China’s war of diplomacy has never stopped, despite President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) claims that his modus vivendi policy has put on hold a contest to woo each other’s allies. If anything, all the modus vivendi did was to take the game to a new level, where instead of trying to steal each other’s allies, they have focused their efforts on consolidating their gains over the past decade.
The new phase of China’s strategy to consolidate its diplomatic influence worldwide can readily be seen in South Africa’s refusal to grant Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the 80th birthday of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Although the African National Congress (ANC)-led South African government would likely deny Chinese involvement in the bureaucratic red tape that blocked the Dalai Lama’s visa process — which Tutu’s office began applying for in June — the evidence points to Beijing.
As Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and a former South African member of parliament, has said: “Everybody thinks this is because of pressure from China.”
“It’s very sad another country is allowed to dictate terms to our government. It’s going back to apartheid times. I am ashamed of my own country,” she added.
Gandhi was planning to present a peace prize in the name of her grandfather to the 76-year-old Tibetan leader.
China uses this same sort of under-the-table influence worldwide to keep the lid on Taiwanese independence.
If Taiwanese sports teams attend an event in a country allied with China, they are referred to as coming from “Taiwan, China,” or called “Chinese Taipei,” a designation that the Ma government accepts, but which does absolutely nothing to assert the country’s sovereignty or status. If Taiwanese movie directors go to a European film festival, they are also referred to as Chinese, even though their films might have absolutely nothing to do with the nation’s massive neighbor across the Taiwan Strait.
In a similar way, those who advocate Taiwanese independence might have their visas denied if they are trying to visit a country with which Beijing has close ties. Just ask former presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) or Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Chen had to fly loops around the world after the US refused to allow his plane to land. He eventually refueled in Libya.
The modus vivendi has done nothing but give Beijing the time and room it needs to consolidate its gains and squeeze Taiwan some more. In the meantime, many of Taiwan’s so-called allies are lining up for the chance to establish relations with China. However, before they do, they should view Tutu’s ill-fated invitation to the Dalai Lama as an example of what they can expect once they fall into China’s orbit.
China puts pressure on countries around the world to treat its enemies as their enemies. Simply inviting one of Beijing’s enemies to a party is enough to “hurt the feelings” of China’s 1.3 billion people, as the Chinese Communist Party would have its would-be allies believe.
Thankfully for the world, there are still fighters like Tutu, who don’t take China’s pressure on their country lying down.
A livid Tutu blasted the ANC after the government rejected the Dalai Lama’s visit.
“Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you would expect it with the apartheid government,” Tutu said. “Our government — representing me — says it will not support Tibetans being viciously oppressed by China. You, [South African] President [Jacob] Zuma and your government, do not represent me. I am warning you, as I warned the [pro-apartheid] nationalists, one day we will pray for the defeat of the ANC government.”
If only Taiwan could have someone to stand up to the Ma government and its overlord, China, the way Tutu stood up for the Dalai Lama.
A gap appears to be emerging between Washington’s foreign policy elites and the broader American public on how the United States should respond to China’s rise. From my vantage working at a think tank in Washington, DC, and through regular travel around the United States, I increasingly experience two distinct discussions. This divergence — between America’s elite hawkishness and public caution — may become one of the least appreciated and most consequential external factors influencing Taiwan’s security environment in the years ahead. Within the American policy community, the dominant view of China has grown unmistakably tough. Many members of Congress, as
After declaring Iran’s military “gone,” US President Donald Trump appealed to the UK, France, Japan and South Korea — as well as China, Iran’s strategic partner — to send minesweepers and naval forces to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. When allies balked, the request turned into a warning: NATO would face “a very bad” future if it refused. The prevailing wisdom is that Trump faces a credibility problem: having spent years insulting allies, he finds they would not rally when he needs them. That is true, but superficial, as though a structural collapse could be caused by wounded feelings. Something
Former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) founding chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Thursday, making headlines across major media. However, another case linked to the TPP — the indictment of Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) for alleged violations of the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) on Tuesday — has also stirred up heated discussions. Born in Shanghai, Xu became a resident of Taiwan through marriage in 1993. Currently the director of the Taiwan New Immigrant Development Association, she was elected to serve as legislator-at-large for the TPP in 2023, but was later charged with involvement
Out of 64 participating universities in this year’s Stars Program — through which schools directly recommend their top students to universities for admission — only 19 filled their admissions quotas. There were 922 vacancies, down more than 200 from last year; top universities had 37 unfilled places, 40 fewer than last year. The original purpose of the Stars Program was to expand admissions to a wider range of students. However, certain departments at elite universities that failed to meet their admissions quotas are not improving. Vacancies at top universities are linked to students’ program preferences on their applications, but inappropriate admission
RSS