Beijing has always blamed Taiwan for the cross-strait stalemate, calling it a "troublemaker." A clear case of the pot calling the kettle black, as a few solid examples will show.
China has been bent on coercing Taiwan to accept the "one China" principle, refusing to deal with Taipei unless it bows to one China. Beijing tries to block everything Taiwan does -- from participation in international organizations to foreign aid programs to disaster relief donations -- unless it wears the one China dunce's hat. Many countries find such behavior repulsive, but most of them are willing to compromise with Beijing for fear of ruffling its feathers. But the US House of Representative's International Relations Committee unanimously passed a resolution yesterday, requiring Secretary of State Colin Powell to"initiate a United States plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan" at the annual summit of the World Health Organization in May. Taiwan could have long been a WHO member if not for China's blocking its entry. Shutting a country out of a non-political organization like the WHO is a flagrant violation of human rights. Exactly who is politicizing issues and making trouble here is very clear.
Taiwan is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. But China has been trying to apply political pressure to block Taiwan's leaders from attending the APEC leaders' summit in Shanghai in October. If the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) can attend the summit, why can't Taiwan's president have the same rights as other heads of state? On its English-language APEC Web site, Beijing calls Taiwan an "island province," proclaiming that "since 1949, the government of the People's Republic of China has claimed jurisdiction over Chinese Taipei." Beijing is using its host status to make statements that violate APEC rules. Who exactly is the troublemaker?
Cross-strait visits by officials from the two sides have become quite common. While visiting China, Taiwan officials have never fussed about seeing China's flag or Mao Zedong's
Hong Kong rolled out the red carpet for Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou
Beijing's contemptible behavior is that of a schoolyard bully, a petty tyrant.
If Beijing has any real self-confidence, it would treat Taiwan on an equal and open basis, and try to win the hearts of the people of Taiwan. Bully tactics, threats and troublemaking only serves to push Taiwan further away from China.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
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