Continuing his second day of a visit to Japan, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
The Nikkakon is a council made up of senior Japanese Diet members across party lines that has acted as a channel between Taiwan and Japan since the severance of official ties in 1972. In an attempt at humor, Ma told the group that he chose to visit Japan now because, if elected next year, he wouldn't be able to visit as the president of Taiwan.
Ma reportedly drew a round of laughter from his dutifully courteous audience, but it is pathetic to see someone who hopes to become Taiwan's leader make light of such a serious issue.
This wasn't the first time Ma has made such a remark. In a visit to India earlier this June, Ma tried the same joke on politicians there.
True, given Taiwan's dire diplomatic problems, the Taiwanese president is unable to make state visits to countries that do not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
But with Ma alluding to this sad state of affairs in a jovial way, how can he convince Taiwanese that voting for him means bringing Taiwan a better future? How can he be a leader that fosters national pride?
Ma cannot ask Taiwanese to place confidence in him -- domestically or internationally -- if he can so casually downplay the country's current diplomatic state.
It was Chiang Kai-shek (
If the KMT's word could be trusted, Taiwan would have long ago gained greater international space following the so-called five-point "vision for cross-strait peace" agreement reached between former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
As for signing a peace treaty with China, Ma would be well advised to look at China's diplomatic record before he buries Taiwan's future in his own wishful thinking. The record shows that China is not good at keeping promises.
Based on this evidence, Ma will need to sharpen his rhetoric before he can convince Taiwanese that he would be a better statesman than his Democratic Progressive Party counterpart.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath