The loss of El Salvador as a diplomatic ally to China has confirmed that Chinese decisionmakers are far from adopting modern values of cooperation, tolerance and mutually beneficial gains, a French specialist in cross-strait relations said on Tuesday.
The way the Chinese decisionmakers deal with Taiwan and the Taiwan issue worldwide “remains entrenched in pre-Second World War [WW2] values of sheer force, brutal diplomacy, territorial conquest and crude national interests,” said Stephane Corcuff, a professor of political science at France’s Lyon University.
In the latest move to squeeze Taiwan, El Salvador on Tuesday switched its recognition from the Republic of China (ROC), a relationship established in 1933, to China, forcing Taiwan to announce the termination of the relationship.
Corcuff said that when China was represented by the ROC at the UN, it helped with the construction of a positive international society by contributing to the drafting of the UN charter and to the International Declaration of Human Rights.
“Today’s China is embodying the return of authoritarianism, the radical dismissal of humanism and the negation of progressive values in international society worldwide,” Corcuff said in an e-mailed reply. “It is inciting a growing number of countries to do so by showing a terrible example.”
The ROC lost its seat at the UN after the body’s General Assembly passed Resolution No. 2758 in 1971 that recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the only lawful representative of China to the UN.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016, Taiwan has lost five allies — Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso and El Salvador — which have been lured away by financial incentives offered by China.
Corcuff said that by taking away Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, “China will only further alienate Taiwan’s population.”
“China understands only force. It is not only in great opposition to the values that founded the world system after WW2, but also to its own traditional philosophical and cultural system of wisdom, from which the whole world could benefit,” he said.
“Alas, China is the No. 1 country to reject them and, in place, sends terrible signs in terms of its political values and international views,” he said. “We still hope that China one day will be free from tyranny, terminate these policies and come to terms with Taiwan on a mutually beneficial basis.”
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS