Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
There are many variables governing the direction in which cross-strait relations could develop, and political leaders such as President Chen Shui-bian (
While campaigning Chen has often proclaimed that Taiwan and China are two countries, one on each side of the Taiwan Strait, only to return to re-iterating that he will not declare independence while president. He reportedly even asked People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
As a likely candidate for the presidency in 2008, Ma should take Chen's failures to keep his promises as a lesson to speak and act cautiously. He should not let power or the cheers of the people mislead him into making irresponsible statements.
In the final two years of the Chen administration, the people will certainly examine Ma's words and deeds with care. They will evaluate him by the way he handles issues such as the KMT's stolen assets, the retirement of party officials, the Taipei City Government's achievements and his stance on cross-strait affairs, as well as his ability to resist outside pressure on this issue.
Ma still has some troubling ideas. For example, he continues to push for opening Taipei's Songshan Airport to direct cross-strait flights, and has said that he will fully implement direct links within two years of being elected president. He recently said he would not reject allowing people from China to join the KMT.
These ideas have been vociferously attacked by the pan-green camp, which accuses Ma of ignoring national security issues. His statements and comments have been as inconsistent as those emanating from the Presidential Office.
The phrase "You can go retake the mainland, we will remain behind to protect Taiwan" has long had currency for those uninterested in the KMT's designs. It underlines the lack of interest that many Taiwanese feel in becoming involved in China's affairs. Ma, in outlining his cross-strait strategy, should bear this in mind so as not to create more problems by meddling in China's domestic affairs.
Ma should be applauded for his acceptance of the position that negotiations are impossible until China removes its missiles. This is the first step toward a cross-strait policy that upholds Taiwan's dignity. It is a clear and reasonable position. Naturally, the removal of the missiles, in and of itself, will not resolve the cross-strait issue, but it will greatly ameliorate the atmosphere in which negotiations can take place between the two governments. Let's hope this is not just more of Ma's political posturing.
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS