President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) calls for an extradition agreement and visa waivers for Taiwanese tourists visiting the US are unlikely to bear fruit anytime soon.
Sources in Washington told the Taipei Times: “It’s just not going to happen.”
The major reason is that China is opposed to them, now more than ever. And with North Korea again playing its nuclear card, Washington is anxious for China’s cooperation and will be very reluctant to upset Beijing, sources said.
Ma raised the extradition and visa issues earlier this week when he stopped over in Los Angeles on his way to visit three Central American countries.
During talks with American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt, he stressed the importance of the two issues and asked for early agreements.
But sources said that even though the White House might be sympathetic, it would most likely bow to Chinese pressure.
“The Chinese feel strongly about these issues,” the sources said.
They added: “No Chinese province has an extradition agreement or visa waiver status and granting that to Taiwan would — in Chinese eyes — make Taiwan look like an independent country. And of course that is the last thing that Beijing wants.”
The Obama administration’s sensitivity toward Beijing was stressed this week by political consultant Michael Richardson, writing on the Boston-based Web site www.examiner.com.
He said that Stephen Bosworth, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, had been appointed as special US envoy to North Korea.
Richardson says that Special Envoy Bosworth has written and lectured about both North Korea and Taiwan and “is candid about the need for the United States to work with China and the possible consequences to Taiwan.”
In an academic paper titled Dancing with Giants, Bosworth says: “In terms of American foreign policy, some things have not changed in East Asia, including the two most important items.
One is the continuing problem of Taiwan, the Taiwan Straits and the future of China’s relationship with that wandering province.
The second is the problem of North Korea, where we have what is in effect our third nuclear crisis in the last decade and a half.”
Bosworth continues: “With Taiwan, of course, the problem is that for the last couple of decades we have always hoped and assumed that the problem would cure itself, largely through economic integration.”
“The thinking held that as Taiwan’s economy became more and more tied intos mainland China, the prospect of conflict over the future of Taiwan would diminish. In some measure, I am still confident that is the case,” he said.
“But there is no question that the emergence of democracy in Taiwan has significantly complicated this issue. Not surprisingly, Taiwan believes that it should have the same chance to pursue its destiny that other countries have had,” he said.
Richardson said: “As Bosworth begins his diplomatic effort to isolate North Korea and put pressure on them to disarm he will be looking for help from China — help that may only come at the expense of Taiwan.”
Meanwhile, Forbes magazine said that “if it weren’t for Beijing, Pyongyang would be impotent.”
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese