Tue, Mar 28, 2006 page8

• Editorial: Ma Ying-jeou's wishful thinking

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  During his tour of the US, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) finally elaborated to an extent on his future policies as leader of the KMT. It is now time for US government officials in charge of East Asian affairs and the Taiwanese public to make an objective assessment of what Ma said and to see if it stands up to scrutiny. It is also important to look at what he actually said.

  Ma made some correct statements. He voiced his indignation at Beijing, saying that if China continued to oppress Taiwan, it would not only be independence activists who opposed Beijing, but that he would do so too.

  He insisted that the "Republic of China" (ROC) is an independent and sovereign state, and that a resolution of cross-strait differences should be sought through dialogue. He sees Taiwan-US relations as even more important than cross-strait relations, and opposes the UN's drive to promote the use of simplified Chinese characters. Ma's arguments, along with his oratorical skills, may make him a much worthier leader of the opposition.

  The problem is that Ma's vision of the development of cross-strait relations is distorted by wishful thinking. For example, he still markets the "1992 consensus," which never existed, for China has never departed from its position that there is only one China in the world, that Taiwan is part of China and that the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the only legitimate government of China. Ma must surely be aware that Beijing's idea of a consensus is that Taiwan accepts China's position on the issue, no matter what.

  In addition, the PRC has consistently rejected the concepts of "one China, one Taiwan" and "two Chinas." Beijing has also opposed participation in international events organized by the UN by official Taiwanese representatives using a title that may imply national sovereignty. It is unlikely, therefore, that China is going to accept Ma's standpoint of "one China, with each side having its own interpretation."

  Ma has also said that China will have to accept one of two titles for Taiwan: either the Republic of China or the Republic of Taiwan. That's fine as a joke, but he can't really mean it, for both titles have been rejected by the PRC since 1971, when the UN recognized the PRC. In the absence of an alternative, would Ma himself be willing to accept the title "Republic of Taiwan"? Considering his recent comments made during a trip to the UK that the KMT continues to frown on Taiwanese independence, the answer is clearly no.

  Beijing is not going to make any compromises unless Ma has the guts to announce the KMT would consider Taiwanese independence, effectively using a policy he doesn't agree with as a bargaining chip.

  When Ma talks of "one China," he is referring to the ROC, whose territory includes the PRC, Inner Mongolia and Taiwan. This not only goes against international consensus, but also betrays a stubbornness of which dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) himself would have been proud. By raising this idea during his US trip, Ma showed some political naivete. This probably caused a lot of talk and not a little mirth amongst government officials in the US, and did little to impress those in Beijing.

  It would seem that the new generation of KMT leaders do not have anything new to say, still fantasizing that their David can fell China's Goliath, unaware that they are in constant danger of being flattened.

  Ma's trip to the US should have taught him that he still has much to learn about international politics.
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