Contrary to what President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would have us believe, Taiwan’s breakthroughs and successes at home and abroad are not always contingent on Beijing’s “goodwill.”
An example of this is the ongoing World Police and Fire Games in Vancouver — where the Taiwanese team is participating under the name “Taiwan” rather than “Chinese Taipei,” the usual formulation at international events — which were first held in 1985. At the opening ceremony on Friday, the Republic of China flag was on full display and drew loud cheers from the audience.
The National Police Agency said that its persistent requests and those of Taiwan’s representative office in Vancouver, as well as the goodwill of the host country — Canada — helped to achieve the use of the name “Taiwan” at the Games. This shows that when the conditions are right, Taiwan can make its presence abroad felt and can do so with dignity.
The event Web site says that to be eligible to compete at the Games, participants must be law enforcement or firefighting personnel employed by “any duly organized governmental sub-division, such as municipal, provincial/state, national, etc.” On Monday, the National Police Agency said in a press release that Taiwan’s 49-member team was organized by the National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency, which means Taiwan’s eligibility had been assessed on a national basis.
Some factors that made this possible include the fact that the Games are being held in Canada, a liberal democracy that, under the administration of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has shown an occasional willingness to upset Beijing. The large and influential Taiwanese community in British Columbia probably played a role as well.
This contrasts with venues where Beijing has more political clout, such as the World Games in Kaohsiung last month and the Asian Martial Arts Games that opened in Bangkok on Saturday. Given that China is Thailand’s second-largest trade partner (bilateral trade was estimated at US$41 billion in 2007) and given its membership in ASEAN, which by next year is expected to become China’s third-largest trade partner (trade between China and ASEAN countries was US$231 billion last year), it is obvious that even if the organizers of the Martial Arts Games wanted to show goodwill to the Taiwanese team, their hands would be tied by Beijing.
Bilateral trade between Canada and China last year, meanwhile, was estimated at US$34.52 billion, less than that between Thailand and China and lagging far behind the US$560 billion US-Canada bilateral figure for 2007. As such, Beijing’s ability to influence Canada on its own turf is far less than that in Thailand.
This situation should be noted by Taiwanese who endeavor to increase the nation’s image abroad, as it could serve as an indicator for fights that are winnable and those that should be avoided. In areas where Chinese political and economic influence is minimal, and where the Taiwanese community has little influence, efforts to secure Taiwanese dignity by having teams participate as “Taiwan” should be avoided. When the conditions are ripe, however — and Vancouver is a perfect example — Taiwanese and their supporters should go all out to ensure that the nation’s colors are displayed proudly.
Judging by the warm welcome the team received on Friday, there are a lot of people out there rooting for a dignified Taiwan.
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan. Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all
Taiwan ranks second globally in terms of share of population with a higher-education degree, with about 60 percent of Taiwanese holding a post-secondary or graduate degree, a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed. The findings are consistent with Ministry of the Interior data, which showed that as of the end of last year, 10.602 million Taiwanese had completed post-secondary education or higher. Among them, the number of women with graduate degrees was 786,000, an increase of 48.1 percent over the past decade and a faster rate of growth than among men. A highly educated population brings clear advantages.
RSS