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 (
In the conversation that followed, Qian told his visitor, "Now we've entered the 21st century. Comrade Jiang Zemin (
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 (
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" (
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 (
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.
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
During the “426 rally” organized by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party under the slogan “fight green communism, resist dictatorship,” leaders from the two opposition parties framed it as a battle against an allegedly authoritarian administration led by President William Lai (賴清德). While criticism of the government can be a healthy expression of a vibrant, pluralistic society, and protests are quite common in Taiwan, the discourse of the 426 rally nonetheless betrayed troubling signs of collective amnesia. Specifically, the KMT, which imposed 38 years of martial law in Taiwan from 1949 to 1987, has never fully faced its
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