The government’s undertaking to block World Uyghur Congress president Rebiya Kadeer from entering the country — if, as promised, she applies for a visa — should hardly come as a surprise. What is notable about Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah’s (江宜樺) declaration in the legislature yesterday is the speed with which the government has drawn its line in the sand: It will not be portrayed as provoking Beijing, and certainly not a week out from China’s National Day.
The government is well within its legal rights to deny Kadeer entry, however obsequious its motivation. Regardless of the merits of the applicant, few governments would deny other governments’ fundamental right to call the shots at ports of call. For his part, Jiang may cite the national interest and the public interest until he is blue in the face, but he can be comfortable in the knowledge that this is unnecessary; in most democratic states the distinction between these interests and the interests of the government of the day is blurred.
The recent granting of a visa to the Dalai Lama, a similarly controversial figure for Beijing, was likely forced by a combination of the Dalai Lama’s stated wish to comfort victims of Typhoon Morakot and the government’s embarrassment over its appalling response to the storm, as well as the general respect with which the Dalai Lama is held in this theologically eclectic society.
Kadeer, a Muslim but not a religious figure, can claim no such sympathy or camaraderie among Taiwanese, despite the worthiness of her cause. The government’s refusal to allow her into the country will thus suffer little backlash — even among grassroots supporters of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), many of whom have much more pressing issues with which to concern themselves.
Turning its back on Kadeer, however, places the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in an interesting, and possibly theoretically vexing, position. The challenge for the DPP is to make hay out of this issue in a way that does not bore the public or distract it from the core of the problem.
This is the problem: When Jiang unctuously associated Kadeer with terrorist activity in Xinjiang, he effectively invited sober observers to ask what policy the KMT has on Chinese affairs other than reaping the immediate benefits of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA).
We have observed previously that the KMT’s ideology has hollowed out so dramatically that even its chairman and top party official on “mainland” affairs have demonstrated that they have absolutely no idea — or interest in — what is going on in China in terms of political dissidence and instability, let alone intellectual and ideological debate.
The KMT, once a party with a grand vision, if poorly realized, is now a party with no vision other than denying Taiwan self-determination.
But the government’s speed in dumping Kadeer and the cause of mistreated Uighurs in general in the too-hard basket drags out a paradox that DPP thinkers must exploit: By refusing to engage crucial issues and closing its eyes to the mounting difficulties facing China — whether or not minorities are involved — the KMT buys into the Chinese Communist Party’s bankrupt approach to governance, thus rendering itself irrelevant to the solving of China’s problems and its complex process of transformation.
A few weeks ago in Kaohsiung, tech mogul turned political pundit Robert Tsao (曹興誠) joined Western Washington University professor Chen Shih-fen (陳時奮) for a public forum in support of Taiwan’s recall campaign. Kaohsiung, already the most Taiwanese independence-minded city in Taiwan, was not in need of a recall. So Chen took a different approach: He made the case that unification with China would be too expensive to work. The argument was unusual. Most of the time, we hear that Taiwan should remain free out of respect for democracy and self-determination, but cost? That is not part of the usual script, and
Behind the gloating, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must be letting out a big sigh of relief. Its powerful party machine saved the day, but it took that much effort just to survive a challenge mounted by a humble group of active citizens, and in areas where the KMT is historically strong. On the other hand, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must now realize how toxic a brand it has become to many voters. The campaigners’ amateurism is what made them feel valid and authentic, but when the DPP belatedly inserted itself into the campaign, it did more harm than good. The
For nearly eight decades, Taiwan has provided a home for, and shielded and nurtured, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). After losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the KMT fled to Taiwan, bringing with it hundreds of thousands of soldiers, along with people who would go on to become public servants and educators. The party settled and prospered in Taiwan, and it developed and governed the nation. Taiwan gave the party a second chance. It was Taiwanese who rebuilt order from the ruins of war, through their own sweat and tears. It was Taiwanese who joined forces with democratic activists
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) held a news conference to celebrate his party’s success in surviving Saturday’s mass recall vote, shortly after the final results were confirmed. While the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would have much preferred a different result, it was not a defeat for the DPP in the same sense that it was a victory for the KMT: Only KMT legislators were facing recalls. That alone should have given Chu cause to reflect, acknowledge any fault, or perhaps even consider apologizing to his party and the nation. However, based on his speech, Chu showed
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