What does US President George W. Bush's recent Asia trip signify? For Taiwan it was encouraging in the sense that it was held up as an example of a successful functioning democracy that China might one day emulate. To quote Bush, "Modern Taiwan is free and democratic and prosperous. By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society."
But by describing Taiwan as a "Chinese society" it somehow seemed like a restatement of the "one-China" policy, albeit with the US' preference for a democratic China. Washington appears to be sending mixed messages, especially when one considers Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's description of Taiwan in August as a "sovereign nation." Still, a favorable mention of Taiwan as a model democracy on the eve of Bush's China visit was important.
Apart from this largely symbolic gain from Bush's praise of Taiwan's democracy, it was business as usual with China's hard-line attitude toward Taiwan. Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) said that Beijing was "committed to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait." Though he warned that "we will by no means tolerate so-called Taiwan independence." Nothing new there.
While in Tokyo, as part of his whirlwind Asia tour, Bush described his country's security alliance with Japan as a "pillar of stability" and a "source of confidence in Asia's future." Emphasizing their shared commitment to democracy [along with Taiwan, incidentally], Bush said, "Freedom is the bedrock of the US' friendship with Japan and it is the bedrock of our engagement with Asia."
No prizes for guessing that Bush's remarks were mainly directed at China. What he seemed to imply was that without democracy in China, US engagement with it will lack that common ingredient it shares with Japan, Taiwan and other democratic countries in the region. In other words, it will lack wholesomeness.
It is interesting that Bush was quite open about his democracy message for China. He highlighted political and religious repression in China when he said, "The people of China want more freedom to express themselves ? to worship without state control and to print Bibles and other sacred texts without state control." And, while attending a church service in Beijing, he told reporters, "My hope is that the government of China will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly."
Well, Bush's message of political and religious freedom was grossly flouted as China continued to detain or put under house arrest many dissidents eager to exercise their democratic rights, even as Bush was visiting the country. Bush simply had to be satisfied that Hu had at least mentioned human rights.
Hu reportedly said that China was "continuously raising the level of human rights enjoyed by" its people. But, he emphasized that progress in this regard must reflect "China's national conditions" and that the country would have "democratic politics with Chinese characteristics," whatever that means.
The irony is that Bush tended to even put a spin on it. He said, "Those who watch China closely would say that maybe a decade ago, a leader [of China] wouldn't have even uttered these comments." Bush added, "He talked about democracy." Well, they have been talking of people's democracy or democracy with Chinese characteristics ever since the communists took power in China. And when they talk of democracy, it has an Orwellian ring about it.
RSS