Thu, Feb 07, 2002 page8

• Editorial: When money overcomes patriotism

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  Historians in decades to come, looking for the turning point where Taiwan lost its battle for some kind of economic independence from China, might focus on events in the Japanese city of Kobe on Monday. That is where Chang Jung-fa (張榮發), the chairman of Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), announced that he intended to reflag some 80 of his company's 148 container vessels, half in Britain and half in Italy -- countries in which the company has subsidiaries -- so that they might take part in carriage trade with China.

  From Evergreen's point of view this is something of a coup. After all, China has banned Taiwan's shipping companies and their subsidiaries from operating services in and out of China. Evergreen has apparently persuaded the Chinese that their subsidiaries are British and Italian companies and should be treated as such.

  But there is far more significance to Evergreen's deal than that it will be the first Taiwan shipper to break through China's bamboo curtain.

  Chang has been a backer of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) since the very early 1980s. When Chen, a lawyer, got involved with politics after the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident and became too hot for his old clientele, it was a retainer from Evergreen Marine that kept him financially afloat. Chang was rumored to be a principle contributor to Chen's victorious campaign for Taipei mayor in 1994. And he was not only a patron of the current president but was also close to the last one, Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), the author of "no haste, be patient."

  So what we saw on Monday was the culmination of a businessman with impeccable "green camp" credentials deciding he had no choice but to accept what is thought to be inevitable. "In the future, Taiwan's economy will rely on the vast mainland market," Chang said. And Chang's change of heart goes beyond a simple perception of what is good for his company. It involves a personal distancing from people with whom he has previously been close. For example, he has been an advisor to Chen, but he has expressed a wish to leave this position as soon as he may.

  Taiwan businesspeople throwing their lot in with China is of course nothing new -- look at Formosa Group's (台塑) Wang Yung-ching (王永慶) or Morris Chang (張忠謀) of TSMC (台積電). Expecting a sense of social responsibility from entrepreneurs is probably hopeless. The moral argument that Taiwan contributed greatly to making them and their companies what they are -- and therefore deserves at least some consideration in return -- simply carries no force in the business world.

  Yet there is no doubt that the capitulation of people like Chang Jung-fa to China's wishes has a political as well as business dimension. China reasons that once the people of Taiwan realize that their economic fortunes are controlled by decisions made in Beijing, they will want to be represented in the places where those decisions take place, therefore they will be more willing to accept unification. And probably Beijing's logic is sound. Taiwan long thought it could use its investment as a carrot. Now Beijing can use its market as a stick.

  The problem for those in Taiwan who oppose unification, as this paper does, is that so many of their compatriots cannot look beyond their pocketbooks. If Beijing is not to get its way then this kind of thinking needs to be challenged. Unfortunately we see nothing -- and no one -- that might challenge it. Talk about green silicon islands isn't going to get people to prefer to be, as the old Cold War phrase had it, "dead than red." Let us face it, Taiwan has experienced a major setback. Now we must ask Lenin's old question: What is to be done?
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