[ LETTERS ]

MARTIN DE JONGE

Fulong, Taipei County

Conducive pragmatism

It was thrilling to read that Representative to Canada David Lee (李大維) was invited by the Canadian Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade to testify on the latest developments in cross-strait relations (“Envoy testifies on cross-strait ties to Canada committee,” May 29, page 1). Lee’s appearance, alongside Australian High Commissioner Justin Brown and others, was of historic significance, symbolizing the innovative and subtle global trend of “win-win-win” strategy.

In this “flat world” of the 21st century, as Thomas Friedman contended, confrontation should be replaced by multiple partnerships characterized by rational competition and educated creativity for sustainable development in the global context. The pragmatic approach that Canada has adopted is reminiscent of the efforts that it initiated in promoting substantial economic, cultural and educational relations with Taiwan.

When I was director general of the Ministry of Education’s Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations from 1997 to 2003, I saw and assisted in Canada’s efforts to build bridges in the Asia-Pacific region, with special footing in Taiwan, through the framework of promoting cooperation of higher education and cultural schemes. Accelerated exchanges of all types and closer relations for mutual interest have been accomplished.

Pragmatic policy similar to Lee’s address in the Canadian parliamentary committee reminded me of being invited to participate in the “Education Commission of the States” in Denver, Colorado, in 1995 alongside representatives from Canada and Singapore. I had productive discussions on international education policy and cross-cultural relations with former US secretary of education Richard Riley and several US governors.

The Taipei Times story also implied that Canada and the US have long realized what Lee pinpointed: “Over the past two decades, Taiwan and China have developed close economic, cultural and educational ties as a result of the comparative advantages that each side has in the global supply chain.

This echoes a Washington Post editorial from 15 years ago, “Taiwan Reconsidered” (Sept. 13, 1994), which asserted: “But relations between the two Chinas are changing fast. Far from the bristling hostility of past decades, there are now strong and growing commercial ties between the two, with heavy Taiwanese investment in a mainland economy that is far from communist.”

What the Washington Post proposed 15 years ago has already become a stark reality today.

The pragmatic policies that Canada and the US have adopted in fostering diverse and substantial relations with Taiwan are conducive to constructing a harmonious society and will eventually serve the best interest of everyone in the international community.

LI CHEN-CHING

Taipei