The KMT’s search for Taiwan
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all,” the US Pledge of Allegiance reads.
Americans understand the US is one nation, but they never call their homeland “one US.” This is because everyone knowns there is only one; the issue only arises when there are two competing entities claiming to represent one country.
“One China” was a term first mentioned in the 1972 Shanghai Communique. At that time, the Republic of China (ROC) was still recognized by the US. In 1978, the US formed diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and no longer officially recognized the ROC, naming it the “governing authority” of Taiwan. However, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) kept telling Taiwanese that the ROC was an independent nation with sovereignty over China and Mongolia, and the majority of the public believed that “Taiwan is the ROC and the ROC is Taiwan.”
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) dreamed of meeting the Chinese president since the first day he entered the Presidential Office, but, in 2011, he hypocritically stated that three criteria must be met before he would agree to engage face-to-face with the Chinese president: “The nation needs it, the people support it and it is overseen by the legislature.”
Well, Ma’s term is set to expire in less than seven months so the nation does not need it at this time; Ma’s approval rating has dropped as low as 9.2 percent; so he does not have the backing of his people and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said he was informed by the media about Ma’s plan to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore — so the decision was made without legislative oversight.
It is true that the Ma-Xi meeting garnered worldwide media attention, as it has been a 66-year wait for the leaders of the ROC and the PRC to meet each other officially. Indeed, it is about time that Chinese settled their family feud, and it is time for the ROC and the PRC to form “one China,” but which China? Is it to be the ROC or the PRC?
Xi rejected Ma’s request to meet for years. Then, he suddenly revised a planned three-day visit to Vietnam and arrived in Singapore one day earlier than scheduled to meet with Ma. The global media are asking why Xi was willing to meet a Taiwanese leader with a 9.2 percent approval rating. According to Ma’s news conference, he has established a framework for cross-strait ties that will survive his tenure. He did not discuss his lifelong dream of meeting with the Chinese leader or his hopes of a Nobel Peace Prize. His behavior just exhibits shameless greed.
I believe Xi intends to absorb the ROC into the PRC to contain the US in the South China Sea.
The biggest problem with Ma’s meeting was his lack of a mandate. On whose behalf was his visit? If his visit was on behalf of Taiwanese or Taiwan, then it was under the banner of “One Taiwan, One China.” If on behalf of the ROC, then it was undertaken under the banner of “two Chinas.”
Neither of these formulas are acceptable to the PRC.
So, the only way the PRC could accept such a meeting is if Taiwan is part of China.
If so, the foundation of this meeting is totally unauthorized and unacceptable to Taiwanese. Xi was 100 percent in charge and manipulated the meeting with clear objectives; whereas Ma’s naive dream was just to shake hands with the Chinese president.
Ma’s meeting with Xi will go down in history for Ma’s incompetence, ignorance and betrayal of Taiwan.
When KMT Chairman and presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) unveiled his “one Taiwan” campaign slogan on Tuesday, he said: “We must jointly march forward into the future with a multicolored, diversified, and united ‘one Taiwan.’”
Chu’s slogan is surprising; when he met Xi in Beijing, he said both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to “one China.”
Now, he has picked “one Taiwan” as his campaign slogan. Does it mean he stands for “one Taiwan” and not “one China” from now on and that he is willing to fight for Taiwan, or is he just cheating the electorate and trying to win votes?
The Ma-Xi meeting will not help the KMT to win the presidential election. On the contrary, it has woken up Taiwanese, who will now be watching closely in order to prevent Taiwan again becoming the scapegoat of great powers at the negotiating table. Ma does not dare to identify himself as the president of the ROC to the world. The ROC is not an independent nation with sovereignty. Taiwanese, open your eyes and be clear that the ROC is nothing but an exiled government.
Does the Ma-Xi meeting define the ROC as synonymous with Taiwan, or with China?
John Hsieh
Hayward, California
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