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EDITORIAL: Stop the erosion before it’s too late

In an interview with the Straits Times earlier this month, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said Taiwan and China would hold political talks in future. He later said his government would not discuss unification with China during his term in office. His apparent inconsistency is baffling not only for Taiwanese, but probably for China.

Unification must be the last topic on the cross-strait talks agenda. This is what Ma meant by his campaign proposal of “eventual unification.” Talks on unification must be preceded by negotiations on a whole range of economic and political issues.

It is the uncertainty over what will be discussed in these preparatory talks that the public finds worrying. After all, when all the preparations are done, discussing unification will be easy, regardless of who the negotiators are. At that point, it could be too late to change course.

Although Taiwan attended the World Health Assembly under the name “Chinese Taipei,” swine flu cases in this country are listed under China on the WHO Web site. The signs are there but Ma’s government fails to understand the danger it is facing.

Ma could finish integrating Taiwan’s economy with China’s while he is president. He may persuade China to stop aiming missiles at Taiwan and to sign a cross-strait peace accord. But as time goes by, the title of “Chinese Taipei” risks becoming the norm when referring to Taiwan. Beijing would regulate Taiwan’s diplomacy and the terms under which it can join international organizations.

Taiwan’s status would shift to from sovereign nation to that of Hong Kong and Macau. Taiwan’s relations with the US and Japan would become distant. Within Taiwan, the notion of “Greater China” would become customary. Taiwanese consciousness would gradually be eroded through changes in textbooks, the media, entertainment and the arts. After this course is firmly set, Ma would be able to retire from the scene, his job done. It will not matter who finally declares Taiwan’s unification with China, because it will be a fait accompli.

If former US president Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger had not first opened the door to China and set up the framework for US-China relations, it would have been hard for former US president Jimmy Carter to extend diplomatic recognition to Beijing. Carter trod the path laid out by his predecessors.

Similarly, no matter whether unification is completed under Ma or later, history will remember Ma as the one who paved the way. The question is, will he be praised or damned for it?

If Taiwan’s unification with China makes China more democratic and diverse, Ma will enjoy the praise and the credit. If Taiwan is absorbed into a China where the Chinese Communist Party retains its monopoly on power and human rights are routinely restricted or trampled then Ma’s name will live in infamy.

Whatever happens, Taiwanese must keep a close watch on Ma and his government and keep them in check. Only then can we be sure that Taiwan will not be served up as a dish of frogs legs for the Beijing leadership.
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