As he faces China’s leader across the long wooden table, a gigantic mural of tall mountains, valleys and temples as a backdrop, there are two ways of looking at the significance of this pudgy envoy and what his presence there means for the future of Taiwan.
The first is to regard former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) as a threat. The man no longer has a position in office, nor did Taiwanese elevate him to some position with their votes. No, Wu is like a shadow, operating behind the scenes and free, it seems, of the restraints that apply to elected party officials or government figures.
Across from him sits Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) and a few CCP cronies. Wu and Xi are heading a KMT-CCP summit in Beijing, the first since Xi’s ascension to the leadership. Wu is accompanied by former National Security Council secretary-general Su Chi (蘇起) — a Beijing regular — KMT Deputy Chairman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and former KMT vice chairman Chan Chun-po (詹春柏). This is, we are told, the first meeting to be held under the “one China” framework rather than the so-called “1992 consensus.”
As expected, Wu said everything that Beijing wanted to hear, and in the days that followed last week’s meetings, the CCP promised a whole new series of measures to win the “hearts and minds” of Taiwanese. The whole affair touched on politics, on Taiwan’s status and future, and went well beyond what the government has dared to venture since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) stepped into the Presidential Office in 2008.
Viewed from this angle, Wu the emissary could be part of a diabolical behind-the-scenes deal between the KMT and the CCP, perhaps to prepare the terrain for Taiwan’s annexation by its determinedly authoritarian neighbor.
Perhaps. But the other way to look at Wu and his retinue suggests something else. A little more than five years into Ma’s administration, and the best that China can do to discuss Taiwan’s political status is to welcome a delegation of “has-beens,” who, with the exception of Hung, have no direct hand in government policymaking. Wu (73), Su (63) and Chan (71), or another typical envoy, former vice president and KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰), 76, are hardly the future of Taiwan — or of the KMT, for that matter — while Hung, at 65, only has a few years left in politics.
Despite all the pressure from the CCP, the signs of impatience, the threats, all they get is this, a group of envoys from which Taipei immediately distanced itself, whose views it said were not reflective of the administration’s official position?
It is worth considering the possibility that the KMT-CCP summits, alarming though they may be to supporters of a free Taiwan, are nothing more than a means for Taipei to deflect pressure from Beijing, mere crumbs to give the CCP the illusion of progress, that it is making headway, when in fact they are little more than a stopgap measure, a way to win time.
Taiwanese themselves should be relieved that rather un-influential dinosaurs, and not elected government officials, are conducting this kind of unsavory business. They should find comfort in the fact that the government, along with its semi-official creation the Straits Exchange Foundation, is sticking to economics, just as Ma had promised. And with less than three years left of Ma’s second and last term, that is unlikely to change, as the KMT and Ma’s successors know very well that any policy that departs from that promise, that threatens Taiwan’s democracy, freedom and way of life, will cost them dearly, perhaps even the Presidential Office.
There is a modern roadway stretching from central Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, to the partially recognized state’s Egal International Airport. Emblazoned on a gold plaque marking the road’s inauguration in July last year, just below the flags of Somaliland and the Republic of China (ROC), is the road’s official name: “Taiwan Avenue.” The first phase of construction of the upgraded road, with new sidewalks and a modern drainage system to reduce flooding, was 70 percent funded by Taipei, which contributed US$1.85 million. That is a relatively modest sum for the effect on international perception, and
At the end of last year, a diplomatic development with consequences reaching well beyond the regional level emerged. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state, paving the way for political, economic and strategic cooperation with the African nation. The diplomatic breakthrough yields, above all, substantial and tangible benefits for the two countries, enhancing Somaliland’s international posture, with a state prepared to champion its bid for broader legitimacy. With Israel’s support, Somaliland might also benefit from the expertise of Israeli companies in fields such as mineral exploration and water management, as underscored by Israeli Minister of
When former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office in 2016, she set ambitious goals for remaking the energy mix in Taiwan. At the core of this effort was a significant expansion of the percentage of renewable energy generated to keep pace with growing domestic and global demands to reduce emissions. This effort met with broad bipartisan support as all three major parties placed expanding renewable energy at the center of their energy platforms. However, over the past several years partisanship has become a major headwind in realizing a set of energy goals that all three parties profess to want. Tsai
On Sunday, elite free solo climber Alex Honnold — famous worldwide for scaling sheer rock faces without ropes — climbed Taipei 101, once the world’s tallest building and still the most recognizable symbol of Taiwan’s modern identity. Widespread media coverage not only promoted Taiwan, but also saw the Republic of China (ROC) flag fluttering beside the building, breaking through China’s political constraints on Taiwan. That visual impact did not happen by accident. Credit belongs to Taipei 101 chairwoman Janet Chia (賈永婕), who reportedly took the extra step of replacing surrounding flags with the ROC flag ahead of the climb. Just
RSS