Fri, Oct 01, 1999 page12

• China shows cold-blooded nature

  • Annette Lu (呂秀蓮)
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  While all of Taiwan was busy with rescue and relief efforts following the earthquake, China put its efforts into political maneuvering aimed at swallowing Taiwan in the international arena. It included the following:

  1. China announced to the world that an earthquake occurred in the "Taiwan Province of China." Chinese representatives expressed their thanks to the international community for the support given to Taiwan.

  2. China said those who wish to help with earthquake rescue and relief efforts in Taiwan should get permission from Beijing first, and those who wish to donate money or materials should do so through the Chinese Red Cross.

  3. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UN General Assembly chairman extended their condolences to the people of the "Taiwan Province of China." The UN asked China if it agreed to its sending a rescue team to Taiwan.

  4. China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS, 海協會) sent a letter to Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海基會) asking if Taiwan would like China to ask the UN for disaster relief action.

  5. Immediately after the earthquake, the Russian disaster rescue force told the UN it wanted to go to Taiwan to help. After ten hours of negotiations, China refused to allow the Russian team to fly over its air space. As a result, the Russian team had to refuel twice in Siberia, delaying its arrival in Taiwan by 12 hours.

  Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (唐家璇) said -- so touchingly -- at the UN General Assembly in New York: "Our brethren across the Strait are linked together like flesh and bone. The plight and pain of our Taiwanese brethren move the hearts of all Chinese people."

  However, China's cold-blooded trampling of Taiwan's sovereignty in the international community while Taiwan was facing its worst natural disaster of the century can only be described as "the fake compassion of a cat crying at the death of a mouse" (貓哭耗子假慈悲) or even "stealing while there is a fire" (趁火打劫).

  Over the past several decades, Taiwan contributed as much as several billion New Taiwan dollars in financial and material aid for disaster relief in China. But in the eyes of Beijing, Taiwan's 22 million people are only worth US$100,000. China's act stands in stark contrast to its claim of close links to Taiwan.

  Indeed, justice and humanity have been trampled to death by China inside UN headquarters. However, outside the UN, the international community is extending its hands toward Taiwan.

  According to reports, Taipei has received condolences from the heads of 83 states, including US President Bill Clinton, Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and the Queen of England. A total of 21 countries have sent 35 search-and-rescue teams, with more than 600 rescue workers involved. Despite a lack of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, these countries have demonstrated a spirit of unforgettable compassion and charity to the Taiwanese people.

  The donations and loving care given by both governments and private citizens around the world have awakened the Taiwanese people to the fact that they are no longer "international orphans": they are now international favorites.

  Over the past few days, Taiwan has become the focus of international attention as news of the relief work spread far and wide to the rest of the world. Despite the tragedy that befell the island, Taiwan is no longer a tragic character. It is a phoenix reborn from the ashes of a terrible fire.

  Without any signs of ethnic or regional discrimination, the Taiwanese people have demonstrated a noble, brotherly love and a sincere Taiwanese spirit. The disaster has healed the wounds of ethnic conflict and softened the differences between advocates of unification and advocates of independence.

  A month ago, Turkey and Greece were shaken by successive earthquakes. These two neighboring countries have been enemies for centuries. But despite their different cultures and ethnic backgrounds, they helped each other out during the earthquakes. Government officials, businessmen and military officers began to call on each other. Currently the two nations are working to promote economic and cultural exchanges.

  "Earthquake diplomacy" has served to thaw the icy relations between the two countries and turned enmity into goodwill.

  Taiwan and China are distant relatives and neighbors, too. On the eve of its 50th anniversary, the People's Republic of China has unveiled its hypocrisy and heartlessness before the rest of the world. Such a relative and neighbor can only be called vicious.

  In as much as the Chinese government fails to reflect on itself after more than half a century in power, its callousness has been laid bare for all to see.

  Annette Lu is the Commissioner of Taoyuan County.
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