The local media have recently been paying close attention to the unpredictable situation on the Korean Peninsula. The reports generally focus on either North Korea’s military strength or the impact on Taiwan’s economic interests.
However, if we were to expand our view, we would see that the issue offers an opportunity to rethink cross-strait relations.
Having North Korea — which The Economist has called “the nastiest regime on the planet” — as a neighbor must be an endless nightmare for South Koreans. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might get burned if he continues to play with fire, but it is not unimaginable that Seoul, just 40km from the demilitarized zone, would also get burned.
Even if the crisis is resolved this time, another one will surely follow somewhere down the road.
The threat that North Korea poses is not limited to its military ambition, but also a whole population of brainwashed people living in ignorance and poverty.
The Kim dynasty will collapse sooner or later, but when that happens, South Korea will have a difficult mess to deal with.
For example, western Germany has poured 2 trillion euros (US$2.62 trillion) into eastern Germany since their unification, yet the east continues to lag behind the west in development.
Perhaps that was why former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak restrained himself after two attacks from the north.
In comparison, Taiwanese are lucky in that the regime across the Taiwan Strait is not ruled by hoodlums such as those in North Korea.
Of course, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is not a democratic regime: It is a police state that exercises tight control over freedom of expression, and is merciless in cracking down on dissent.
Those at the top are corrupt, and they show no concern for those at the bottom. Even so, the Chinese regime is behaving relatively rationally in international and cross-strait relations.
Despite its little tricks from time to time, Beijing has in general played the game according to civilized rules.
As long as Taiwanese do not intentionally provoke China, they do not have to lose too much sleep over the 1,000 missiles deployed in China’s Fujian Province.
Nonetheless, it is not something that should be taken for granted.
The older generation still remember that prior to the 1960s, when China was ruled by Mao Zedong (毛澤東), the battle between Taiwan and China was a battle of life and death.
Mao was a dictator who did not care about the millions of Chinese who starved to death. For Taiwan at the time, the shadow of “bloody liberation” loomed large.
After the more pragmatic Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) introduced reforms and promoted an open policy, China turned its focus to economic development. Since then, Chinese authorities have toned down their policy of annexing Taiwan by force.
If then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) had not been willing to accept Beijing’s “olive branch” in a timely manner, the qualitative change in the Chinese Communist Party might not have been enough to escape the standoff between the two sides.
Over the past five years, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) government has maintained peaceful cross-strait exchanges.
For some people, exchanges with China are like “drinking poison to relieve thirst,” because Beijing’s goal is still “reunification.”
Those who are opposed to cross-strait exchanges accuse Ma of “leaning toward China while selling out Taiwan.” However, the future is unpredictable. Who can guarantee that China will democratize?
No matter what, China is Taiwan’s neighbor. Compared to the possible military conflict that might break out anytime between North and South Korea, Taiwan is better off. South Koreans must be very envious.
Although the Chinese power transition was not democratic, this enlightened autocratic state is very unlikely to produce a little hooligan that strains the nerves of the whole world and even threatens to plunge millions of people into misery.
The Korean war, which ended 60 years ago, gave Taiwan a new lease on life. Luckily the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have now managed to end the risk of war.
In addition to treasuring what we have, we can only pray for the people of North and South Korea.
Huang Juei-min is a law professor at Providence University.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.