Since President Chen Shui-bian's (陳
When Taiwan started preparing for the "small three links," China showed no sign of enthusiasm. As the PRC leaders regarded it as simply a show, Beijing even reacted with a "three no's policy" -- "no attention, no response and no rejection" (不
Since Chen Shui-bian took office, Beijing has reiterated that it will "listen to what he says and observe what he does" (觀
When the time for the direct shipping drew near, Taipei did not simply blurt out empty words, but worked hard to get ready for the launch. By contrast, not until late December last year did Beijing's Taiwan affairs office send an urgent notice nationwide ordering the local governments to set up special task forces to warmly greet the forthcoming Taiwanese visitors, while continuing to pressure Taiwan for an acceptance of the "one China principle." The local governments are to give Taiwanese "a heartwarming welcome" only when Beijing orders them to do so. This sort of "heartwarming greeting" is what we call phony and fake. The Taiwanese people must understand this. They have no reason whatsoever to feel deeply touched by this kind of "enthusiasm."
The small three links were launched on Jan. 2. But Beijing did not give any formal response until Jan. 4. Though the spokesman for Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that Beijing would provide the needed help and convenience, he nevertheless attempted to worsen the unsettling atmosphere pervading the Taiwan Strait. He harshly criticized the Taiwanese government for failing to pander to the people's wishes, and that Taiwan lacked "sincerity and goodwill" on the issue of the small three links.
As everyone knows, there has been no direct shipping across the Taiwan Strait for 52 years. Due to Beijng's threats of a military resolution, Taipei will certainly need to handle security problems created by the direct links unless Beijing denounces the use of force. Also, as relations between the two sides of the Strait are in reality between two sovereign states, many technical problems related to direct sailing remain to be resolved. The small three links is an experiment. If Beijing does not even want to acknowledge the positive implications that the small three links carries, one cannot help but doubt whether the PRC has a secret agenda in rushing the implementation of the "big three links."
Looking at the control and restrictions that Beijing has imposed upon the media, one comes to realize China's enmity towards Taiwan. The small three links is another inspiring breakthrough in cross-strait relations in half a century. But Beijing has put media reports on this event under strict control. Not only did Beijing try to hinder interviews by Taiwan, Hong Kong and other foreign media, but it also prohibited the media of China from reporting the "small three links." Beijing's excuse for the prohibition is that it has to prevent a media "hype." Then why did Beijing allow its own media to "hype up" military threats toward Taiwan in the past, and yet tried to prevent a hype about the "small three links," which would help improve the cross-strait relations?
The media in China did not report on the preparations for the small three links at all. After the opening of the "small three links," Beijing's media uniformly gave inconspicuous coverage of the event. What's more, it puts Chinese readers in the dark by never using the term "small three links." China does not really expect to see reconciliation or peace across the Strait. Instead, it would like to create tensions and, through them, to sow discord within Taiwan. Moreover, China wants to incite nationalist sentiments within the country to deflect public dissatisfaction about bribery, corruption, heavy taxation and unemployment. If the media groups in China reported on Taipei's goodwill in launching the small three links, would Beijing still be able to incite the masses to harbor enmity towards Taiwan?
If the negotiations break down, the one-sided propaganda that Beijing feeds its own public will produce serious consequences.
Paul Lin is a political commentator based in New York.
Translated by Gatian Wang
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