China’s application of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong proves that it is inappropriate for Taiwan, Brookings Institution Taiwan Studies director and former American Institute in Taiwan chairman Richard Bush said.
The whole idea has become a “major obstacle” to China achieving its political objectives with respect to Taiwan, Bush told a Washington hearing into the future of democracy in Hong Kong held by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
The commision’s chairman, Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, said that Bush had mentioned fears in the highest echelons of the Chinese government that Hong Kong might look too much like Taiwan in terms of democracy.
He asked Bush how the Hong Kong protests had impacted Taiwan.
“It is my impression that after the initial media coverage of the Hong Kong situation, public attention in Taiwan was diverted to other issues,” Bush said.
“What has happened in Hong Kong, and what is likely to happen in Hong Kong, only confirms a long-held belief that the two entities should not be treated under the same framework as China is trying to do,” he added.
Brown said news reports suggested that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had developed a closer friendship with China compared with former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
If Taiwan was moving toward “some kind of Chinese model,” Brown said, he wondered how the Hong Kong protests might affect the situation.
Bush said that what was happening in Hong Kong contributed to a trend that was already in play.
“The Ma administration and China have grabbed all the low-hanging fruit in terms of the sorts of cooperation they can get,” Bush said.
He said that Taiwanese politics had been immobilized earlier this year by the Sunflower movement.
“Where China would really like to go on cross-strait relations is political talks and President Ma has correctly been very wary of going down that road because he is very committed to the idea of the Republic of China,” Bush said. “And that is something that Beijing doesn’t want to talk about.”
Bush said that Ma, who was born in Hong Kong, came out a few weeks ago with a very strong statement in favor of democracy in Hong Kong and the peaceful protests going on there.
“Beijing was profoundly unhappy with his statement and felt that he was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong,” Bush said.
Asked by Brown if the Sunflower movement in Taiwan had served as a template for what was happening in Hong Kong, Bush said there had been a lot of interaction between activists “exchanging experiences and techniques.”
He said that the interaction could play into the China “narrative” that the Hong Kong protests were fueled by “a bunch of black hands from the US, Taiwan and so forth.”
However, the Hong Kong protests were “definitely homegrown,” he said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS