All was cheerful and merry as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday lauded former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) recent meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on the sidelines of the APEC leaders’ summit in Vladivostok, Russia. Praising Lien’s trip as fruitful, Ma commended his APEC envoy for not only winning a promise from Hu to “seriously study” the possibility of “helping” Taiwan participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), but for striking an agreement with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to begin exploratory work for resumption of the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement talks.
Focusing on how Lien conveyed Ma’s appreciation to Hu for the “great contributions” he has made to cross-strait ties, and how Hu, for his part, said China would continue to promote peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait, it might appear to the public that China has reduced its hostility toward Taiwan.
If only everything were as rosy as pictured by the Ma government.
The truth is that the Ma administration has a long-term problem of telling only half-truths, for example creating the false impression that cross-strait relations are all clear sailing under Ma’s governance.
Rather than praising Lien for obtaining Hu’s “promise” to “help” Taiwan take part in the ICAO, why does Ma not condemn Beijing obstructing Taiwan’s joining the organization in the first place? Let us not forget that Hu actually said China would study the possibility of letting Taiwan participate in the ICAO in “an appropriate way.”
As Hu reiterated Beijing’s “one China” principle in his talk of expanding cross-strait ties and deepening the development of cross-strait peace, how proud can Taiwan really be if it only obtains ICAO observer status on the grounds that it is part of China?
As for Lien expressing appreciation to Hu for the “great contributions” he has made to cross-strait ties, did it even for a nanosecond occur to either Ma or Lien how ironic it was to be thanking Hu, when it is China’s blatant obstructionism that has prevented Ma (and his predecessors) from attending the APEC leaders’ summit as a leader duly elected by the people of Taiwan?
It certainly is a good thing for the government to share good news with its people, but it is totally despicable for a government to play down an oppressor’s ambition to annex the country. This show of goodwill toward Taiwan is nothing but a poisoned chalice.
According to the Ministry of National Defense’s China Military Power Report 2012 recently delivered to the legislature, the number of Chinese ballistic and cruise missiles aimed at Taiwan has increased from 1,400 last year to more than 1,600 this year.
If China were truly sincere in extending goodwill to the Taiwanese, then it should remove all its missiles targeting Taiwan and stop obstructing Taiwan’s participation in international organizations. Attaching the condition of the “one China” principle to its willingness to help Taiwan take part in international bodies is no goodwill at all.
All the whitewash in the world cannot help Ma and his government disguise China’s goals, no matter how much they praise its cross-strait contributions.
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) recent visit to Beijing and her upcoming visit to Washington will serve as a high-level test of her diplomatic mettle. In Beijing, Cheng was received with symbolic gestures, a warm reception, and high-level access. In Washington, she will receive far less pomp and far sharper questions about the KMT’s vision for the future of Taiwan. Her challenge will be to persuade Washington that the KMT’s engagement with China can coexist with strong deterrence. Cheng’s April 7-12 visit to mainland China coincided with an intense period of conflict in Iran. Despite the strategic significance of Cheng’s trip,
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent the vast Asian chemicals industry into a tailspin. Deprived of the likes of Qatari natural gas and Saudi Arabian oil, the region’s fertilizer and plastics plants are slowing production or even shutting down. Everywhere except China, that is. In petrochemicals, China is unique. As well as a traditional industry that uses oil and gas as feedstock, it has parallel output that relies on its abundant domestic coal. Unsurprisingly, India and other regional powers want to copy and paste the Chinese method. This would not be easy — or climate friendly. The
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says he knows how to fix the problems facing Indonesia. Yet his economic mismanagement and authoritarian tendencies are steering the nation toward a familiar mix of currency instability and political chaos. The world’s fourth-most populous nation risks reversing the hard-won democratic and business reforms that came after the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. At that time, the rupiah collapsed and the political upheaval that followed forced former president Haji Mohamed Suharto from power. Prabowo’s administration is ignoring similar warning signs. That disconnect was apparent in a national address on Wednesday, when Prabowo projected the swagger that has
“Of course you can choose not to be Taiwanese, just do not stay here,” chairwoman of Taipei 101 operator Taipei Financial Center Corp Janet Chia (賈永婕) said in an online interview with local entertainer Tai Chih-yuan (邰智源), triggering intense discussion on social media, with politicians across party lines weighing in. In the interview, which was aired on May 14, Chia and Tai’s discussion over a meal in Taipei 101 covered Chia’s career change from entertainer to chairwoman and US climber Alex Honnold’s free solo climb up the Taipei 101 building. During the interview, Chia said, “Being on this land, we
RSS