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Criticism of APEC delegates is shallow

After Taiwan was forced to pull out of the APEC leaders' summit, People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) criticized President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), saying he didn't know how to handle China. One can't help but wonder, surveying the cast of heroic figures on Taiwan's political stage, who among them knows how to handle China. Who is qualified to judge what constitutes "expert handling" in this case?

Former premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) has represented Taiwan at APEC meetings in the past and has abundant experience in the trenches. But even he didn't dare to act superior and criticize the government's performance this time. Siew said the government had done everything it should have.

Former minister of economic affairs Wang Chih-kang (王志剛) has also attended many APEC meetings. During a press conference at the Auckland APEC meeting -- when he was carrying out the same job as Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) was in at Shanghai -- he let China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (唐家璇) forcibly seize the microphone while he sat wide-eyed looking on. Wang didn't dare criticize what happened to Lin, having had a taste of such rough treatment himself. Wang said Lin had tried hard and done the best he could, adding that China has never passed up a chance to boycott or pressure Taiwan.

Former chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development Chiang Ping-kun (江丙坤), who has also served as a representative at APEC, also urged people not to criticize Lin too severely because the meeting was held in China and thereby involved more difficulties than usual. Chiang very specifically pointed out that preparation for the meeting had not been ideal, citing as examples the fact that the Taiwanese media weren't told to stay away from political issues, as well as the fact that the president's choice of envoy to the meeting shouldn't have been made known prior to an official announcement.

Soong, however, served up criticism as though he was an expert on the subject -- even thought he hasn't had any experience in foreign affairs for over 20 years. He called Lin a "wimp," complained about "spendthrift diplomacy" (凱子外交) and about how, in these times of crisis, no allies were voicing support for Taiwan. Soong even volunteered some "advice" to Chen, saying that he should have convened a national security meeting after the APEC summit.

During the era of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), then-finance minister Shirley Kuo (郭婉容) protested against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by standing with arms folded during a meeting in Beijing. At least it could be said that she preserved some integrity for Taiwan. But by the second half of Lee's presidency, the strategy for dealing with China had developed to the point at which fighting was the only method.

Without fighting, could Tai-wan still hope to win concessions from the CCP? And wasn't obtaining diplomatic relations with other, smaller countries also the result of fighting? What practical benefit can a small country hope to gain by fighting with a superpower? Given the vast difference in the size between the two countries, if Taiwan doesn't want to fight, then perhaps the only path left is to surrender its land and title to China.

When it comes to "handling" China, don't talk about experts and novices. The situation is always larger than any single person. At least for the moment, no extraordinary talent capable of helping Taiwan cast off the dark clouds of the CCP has appeared. Whether chiding others for being novices or calling themselves experts, politicians have succeeded only in showing their own shallowness.

Chen Ro-jinn is a freelance writer.

Translated by Ethan Harkness and Scudder Smith
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