The term "weasel word" comes from Shakespeare's play As You Like It, in which the courtier Jacques says, "I can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel sucks eggs." In the US, a book has even been published discussing this kind of language (Weasel Words: The Art of Saying What You Don't Mean). Used in an election campaign, it means obfuscation and hiding behind foggy rhetoric. If someone says, "The ROC on Taiwan is an independent sovereign state," and then says "Oppose Taiwan independence!" then his words would seem as hollow as an egg sucked empty by a weasel.
In this example, the speaker first accepts that the ROC on Taiwan is an independent sovereign state, which is to say that the ROC and communist China are mutually non-subordinate. But the speaker also opposes Taiwan independence. Isn't this a contradiction? Does the speaker want Taiwan to change the status quo and make Taiwan subordinate to another state? Or does he want Taiwan to maintain the sovereignty it currently enjoys?
This is characteristic of much the rhetoric that is being bandied about in the current election, so it is important to look at the misconceptions on which it is based.
Illustration: Yu Sha
The Taiwan independence movement arose in opposition to the KMT regime, who were using Taiwan as a military base for "reconquering the mainland." The target of the movement was the KMT, not the communist party. The call for "Taiwan independence" was in fact a demand that the KMT give up its dream of "reconquering the mainland" and become a Taiwan-centered, localized, democratic government. Therefore, in Taiwan's history, independence and pro-democracy movements share the same objectives and membership. This is as true of the old tangwai (
Today, Taiwan is no longer ruled by an "alien regime." Opposition parties, including the DPP and the New Party, can legitimately win power through elections. Taiwan's 22 million people do not want to be ruled by a foreign regime, nor do they want to rule other states. Since Taiwan has already realized independence, there is no longer a "Taiwan independence" issue. Calls for independence are therefore little more than empty words used to confuse the issue in political debate.
The "unification-independence" debate that still forms an important stand in political debate in Taiwan is in fact two completely separate issues.
The first is whether or not to change the country's name. This is different from the "independence" issue. An "independence" movement is when the ruled try to break free from the hands of an external ruler (Tibet and Quebec, for example); changing a county name is purely a formal issue.
It is true that the names "Republic of China" and "People's Republic of China" sound similar and are often confused. But Clinton's "one China policy" does not mean he is too obtuse to tell the difference between the two. Rather, he is pretending obtuseness for fear of "provoking" Jiang Zemin (
The second issue which forms part of the unification-independence debate is whether or not Taiwan should unite with China in the future. There is disagreement both across the strait and within Taiwan over this. The KMT advocates unification after China democratizes. The DPP champions future independence but maintains that any change in the status quo should be based on a consensus of the Taiwanese people. There is even a presidential candidate who accepts Deng Xiaoping's (
The absurdity of "opposing Taiwan independence" lies in the fact that it confuses the future with the present. It is an attempt to use a pro-unification position on Taiwan's future to suck away the current reality that Taiwan is an independent sovereign state. This is a typical example of weasel language.
From China's point of view, opposition to Taiwan independence is aimed at changing the status quo of "state-to-state relations," "swallowing" Taiwan under the "one country, two systems" model and making it another "special administrative region" like Hong Kong and Macau. However, unlike Tibet, for example, political control of Taiwan is not in the hands of China. Unlike Hong Kong, Taiwan is not ruled by a colonial government like Britain -- which means there is no one China can ask to give Taiwan back. Taiwan's sovereignty is in the hands of the Taiwanese people and China cannot make decisions for Taiwan.
At most, Clinton can only sing the old "one-three-three" tune (one China, three communiques, three no's). He has neither the right nor the power to make the Taiwanese people acquiesce to his will. Even if he did, the American people would not let him. For this reason, Clinton and Jiang can never really clarify their opposition on Taiwan independence. Sometimes it is said, "Taiwan's declaration of independence will entail the use of force." But hasn't China been deprived of any excuse to use force, given that Taiwan is already an independent sovereign state and does not need to declare independence.
Sometimes, the rhetoric is that Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) US visit, direct presidential elections, the downsizing of the provincial government, and the "state-to-state" model are all moves toward Taiwan independence. The argument is absurd in the face of Taiwan's current reality, for such practices are normal for independent sovereign states.
Apart from an empty shell, there is no longer any practical significance left in the so-called "anti-Taiwan independence" position.
But with the presidential election in the offing, Taiwan continues to see a few people wielding the empty "anti-independence" shell like the proverbial "blunt instrument," playing on fears of communism, fanning fears of war and inciting ethnic discord -- and they call this playing the "stability card"! The Taiwanese people should join hands to safeguard their national sovereignty, instead of creating fears and disputes out of "anti-independence" rhetoric. The Taiwanese people should focus their attention on reforms and policy issues and make the upcoming presidential elections better than the previous one in 1996, taking Taiwan into a new phase in stabilizing its democratic system.
Ruan Ming (
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)