Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) just signed four agreements with Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) in Taipei, allowing cross-strait direct sea links, daily chartered flights, direct postal service and strengthened food safety.
This is a critical juncture of cross-strait relations, which at times have been so tense that this was considered one of the flash spots in world politics. Although peaceful developments are welcome, neither the government nor the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have contemplated the future of Taiwan comprehensively.
What should Taiwan pursue in the long run? What kind of policies will achieve this? Both the pan-blue and pan-green camp’s China policies are biased.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) asks those who accuse him of betrayal: How have I betrayed Taiwan? He says that direct sea links, expanded charter flights and even a peace agreement are all goals the previous DPP government pursued. Ma also stresses the importance of cross-strait peace and trade to Taiwan’s economic development.
Taiwanese want and expect cross-strait peace and prosperity. What worries some is whether the country’s sovereignty is being compromised in the process of pursuing peace and prosperity. The public desires peace, sovereignty and prosperity — and nothing less. If there is no peace, both sovereignty and prosperity are threatened. Overemphasizing sovereignty, on the other hand, causes tension with China, making prosperity unattainable and possibly eroding Taiwan’s sovereignty. However, sacrificing sovereignty in the pursuit of peace and prosperity is a policy that the public will not permit.
Ma often says that he is doing exactly what the public wants: safeguarding sovereignty while pursuing peace and prosperity. I am sure that is his intention. However, the problem is not his intention but the possible consequences of his policies and conduct.
Ma says that Chinese missiles targeting Taiwan are threats, but that China’s huge market is a prime opportunity so a smart leader should minimize the threat and maximize the opportunity. Smart, indeed. But are the missiles the only threat that China poses? Is sovereignty being safeguarded as long as Ma ensures no war across the Strait? No.
Beijing tasted the flavor of US intervention during the 1996 missile crisis, so it has been actively modernizing and upgrading its military forces to prevent the US from effective intervention. However, military action is not the only means Beijing plans to use to achieve “national unification.” China’s rapid growth has accumulated enormous economic strength and greatly expanded its might in international politics and economics. President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) confidence in China’s strength has afforded him more flexibility in his Taiwan policy. There have been signs that Beijing will seek its “sacred duty of reunifying the motherland” with soft power such as trade.
Taiwanese understood this while Ma talked about cross-strait relations being “area-to-area” relations in an interview with a Mexican newspaper and while Premier Liu Chao-shiuan’s (劉兆玄) Cabinet delayed its demand for a Chinese apology and reparations for the melamine scandal. Better late than never, but the Cabinet’s hesitation and delay caused doubt that the government will stand up for Taiwan’s interests.
“One country, two areas” is stipulated in a constitutional amendment from 1991. However, when Ma called Taiwan an “area,” he was not teaching a course on the Constitution and was not explaining to Taiwanese the constitutional definition of cross-strait relations. Instead, he was talking to foreign media and to the international community at large. The elaboration was read as political — not legal — and international — not domestic.
“Put aside disputes and create a win-win situation” is the best policy for the two sides of the Strait. To put aside disputes over Taiwanese sovereignty, Beijing cannot demand that Taiwan accept “one China” as a prerequisite for the resumption of ARATS-SEF talks, nor for Taipei to continue its pursuit of de jure independence. When Ma talks to the foreign media or delegations, he should say that he will approach cross-strait relations according to the Constitution while pursuing cross-strait peace.
In foreign relations what is said is important; what is not said is equally important. Both strategies should be used to safeguard one’s position and interests. Because the Constitution also stipulates “one China,” Ma’s mentioning the Constitution would have satisfied the requirement of putting aside disputes. He did not need to mention the two-area definition, which jeopardized Taiwan’s stance that the Republic of China (in Taiwan) is a sovereign state.
The pan-green camp’s demand that no contaminated goods be imported from China is a wish shared by the public. But Taiwan cannot just refuse trade with China in its effort to prevent poisoned goods from entering the country. Establishing a mechanism to screen and exclude importation of tainted goods should be a high-priority goal.
Taiwan lost many economic opportunities over the last few years because cross-strait air and sea transportation was not direct. Market opportunities are abundant in China, so expanded links will bring great economic benefits. But the possibility that China may use Taiwan’s dependence on its market as political leverage is real. Taiwan should strive to link itself with the entire world when linking with China, so that global business interests are connected to Taiwan’s interest and serve to protect it.
Taiwan also needs to strengthen its democracy and freedom and use these soft powers to counter the enormous economic power of China.
As the DPP tries to safeguard sovereignty, it should also propose feasible paths toward peace and prosperity. The government pursues peace and prosperity, but it should be more delicate in what to say and what not to say. Taiwanese want peace and prosperity, but desire sovereignty even more.
Cho Hui-wan is an associate professor in the Graduate Institute of International Politics at National Chung Hsing University.
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