Tue, May 14, 2002 page8

• Editorial: Rights for all, not just for some

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  The world is a very hypocritical place. While people everywhere claim to honor human rights and make a show of monitoring the human rights situation in China, the international community deliberately ignores Beijing's infringement of the rights of the people of Taiwan. When leaders in China (or Singapore) proclaim that human rights are a Western notion and not applicable in Asia, they are condemned around the world. When the people of Taiwan stand up to be counted, they are told to stop making noise. It is as if human rights are only applicable to certain people.

  As a result, Taiwan has been excluded from many international organizations. An island state in the South Pacific with a population of a few thousand people can become a member of the UN. Such membership remains a distant dream for the 23 million people of Taiwan because of China's opposition.

  Many international organizations with no links to the UN either exclude Taiwan or have altered its name. Organizations that have allowed Hong Kong and Macau to join as full members -- and have allowed them to retain that membership upon their return to China's rule -- will not extend the same courtesy to Taiwan. In its efforts to join the WHO, even as an observer, Taiwan must disguise itself as a "non-state." But even the attempt to avoid sovereignty disputes faces opposition from Beijing.

  Beijing says at every turn, "There is only one China in the world." It's certainly true. After all, the world acts according to China's orders, at least as far as interactions with neighboring countries.

  The Chinese accuse the Taiwanese of being the "running dogs" of US and Japanese imperialism. They conveniently ignore China's own imperialist history. Intimidation has long been China's way of dealing with its neighbors. Being next door to China is a guarantee of misery. When neighbors were not being invaded by China, they still faced pressure from Beijing, which viewed its neighbors' land as its own.

  Through territorial expansion, migration and military might, the small kingdom that began in the Yellow River watershed 2,000 years ago now stretches from the Yellow Sea to the Taiwan Strait. When China was thriving, it used military force to subdue its neighbors. When China was in chaos, massive numbers of refugees moved south, expanding the mount of fertile land occupied by a Chinese population. When China became strong again, its armies headed south to take over its "territory."

  But the Chinese are never willing to admit to the reality of those long-ago military invasions. Instead they claim that China transformed the people it overran, because of the virtuous system it imposed on them. Even China's more recent roles in the Korean War and the Vietnam War -- clear examples of Beijing's inherent predatory nature -- are dismissed as efforts to aid allies. While the North Vietnamese may have been grateful early in the war to accept Beijing's help, they were embarrassingly quick to repel the People's Liberation Army when it invaded after the war was over.

  So why is it so difficult for the world to accept that the people of Taiwan are not willing to give into claims of historical ties but are willing to stand up on their own?

  If the right to health is one of the basic human rights, then undoubtedly the people of Taiwan have the right to have their nation join the WHO just like anyplace else in the world. Taiwan still must cope with diseases that are difficult to cure. It needs the WHO's help to tackle them. At the same time, however, Taiwan has advanced medical resources that it can share with others. Taiwan's participation in the WHO, whether as an observer or a full-fledged member, will be beneficial to everyone.
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