Former president Lee Teng-hui's (
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) insist on the Republic of China (ROC) and make public their determination to safeguard the current Constitution because without it there would be no ROC. As outlined in the Constitution, no change to the territory is allowed. That's why the pan-blue camp has made all-out efforts to oppose the special-state-to-state theory and the one-country-on-each-side theme.
PFP Chairman James Soong (
On top of the relationship between China and Taiwan, we may indeed have two countries inside Taiwan, as Soong pointed out, but they consist of one side representing "one China" and the other side supporting Taiwan. And the "one China" faction in Taiwan does not sing the same tune as the "one China" faction on the other side of the Strait.
While accompanying Chen in Manhattan, American Institute in Taiwan Chairwoman Therese Shaheen publicly said that US President George W. Bush was Chen's "secret angel." Her comment showed that the US stood firm behind Chen, which can be equated with its firm support for Taiwan.
We can understand why her comment irritated China, yet to our bewilderment, it has also irritated the pan-blue camp. Pan-blue lawmakers publicly listed Shaheen as persona non grata. At the same time, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Liu Jianchao (
Why has Taiwan-friendly Shaheen become the common enemy of Chinese communists and the pan-blue camp? If we examine their relationship in light of German political philosopher Carl Schmitt's "friend-foe distinction," the issue of who is the friend and who the enemy becomes very clear and interesting.
Shaheen's is not an isolated case. During his US stopover, Chen publicly talked about referendums and a new constitution, and the US still gave him an unprecedented warm welcome.
This made the pan-blue camp realize that their criticism of Chen had not worked at all.
They also came to the painful conclusion that the US had on the one hand allowed the KMT-PFP alliance to prevent Chen from enacting a new constitution and declaring Taiwan's independence, while on the other hand permitting Shaheen to side with Chen. They just felt they had been cheated by the US.
Coincidentally, China also felt cheated. Beijing felt cheated because Chen was treated so well in the US. Therefore, Chen's breakthrough during his visit in the US was a major setback for both the pan-blue camp and China. Both of them suffered from being cheated by Washington.
From this, isn't it obvious who is siding with whom in the one-country-on-each-side discourse? Who is whose enemy cannot be more obvious than this.
Chin Heng-wei is editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine.
Translated by Jennie Shih
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS