A "secret envoy" fever seems to have enveloped Taiwan recently. After the ripples caused by Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's (
The brouhaha over secret emissaries is an indicator of the restlessness besetting Taiwan in the face of the cross-strait impasse.
Given Wang's controversial style and the low level of trust he has with President Chen Shui-bian (
Lee visited Taiwan at the invitation of the National Security Council under the Presidential Office. Almost all the people he met during the visit were important officials handling cross-strait affairs. Even the foreign minister was miffed about being left out of the loop over Lee's visit. We can therefore be sure that his visit has nothing to do with Taiwan-Singapore relations. Instead, it has everything do with cross-strait relations. Lee's visit was meant to be a low-key private visit, but the Taiwan media blew it out of proportion by sending legions of reporters after him and giving him extensive coverage. Also, many people unhappy with Lee's past role in cross-strait relations launched a barrage of criticism against him.
In comparison, former Philippine president Fidel Ramos, who arrived in Taiwan at about the same time to discuss the resumption of Taiwan-Philippine air links, was given a cold shoulder by the local media.
Lee, who has close relations with leaders on both sides of the Strait, expressed his wish to visit Taiwan soon after his Beijing tour in June. If Lee was a secret emissary, then his job became a little too public. Being under the media spotlight all the time, it may be difficult for this secret envoy to talk anything useful out of his meetings. A real secret envoy should be someone like Henry Kissinger, who feigned illness during his stay in Pakistan and, while his hosts believed he was recovering in his room, furtively flew to Beijing for secret talks. Only after the US and China made the results of the talks public did the world learn of Kissinger's role as a secret envoy. Travelling under the public eye, Lee was at best a cross-strait messenger.
Taiwan now has very close private connections with China. There is no shortage of people shuttling between the two sides, as well as "second tracks" and "third tracks" between Taiwan, China and the US. Lee is but one of those many channels. There is no need to exaggerate his value. After all, having one more channel through which to understand Beijing will do no harm to Taiwan.
Taiwan's fear of secret envoys stemmed from the past black-box operations under the KMT government. Even Lee Teng-hui (
Such fear of secret envoys also show Taiwan's weak-kneed attitude toward cross-strait affairs. Given the political prowess of the opposition parties, whatever message Lee sent to Taiwan -- and however the government plans to respond -- will not escape monitoring at the legislature. President Chen has also promised to reveal the content of his talks with Lee at an appropriate time and place. As long as cross-strait issues are handled under the watchful eyes of the public, Taiwan does not need to live in false fear of secret envoys.
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