As the nation reels from Typhoon Megi, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday renewed its efforts to press President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus.”
At a news conference in Beijing, office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) pointed at Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as the sole parties responsible for Taiwan’s exclusion from this year’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assembly and any impediments to maintaining peaceful cross-strait development that had been observed during the previous Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
“Since May 20, the peaceful cross-strait development and achievements seen in the past eight years have been severely undermined, dealing significant damage to the vital interests of Taiwanese. We all know on whom falls the responsibility for the current situation,” Ma said in response to questions from reporters, in a clear reference to Tsai’s administration.
Ma went on to reiterate that adherence to the “1992 consensus” is a key element in maintaining peaceful cross-strait development, saying that the “consensus” is something the leader of Taiwan cannot bypass regardless of the stances they take.
As for the Tsai administration’s assertion that Taiwan’s participation at the ICAO assembly is necessary for the fulfillment of the nation’s international responsibility for aviation safety, Ma said the DPP administration should reflect on why Taipei was able to attend the assembly three years ago, but not now.
“It should refrain from making unfair criticisms of Beijing and seeking to mislead public opinion by using Taiwan’s aviation safety as a pretext,” Ma said.
It is not surprising that China has been stepping up pressure on Tsai in recent weeks, since she is to deliver her first Double Ten National Day speech in less than two weeks.
All eyes would be on Tsai, especially after her inaugural address — in which she merely expressed respect for the historical facts of the “1992 cross-strait talks,” rather than accepting the “consensus,” as China had wanted — was described by Beijing as an “incomplete test.”
Tsai’s Oct. 10 speech will likely be treated by Beijing as another test of the effectiveness of the intimidation and other tactics it has adopted — such as internationally humiliating Taiwan by having Taiwanese fraud suspects deported to China, trying to suppress Taipei’s international activities and cutting down the number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan — since her inauguration.
By placing the blame on the DPP administration for a situation it has single-handedly orchestrated, Beijing intends to drive a wedge between Tsai and Taiwanese, in the apparent hope of stirring up public pressure to push the president to cave in to its demands.
However, not much would be accomplished if Tsai compromises on her cross-strait policy just to appease Beijing and win back the support of those who hold her accountable for soured Taiwan-China relations.
It would not satisfy China, which seeks to push Taiwan toward Beijing’s ultimate goal of unification. Also, it could cost Tsai and the DPP the support of a growing force within Taiwanese society that believes in self-determination and keeping a distance from Beijing.
What Tsai says in her Oct. 10 speech will serve as a test of not only whether she can withstand Beijing’s unreasonable demands and growing assertiveness, but also if she knows what is best for future generations of Taiwanese.
Because much of what former US president Donald Trump says is unhinged and histrionic, it is tempting to dismiss all of it as bunk. Yet the potential future president has a populist knack for sounding alarums that resonate with the zeitgeist — for example, with growing anxiety about World War III and nuclear Armageddon. “We’re a failing nation,” Trump ranted during his US presidential debate against US Vice President Kamala Harris in one particularly meandering answer (the one that also recycled urban myths about immigrants eating cats). “And what, what’s going on here, you’re going to end up in World War
Earlier this month in Newsweek, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to retake the territories lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. He stated: “If it is for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t [the PRC] take back the lands occupied by Russia that were signed over in the treaty of Aigun?” This was a brilliant political move to finally state openly what many Chinese in both China and Taiwan have long been thinking about the lost territories in the Russian far east: The Russian far east should be “theirs.” Granted, Lai issued
On Tuesday, President William Lai (賴清德) met with a delegation from the Hoover Institution, a think tank based at Stanford University in California, to discuss strengthening US-Taiwan relations and enhancing peace and stability in the region. The delegation was led by James Ellis Jr, co-chair of the institution’s Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region project and former commander of the US Strategic Command. It also included former Australian minister for foreign affairs Marise Payne, influential US academics and other former policymakers. Think tank diplomacy is an important component of Taiwan’s efforts to maintain high-level dialogue with other nations with which it does
On Sept. 2, Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal called “The US and Taiwan Must Change Course” that defends his position that the US and Taiwan are not doing enough to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from taking Taiwan. Colby is correct, of course: the US and Taiwan need to do a lot more or the PRC will invade Taiwan like Russia did against Ukraine. The US and Taiwan have failed to prepare properly to deter war. The blame must fall on politicians and policymakers