On the eve of the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the US, President Chen Shui-bian (
Before the Sanchih meeting, high-ranking officials of the Chen administration were already considering designating Chinese military threats against Taiwan as "war terrorism." The goal is to take the cross-strait conflict beyond the confines of a Chinese domestic issue and portray the stand-off between the two sides as a struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. This would therefore prevent China from gaining support and recognition for its military buildup against Taiwan. Taiwan is already a democratic country. The Taiwanese government should try to highlight the country's recognition of democracy, freedom, and value of life in the global anti-terrorism campaign. It should call on the international community to realize that the Asia-Pacific region is an important link in the international campaign against terrorism, and that Taiwan is an indispensable member of the anti-terrorism alliance.
The success of the campaign will require, in addition to the joint efforts of Asia-Pacific countries, three things in the region: security and stability, the expansion and solidification of democracy, and economic cooperation and development. The peace, prosperity and stability of the region in turn is based on the stability and security of the Taiwan Strait. In other words, unless Taiwan can be free from the threat of Chinese terrorism, world and regional peace will be seriously jeopardized.
The PRC has never ruled Taiwan. Yet it unilaterally declares that Taiwan is part of it and resorts to the tactic of military threats to intimidate Taiwan. Such barbaric conduct is no different from terrorism. Some members of the international community who are less familiar with cross-strait history are deceived by Chinese propaganda. It is entirely understandable that they do not know that Taiwan is already an independent country and falsely believe that Taiwan is part of China. But, a small minority of pro-unification politicians and media within Taiwan also dance to the Chinese tune by emphasizing that Taiwan cannot lose its Chinese qualities. They oppose all localization efforts and democratic reforms. Worse yet, some even concoct the illusion that the hearts of Taiwanese are really in the mother country.
This conduct in essence legitimizes Chinese military action against Taiwan. For example, after Chen compared Chinese military threats with terrorism, some opposition lawmakers immediately accused him of equating anti-terrorism with anti-communism, disregarding the international reality and demonizing Beijing. It is an indisputable fact that Taiwan faces military threats from China. During the Taiwan's 1996 presidential election, China conducted missile tests in the waters around Taiwan, raising tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Under the circumstances, some politicians in Taiwan are still defending Beijing against accusations of practicing terrorism. What can they possibly be thinking?
An even more serious question that Taiwan's government should consider is why Taiwanese society lacks animosity toward its greatest threat: China. In fact, Taiwanese are rushing to invest their money in China. Across all camps and sectors, people see investing there as the "in" thing to do and take pride in being able to go on pilgrimages to China. Taiwan's cross-strait trade and economic policies fail to encourage businesses to keep their roots in Taiwan. Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) is worried about Taiwanese businessmen's west-bound march. He has openly criticized the China-bound investments for causing Taiwan political and economic harm. Besides, China's attempt to engulf Taiwan and military threats have never ceased. If we continue to disregard this reality and blindly invest in China, we are selling out to Beijing.
The reality of cross-strait trade and economics and the warning issued by Lee highlight the seriousness of the problem. According to statistics, during the past 10 years, Taiwan has invested about 2 percent of its GNP in China each year. Over the years, this investment totals about US$100 billion. In comparison, countries such as the US and Japan invest about 0.05 percent of their GNP in China. Moreover, Taiwan relies on China's market more than any other country in the world. The Chinese and Hong Kong markets, together, take in more than 30 percent of Taiwan's export market.
The high-level of risk Taiwan is taking on cannot be ignored. Even worse, as a result of an economic downturn, private sector investment has declined this year. However, investments in China continue unabated. After the government opened up investments for 8-inch wafer foundries in China, and once the investment applications of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp and other chip manufacturers are approved, the sum of Taiwanese investments in China will snowball.
Taiwanese investments in China will crowd out local investments in manpower, technology and research and development. Hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese businessmen now live in China, reducing the value of real estate in Taiwan and reducing the level of consumption. The west-bound march of Taiwanese businesses has created a situation in which money flows into China, while debts are left behind in Taiwan. The ratio of non-performing loans and the unemployment rate in Taiwan have rapidly increased. Taiwanese investments in China do not create a win-win situation. Rather, the other side is thriving at the expense of Taiwan. Ironically, the more Taiwanese invest in China, the more rapidly China's economy develops and the greater the number of ballistic missiles deployed against Taiwan.
Support for peaceful cross-strait dialogue and opposition to China's annexation of Taiwan have become the consensus of the international community. The European Parliament recently passed a resolution calling on China to withdraw all missiles deployed against Taiwan. This proves that the Taiwanese government's labeling of Chinese military threats as "terrorism" reflects the universal values of civilized society. The accusation by a small number of individuals that such a position contradicts international reality is absolutely untrue. However, if Taiwan wishes to oppose terrorism on the political front and awaken the world to the threat posed by Chinese terrorism, it cannot aid China economically and further open up investments to China.
Helping Chinese economic development is the equivalent of helping China strengthen its military capability. Now that the Chen administration has determined to rectify cross-strait trade and economic policies and realign the strategies for the country's economic development, ministers should change their mindset as well. Do not disobey the new policies. Truly implement policies on local investments, so as to not become an accomplice of Chinese terrorism against Taiwanese.
The EU’s biggest banks have spent years quietly creating a new way to pay that could finally allow customers to ditch their Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc cards — the latest sign that the region is looking to dislodge two of the most valuable financial firms on the planet. Wero, as the project is known, is now rolling out across much of western Europe. Backed by 16 major banks and payment processors including BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG and Worldline SA, the platform would eventually allow a German customer to instantly settle up with, say, a hotel in France
On August 6, Ukraine crossed its northeastern border and invaded the Russian region of Kursk. After spending more than two years seeking to oust Russian forces from its own territory, Kiev turned the tables on Moscow. Vladimir Putin seemed thrown off guard. In a televised meeting about the incursion, Putin came across as patently not in control of events. The reasons for the Ukrainian offensive remain unclear. It could be an attempt to wear away at the morale of both Russia’s military and its populace, and to boost morale in Ukraine; to undermine popular and elite confidence in Putin’s rule; to
A traffic accident in Taichung — a city bus on Sept. 22 hit two Tunghai University students on a pedestrian crossing, killing one and injuring the other — has once again brought up the issue of Taiwan being a “living hell for pedestrians” and large vehicle safety to public attention. A deadly traffic accident in Taichung on Dec. 27, 2022, when a city bus hit a foreign national, his Taiwanese wife and their one-year-old son in a stroller on a pedestrian crossing, killing the wife and son, had shocked the public, leading to discussions and traffic law amendments. However, just after the
With escalating US-China competition and mutual distrust, the trend of supply chain “friend shoring” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fragmentation of the world into rival geopolitical blocs, many analysts and policymakers worry the world is retreating into a new cold war — a world of trade bifurcation, protectionism and deglobalization. The world is in a new cold war, said Robin Niblett, former director of the London-based think tank Chatham House. Niblett said he sees the US and China slowly reaching a modus vivendi, but it might take time. The two great powers appear to be “reversing carefully
RSS