Sat, Oct 27, 2001 page8

• Editorial: Jiang's delusions of greatness

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  A story circulating in Taiwan's business circles has it that a member of the KMT's core leadership visited Beijing after the party lost political power last year. When he met with Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen (錢其琛), Qian asked him, "Who are the three greatest Chinese of the 20th Century?" To which the KMT visitor answered, "Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), Mao Zedong (毛澤東) and Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平)." Qian was reportedly satisfied with those "perfect" answers.

  In the conversation that followed, Qian told his visitor, "Now we've entered the 21st century. Comrade Jiang Zemin (江澤民) hopes to become the first of the three greatest Chinese in the new century." But how to go about achieving that goal? Qian and the KMT official concluded that Jiang should spend the rest of his life promoting the unification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

  In the ears of the majority of the people of Taiwan -- those not from the pro-unification camps -- this is a story about crazy people with crazy ideas. Didn't the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) vow to set foot in a Hong Kong under Chinese rule within his lifetime and to see the unification of the motherland? He died before either could happen. Now that Hong Kong is back in the bosom the motherland, Jiang must feel that he has to carry out the remaining mission. However, he is unlikely to have any more success than Deng did.

  For people like Deng and Jiang, who use the future of their nation and the welfare of its citizens -- as well as those of other countries -- as a wager, the only appropriate description of their actions can be "stupid."

  Apart from overseeing a growing economy and being in the leader's chair when Beijing won its bid to host the Olympic Games, Jiang has little else to show for his 12 years in power except for China's entry into the WTO -- a doubtful legacy that is likely to lead to massive economic problems for his successors. His only expertise seems to be shouting political slogans -- such as "preaching politics, learning and righteousness" (講政治、講學習、講正氣), or, more recently, "three representations" (三個代表).

  Not only does Jiang lack both political wisdom and strategy, but his breadth of vision is far inferior to the "Chinese greats" he hopes to emulate. Just think about his abysmal and embarrassing performances on the international stage. Remember how he lashed out at his hosts in Denmark for not knowing how to manage a country; how he imploded at a forum in Japan and yelled at Hong Kong reporters during a media event in Zhongnanhai.

  If fact, if Jiang really wants to accomplish something in cross-strait relations, the first thing he needs to do is rid himself of the idea of using that arena to make a name for himself. Then he could start to treat Taiwan with the tolerance that becomes a great leader.

  When it comes to how China could better deal with Taiwan, former US ambassador to China J. Stapleton Roy hit the nail on the head during a speech at Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday. He said that, rather than resorting to threats, China should give Taiwan some incentive to develop constructive cross-strait relationships.

  Anyone with the slightest common sense should have figured this out by now. China's missile demonstrations and verbal threats during Taiwan's past two presidential elections have sent the candidates China abhorred, Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), to the Presidential Office. More recently, China's high-handed tactics in dealing with the issue of Taiwan's representation at the APEC leaders' summit provoked strong resentment on the part of the people of Taiwan.

  Only if Jiang can manage to figure out how to stop shooting himself in the foot will he be able to take the first step toward greatness. Otherwise, he will be remain a footnote in the history books.
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