President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) diplomatic tour reached a climax this week with unexpected encounters with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Scottish movie star Sean Connery at Panama's centennial celebrations.
Powell and Connery are the superstars of the US political arena and the global film arena respectively. Even though Chen met them only briefly, the meetings are nevertheless noteworthy given Taiwan's difficult international situation and the obstacles to establishing formal US-Taiwan diplomatic ties.
Powell's familiarity with Chen was only natural, but it was surprising that Connery, who became famous for playing the British spy James Bond in movies, told Chen he was his idol. Apparently, virtuous people are never lonely and everyone wants to be their friend. Even though Taiwan has been isolated diplomatically, its economic and domestic performance has wowed the international community. We believe Connery's respect for Chen came from his heart. Connery would never have made a similar remark to Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤). How could the president of China -- a country that oppresses its people, violates their human rights and browbeats Taiwan at every turn -- become an idol of internationally renowned people?
It was no wonder that Therese Shaheen, chairwoman of the American Institute in Taiwan, praised the people of Taiwan as "superstars" when she met Chen earlier. Shaheen said that Iraq, though rich in natural resources, had destroyed itself. By contrast, Taiwan has only people but nevertheless created a highly developed economy.
Without wanting to sound smug about Shaheen's praise, we hope that the enlightening remarks from this sincere friend of Taiwan will cause the nation's political camps to rethink their entrenched positions. While the international community watches Taiwan's success, the opposition parties are toadying up to China and spout rancid remarks about Chen's diplomatic tour. They cannot bring themselves to accept the success of his visit, and they are dying to see Chen, the nation's head of state, insulted by the international community. Sometimes we suspect Taiwan has politicians of two nationalities -- Taiwanese and Chinese. These Chinese politicos fume whenever they see their head of state receiving courteous treatment. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) heaped abuse on the Chen administration during his visit to the UK and the US last month. During Chen's trip, Lien continued to attack him. Lien is acting like China's representative in Taiwan. Not to be outdone in displaying loyalty to China, People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) not only ridiculed Chen for not getting a 21-gun salute during his visit to the US, but also criticized him for being unqualified to receive an international human rights award.
Now we know why Chen received unprecedented hospitality during his stopover in New York, and why China has kept silent about the matter. It's because China already has two loyal watchdogs -- Lien and Soong. China need do nothing to attack Chen as long as Lien and Soong remain active in Taiwan's political arena.
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