It's hard to understand the motivation behind China's move in taking its dissatisfaction over President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) decision to ditch the National Unification Council and guidelines to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
It is a puzzling decision for a number of reasons, and not just because Beijing has for years stuck so rigidly to the "anything to do with Taiwan is an internal affair" mantra.
To those familiar with the nuances of the Taiwan-China relationship, this is a massive loss of face for China. Taking its complaint over the trashing of the council to the UN would, if we are to believe the Chinese propaganda, be the equivalent of the US seeking advice from Annan over a decision by Texas to repeal its law that makes stealing cattle a hanging offense.
China has created an international fuss over what it calls an "internal affair," and this despite the fact that the unification council no longer meets and its guidelines are no longer appropriate, as none of the conditions it set out has ever been met by China.
By taking its grievances to the UN, China has effectively announced that it carries absolutely no weight in Taiwanese affairs. This is something that everyone in Taiwan knows, but something that China spends a massive amount of time and effort asserting to the rest of the world -- barbarically at times, as it showed by delaying international relief and aid operations following the massive earthquake that hit Taiwan in 1999 and obstructing WHO efforts during the SARS epidemic in 2003, under the pretence that Beijing was "in charge" of organizing relief efforts.
China's guarded reaction this time around has everything to do with protecting its carefully constructed image as a responsible member of the global community. Why, it's only 10 years since China tossed missiles into the sea off Taiwan's coast when protesting then president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) trip to speak at his alma mater in New York.
Surely scrapping something that upholds the delusion of eventual unification is more serious than a speech. Why hasn't China taken the opportunity to test some more of its 700 or so missiles this time around?
The answer lies in the necessity to protect its image. The importance China has placed on its successful hosting of the 2008 Olympics supersedes any other considerations right now, as the potential fallout from any strife in the Taiwan Strait could jeopardize the hosting of the games.
Were it to escalate the tension at the moment with a stray missile or two, then all the effort it has put into constructing a veneer of respectability since the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre would have been wasted. Plus it would have demolished and rebuilt half of Beijing and illegally relocated around 400,000 residents for nothing.
Not to mention the economic repercussions China would potentially suffer if it were to do anything rash.
Of course, another explanation for running to the UN could be that Beijing is trying to sow more internal discord in Taiwan, if that is at all possible. Portraying the president as an international troublemaker allows the Chinese Communist Party's Taiwanese affiliates, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party, to tarnish Chen's reputation among people in Taiwan, poison his legacy and also damage the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) chances in the next presidential election.
What Beijing doesn't understand is that Taiwan's voters are already sufficiently polarized: They don't need help to aid them when choosing blue or green.
Whatever the real reasons behind this odd move, you can bet your bottom dollar that the offer for Taiwan to host the Olympic flame before 2008 will now quietly be rescinded.
Richard Hazeldine is a writer based in Taipei.
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