think whether Zhou and Deng -- if they were alive -- would have taken a smarter approach toward today's situation. Today's Chinese leaders and officials who deal with Taiwan should try to gain a better understanding in this regard, so that a true cohesion with the spirit of Zhou and Deng may be possible.
Many things remain to be done to fill in the gaps and promote mutual understanding between the two sides. The hasty use of military force at this stage is totally senseless. Anyone who makes this move will certainly regret it. The Chinese oppose Taiwan's independence but are ignorant of how to prevent it. The Taiwanese cannot see how unification will benefit them; there is no way they can cultivate a fondness and trust for China. On the contrary, China's tactics have only served to alienate the Taiwanese and China should take responsibility for this.
Former legislator Ju Kao-cheng
I urged the Chinese side to take note of the speeches given by five legislators from the People First Party, who I thought would find it easier to communicate with Chinese. However, the five expressed many left-wing views. This speaks volumes about the majority of public opinion in Taiwan, which these legislators cannot afford to go against. China should not jump to the simplistic interpretation that they were just trying to curry favor with their voters.
However, rhetoric from the Chinese side seemed to indicate that there is no room for compromise when it comes to the "one China." Even Wang Daohan's chief advisor, Zhang Nianchi
In response to my statements, ARATS deputy chief Li Yafei
When I told Tang Shubei (唐樹備) in private that his speech had been too harsh, he reminded me of a phrase in his speech, which basically means: "(We) welcome any statement that comes close to `one China.'" I went back and read the handout of his speech. The original sentence read: "We welcome any effort made toward clearly accepting the `one China principle.'" Does that mean that the hard-line rhetoric also contains a tiny bit of space? But the next sentence read, "We resolutely oppose any speech or action which goes against the `one China' principle."
The air was rather heavy in Xiamen. I was not sure whether that tiny bit of "space" in all the hard-line rhetoric would serve as a breather for Taiwan.
Chou Tien-jui is a former chairman of the board at Power News.
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