Although it is unlikely that Taiwan, under the leadership of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), will ever support Tibetan independence, Taipei could give a real boost to the beleaguered forces fighting for Tibetan human rights in China with one simple and long--overdue move — dropping the Republic of China’s (ROC) claim to Tibet.
The ROC Constitution is an anachronistic document that claims more territory than even the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which has at least dropped its claim to Mongolia, an independent country with a seat in the UN.
The ROC claims Tibet, Mongolia, Xinjiang and other border regions of Russia, Vietnam, Nepal and Pakistan that are already recognized as not belonging to China.
Without getting into why the ROC claims territory that it has no chance of ever controlling, it is suffice to say that Taiwan, Tibetans and the Tibetan -government-in-exile would benefit if Taipei were to drop its claim to Tibet.
If the ROC did so, officials from Tibet’s government in Dharamsala would be able to visit Taipei on government-to-government exchanges, Taiwan’s status as a sovereign entity would gain international traction because of the Tibetan government-in-exile’s political clout and Taiwan would gain the moral high ground.
Tibetans are in desperate straits. Not a week goes by these days without a monk or a some other Tibetan setting his or herself on fire in protest at what they say are Chinese policies to uproot Tibetan culture. Beijing, of course, blames these protests on foreign-backed secessionist forces, but these self-immolations have a lot more to do with Chinese nationalistic suppression of Tibetan culture, the economic erosion of Tibetan self-sufficiency and the transformation of Tibetan icons into Disney-like attractions for Chinese tourists — Beijing built a musical fountain in Lhasa’s Potala Square.
Taiwanese media rightly pay attention to what is going on in Tibet, because the situation faced by Tibet represents an extreme to which Taiwan might itself be subjected if China were ever to take control like it did Tibet in the 1950s.
However, the ROC government is being hypocritical whenever it defends Tibetans’ rights because it continues to claim sovereignty over Tibet.
That would not be the case if Taipei dropped its claim. Such a move would give a boost to the thousands of Tibetans fighting for respect within China and would strengthening their resolve to struggle on.
Beijing’s claim to the territories of neighboring nations would likewise receive a blow, even though Taiwan is not recognized as a nation by the UN.
In addition, dropping the ROC’s claim to Tibet would bring one other major benefit for Taiwan — it would kick-start much-needed constitutional reform.
Taiwan can never be an independent nation as long as the ROC Constitution lays claim to China. However, the PRC would balk at any move to drop ROC territorial claims to China, as that would be viewed as a step toward de jure independence. If Taiwan were to start piecemeal, by dropping its claim to Tibet and the already-independent nation of Mongolia, the ROC Constitution would become more reality-based, making it a much better document on which to base the government of an independent Taiwan.
By helping the Tibetan people, Taiwan can help itself — an actual win-win scenario.
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
To counter the CCP’s escalating threats, Taiwan must build a national consensus and demonstrate the capability and the will to fight. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often leans on a seductive mantra to soften its threats, such as “Chinese do not kill Chinese.” The slogan is designed to frame territorial conquest (annexation) as a domestic family matter. A look at the historical ledger reveals a different truth. For the CCP, being labeled “family” has never been a guarantee of safety; it has been the primary prerequisite for state-sanctioned slaughter. From the forced starvation of 150,000 civilians at the Siege of Changchun
RSS