President Chen Shui-bian (
However, the Chinese Communist Party was quick to fire up its propaganda machine and stoke the flames of Chinese nationalism, hurling invective at Chen and making military threats. The attempts by Beijing and its pro-unification toadies in Taiwan to harass Taiwan's democratic system explains how utterly unrealistic the international community's expectations are of a peaceful transition of political power in China.
After Bill Clinton became US president, academia and political circles in the US reversed the political, military and economic sanctions adopted by the previous president, George Bush, after the Tiananmen Square massacre. They started a new pro-Beijing bent, talking about a peaceful transition of power within the communist regime. Massive amounts of US capital and technology moved into China. Europe, Japan and other Asian nations were quick to follow, thereby fattening China with foreign investment and solidifying the Communist Party's hold on power. Beijing was able to continue its brutal suppression of demands for democratic rule and violations of human rights, while the People's Liberation Army (PLA) rapidly modernized with the support of foreign capital and technology.
However, the US idea of using economic incentives to promote systemic change in China is doomed to failure because the PLA has been the biggest beneficiary of the country's dramatic economic growth, solidifying the military's loyalty to the regime. The party's monopoly on power remains unchanged. In fact, with the standard of living improving in China's coastal regions, what urgent need is there for the party to change the status quo?
However, the modernization of the Chinese military is planting the seeds for armed conflict in Asia, especially in the Taiwan Strait. To reverse the effects of past US policy mistakes, Washington needs to maintain a military balance in Asia and help Taiwan improve its defense capability in order to prevent the Chinese military from becoming too arrogant and threatening.
The US should therefore change its ambivalent "one China" policy because it will only mislead the international community and perpetuate Beijing's delusions about Taiwan being its territory. The US should clearly state that it will respect the people of Taiwan's choice regarding their future, so that they can exercise their free will and choose between unification and independence by means of a public referendum. The US should also help the people of China free themselves from communist rule and formulate its China investment policy with a longterm view, so it won't shoot itself it the foot by aiding in the creation of a military power capable of threatening Asia.
As Taiwan’s domestic political crisis deepens, the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have proposed gutting the country’s national spending, with steep cuts to the critical foreign and defense ministries. While the blue-white coalition alleges that it is merely responding to voters’ concerns about corruption and mismanagement, of which there certainly has been plenty under Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and KMT-led governments, the rationales for their proposed spending cuts lay bare the incoherent foreign policy of the KMT-led coalition. Introduced on the eve of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the KMT’s proposed budget is a terrible opening
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
“I compare the Communist Party to my mother,” sings a student at a boarding school in a Tibetan region of China’s Qinghai province. “If faith has a color,” others at a different school sing, “it would surely be Chinese red.” In a major story for the New York Times this month, Chris Buckley wrote about the forced placement of hundreds of thousands of Tibetan children in boarding schools, where many suffer physical and psychological abuse. Separating these children from their families, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to substitute itself for their parents and for their religion. Buckley’s reporting is
Last week, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), together holding more than half of the legislative seats, cut about NT$94 billion (US$2.85 billion) from the yearly budget. The cuts include 60 percent of the government’s advertising budget, 10 percent of administrative expenses, 3 percent of the military budget, and 60 percent of the international travel, overseas education and training allowances. In addition, the two parties have proposed freezing the budgets of many ministries and departments, including NT$1.8 billion from the Ministry of National Defense’s Indigenous Defense Submarine program — 90 percent of the program’s proposed
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