Terror, it seems, is everywhere. Ever since the US launched its war on terror, governments and non-governments around the world have been pitching in with their own tales of woe at the hands of "terrorists" to justify crackdowns, assassinations and draconian security laws.
The Uighurs in China, the Kurds in Turkey, the Palestinians, the Israelis, even the US have been branded as terrorists. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week used words to legitimize his war in Chechnya almost identical to those used by US President George W. Bush at the start of his anti-terror campaign.
Taiwan's government had resisted the urge to find its own terrorist threat about which to complain.
But on Sept. 8, the temptation proved too much. "Almost everywhere in the world is under the threat of terrorism, including from China's accelerated development of its `unlimited war' capabilities, which are similar to terrorists' methods," President Chen Shui-bian (
On the eve of the first anni-versary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the US, Chen identified a more realistic, yet less clearly terroristic, threat to Tai-wan; the missiles deployed along China's coast. "Those missiles induce more fear in the people of Taiwan than the possibility of terrorist attacks," he said in a Presidential Office speech.
Chen is right to highlight the threat these missiles pose. Not only are they destabilizing to Taiwan, they are also the reason some Taiwanese are reluctant to support the DPP's more radical policies or vote for the party's candidates. It is hard to operate a truly free democracy in the shadow of a huge, bellicose neighbor.
But with so many "terrorists" now apparently threatening to plunge the world into anarchy, who will listen to Taiwan's assertion that the most populous nation in the world is among them? Whereas the threat of terrorism can be used to justify waging war in Chechnya, assassinating Palestinians or forcing "regime change" in Iraq, what can Taiwan possibly hope to achieve by branding the Chinese as terrorists?
The US, as the most powerful nation in the world and leader of the war against terror, is frequently the target audience for cries of victimization at the hands of "terrorists." It has so far been sympathetic to Taiwan's position in the cross-hairs of the People's Liberation Army, with its vague pledge to defend Taiwan providing a counter to China's arsenal of short-range missiles. However, this support can only go so far at a time when the US is concentrating on its war on terror.
Whatever Taiwan says, China is not about to supplant Iraq in the "axis of evil," nor be listed as a rogue state, however much it aids the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Not only is labeling China as a terrorist threat futile, it is also damaging to Taiwan's efforts at gaining international recognition. APEC's refusal to allow a Tai-wanese representative to attend its foreign ministers' meeting on terrorism in Mexico two weeks ago was largely the result of Chinese pressure. But if Taiwan ever wants to be invited to such meetings, it will have to come up with a more sophisticated approach than blithely branding one of the other members as being a terrorist threat.
China's intentions are, in many ways, more menacing than those of terrorists. It is seeking to become the primary power in the region, with the conquest of Taiwan merely the first step. To make its voice heard, Taiwan must raise its argument above the hubbub of terrorism. Only then will it be able to persuade the rest of the world to see China for what it really is.
Anna Tsai is a freelance writer based in Taipei.
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