Ma’s team has kept quiet about what Taiwan’s status will be, as well as about what went on during negotiations and whether Taiwan will be subservient to China in the IHR. Ma and his colleagues are attempting to justify this secrecy by reference to “international practice.”
The government should move quickly to dispel doubts about this “practice.” Negotiations held entirely in secret are only justifiable when two countries are talking about how to deal with a common enemy.
The KMT and the CCP are engaged in secret diplomacy and are keeping the process and core content to themselves. Who are they hiding it from? The US? Japan? The EU? Obviously not. The DPP? That would be getting closer.
The truth is that they are hiding it from the Taiwanese public.
Are the KMT and CCP really so wary about ordinary Taiwanese? If not, why would they be so cagey about how Taiwan has received access to the WHA and the IHR? It should be welcome news, so what is there to hide?
Ma and his colleagues hate it when anyone suggests that they might sell out Taiwan.
Dispelling such doubts and weakening the government’s detractors would be a simple task: All they have to do is clarify the following points.
1. Now that Taiwan can take part in the WHA and the IHR, there should be no need for a secret MOU between China and the WHO on helping Taiwan take part. Will the MOU now be disregarded?
2. Is Taiwan’s Department of Health, which is designated to deal with the IHR, listed as being under Chinese authority?
3. Is Taiwan’s status in the WHA that of an NGO? This would injure Taiwan’s sovereign status. Will the government therefore release the list of Taiwan’s participants?
It would not take much effort to clarify these details. In fact, it is the government’s duty to do so.
If, on the other hand, the government refuses to reveal the facts and continues to play games with public opinion, then it should not be surprised if people come to distrust and resent it.
If, as some people suspect, Ma’s team has paid for the right to attend the WHA by downgrading this nation’s sovereign status, then the consequences will be a lot worse than this.
Lin Cho-shui is a former Democratic Progressive Party legislator.
TRANSLATED BY JULIAN CLEGG
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