As he celebrates his first year in office, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is under siege. Having resumed cross-strait negotiations, he finds himself under fire for policies that his critics feel compromise Taiwan’s sovereignty and harm the nation’s interests.
At least four large-scale demonstrations have been held since Ma took office, including the one on Sunday and Monday that had sovereignty and the economy as its main themes.
Ma, of the pro-unification Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), came to power after a convincing election victory in March last year, following pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) eight years in office.
Ma initially enjoyed strong public support amid high expectations created by his “6-3-3” economic promise: annual GDP growth of 6 percent, less than 3 percent unemployment and an average annual per capita income of US$30,000. But his emphasis on China has raised concerns that he undervalues relations with Japan and the US.
In foreign policy, which is one of the president’s responsibilities under the Constitution, the most notable decision Ma made in his first year was to propose a “diplomatic truce” with Beijing. But the policy has been likened to a “diplomatic holiday.”
Analysts said how Ma handles different voices will not only expose his own strengths and weaknesses, but also those of his leadership.
Paul Lin (林保華), a political columnist and commentator, said he felt angry on this anniversary, as the country’s economy and sovereignty were facing their worst crisis ever.
“While the stock market can go back up again, once sovereignty is lost, it is gone forever,” he said. “The loss of sovereignty is an internal injury. It’s not visible, but it’s deadly.”
1. National identity
Before becoming president: Taiwan is the Republic of China (ROC). Any action sabotaging Taiwan’s sovereignty, interests or dignity is unacceptable.
After: The relationship between Taiwan and China is not one between two countries, but a “special relationship” across the Taiwan Strait. Under the ROC Constitution, the relationship is one between the “Taiwan region” and the “mainland region.”
2. Sovereignty
Before: “One China” means the ROC, and that is not negotiable.
After: The ROC is an independent sovereignty whose territory covers China, in accordance with the ROC Constitution.
3. Taiwan-centered consciousness
Before: “I am a Taiwanese who grew up eating Taiwanese rice and drinking Taiwanese water” and would be buried in this land as a Taiwanese.
After: Soon after Ma took the oath of office, the Presidential Office removed the Chinese characters for “Taiwan” from its Web site, but left the word “Taiwan” in the English version.
4. “1992 consensus”
Before: No negotiation with China if Beijing rejected the notion that both sides can have different interpretations of what “one China” means.
After: Called for cross-strait negotiation based on the so-called “1992 consensus” in his inaugural address. He later said both sides had agreed to negotiate on the basis of the “1992 consensus.”
5. Cross-strait relations
Before: Ma would ask China to dismantle the missiles targeting Taiwan as a precondition for negotiations.
After: Talks began soon after he took office. Six agreements and one joint statement have been signed.
6. Foreign affairs
Before: Ma would demand that China cease marginalizing Taiwan on the international stage.
After: He proposed a “diplomatic truce” with Beijing, saying the country should concentrate more on cementing ties with existing diplomatic allies than seeking to make new friends.
GRAPHIC: TAIPEI TIMES
Taking Ma’s response to Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) “six-point” remarks as an example, Lin said Ma had kept quiet at first but later called it a “goodwill” gesture, a move Lin said was tantamount to recognizing “one China.”
Ma also boasted about the country’s participation in this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), calling it a breakthrough and demonstration of Beijing’s goodwill, Lin said.
To allow Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) to participate in the WHA in his capacity as a medical professional was similar to allowing Chinese officials to address the president as “Mr Ma,” Lin said.
“Ma keeps saying that Taiwan’s sovereignty has not been compromised, but does he really want to wait until the country’s name is changed to the People’s Republic of China?” he said. “Western countries and the US used to think Taiwan was a sovereignty, but a growing number are beginning to think Taiwan is part of China.”
Lin said he was not against cross-strait rapprochement or further exchanges with China, but he was concerned about the price Taiwan would pay. The crux of the problem did not lie in independence or unification, peace or war, but in democracy or autocracy, he said.
Taiwan’s record on human rights, press freedom, democracy and the rule of law has backtracked, Lin said, adding that it was hard to imagine how bad the situation could become.
Lin, a former member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said Ma should be wary of the CCP’s “united front” strategy.
While Beijing has never denied the existence of the strategy, Ma has helped the CCP hide its stratagem and joined forces with the CCP to deceive the Taiwanese public, Lin said.
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