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Editorial: No country can stand alone

Although the annual APEC meeting is nothing more than a big political festival, Taiwan's efforts to become a full member in this organization, where formality weighs heavier than substance, has time and again been frustrated. Each time, Taiwan's national dignity risks being trampled upon.

At this year's APEC meeting, where anti-terrorism again topped the agenda, Taiwan was once again humiliated. As a result, APEC member economies might be exposed to attacks by international terrorist organizations. These countries, seemingly unaware of what is going on in the world, should indeed heighten their vigilance.

According to Taiwan's representative to this year's summit, Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), neither he nor Taiwan's government officials were permitted to participate in the anti-terrorism meeting. Because only foreign ministers were qualified to participate in the meeting, Taiwan wasn't even given the opportunity to participate. The question is, if anti-terrorism operations should be a concerted action taken by all the world's nations together, then why was Taiwan the only one to be excluded from the meeting?

We must point out that no matter how much China wants to interfere in Taiwan's internal affairs, the fact is that China does not understand, nor does it have the ability to substitute for, Taiwan's handling of the anti-terrorist issue. The reason for this is that the Chinese Communist Party never for a day has ruled Taiwan, and it is therefore as much a stranger to the internal affairs of Taiwan as it is to the internal affairs of Singapore.

Blocking Taiwan's participation in the anti-terrorist meeting therefore creates a huge hole in APEC's anti-terrorist network. This absurd action seems to suggest that China doesn't even care whether international terrorist organizations become active in Taiwan. This kind of anti-terrorism is no more than a children's game.

Suppose that the recent series of terrorist attacks in Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia, and even last year's attack on the US, over and over again prove that a mastermind can direct and plan such activities thousands of miles away without being detected, making it difficult to protect targeted locations. The only remaining recourse is international concerted action, an exchange of relevant information and full mutual support to create a water-tight defense to avoid the repetition of such tragedies. This is an obvious strategy, but APEC still gave into pressure from China and ignored Taiwan, leaving a big hole in the front against terrorism.

Since APEC is an economic organization, there should be less political interference. Each member should have an equal opportunity to participate in various APEC meetings. We must publicly expose such serious discrimination against Taiwan to the world, so that each and every APEC member fully understands that the consequences of ignoring Taiwan may be to seriously damage their common interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

It's certainly hoped that Taiwan won't become an international haven for terrorists. Nevertheless, there's no hiding the fact that other countries could never expect Taiwan to take effective anti-terrorist action on its own, for such action would be ineffective without their assistance. Such expectations are unrealistic, and maybe even a case of wishful thinking. When even strong nations such as the US and Russia cannot win the war against terrorism by themselves, then how would Taiwan be able to do so alone?
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