The historic Chen-Soong summit on Thursday announced that the 10-point agreement reached at the meeting is the common denominator for Taiwan. To push for the Chen-Soong meeting, President Chen Shui-bian (
After the Chen-Soong meeting, people with opposing views on issues of independence and reunification felt they had been duped. Disgruntled Taiwan independence activists severely criticized Chen and the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) while the dark blues also lambasted Soong and the People First Party (PFP). The reason that the Chen-Soong meeting caused some blue and green supporters anxiety was that it betrayed their political beliefs. When political values and promises are used to trade with enemies, it is no surprise that supporters are upset.
The consensus reached at the Chen-Soong meeting may have disappointed many, but it is still too early to declare it a failure. There are two benchmarks to measure the success of the ten-point consensus, the first of which is whether the arms purchase bill -- so long delayed in the legislature -- will finally be passed.
The PFP has been the political party most strongly opposed to the arms purchase, but during the meeting Soong agreed that "Taiwan needs sufficient national defense capabilities to ensure peace across the Taiwan Strait." He added that with security of the nation, stability across the Taiwan Strait and peace throughout the region as strategic objectives, Taiwan will acquire the necessary arms and military equipment for national defense purposes.
When Soong visited Washington, he gained a firsthand understanding of US concern over Taiwan's armaments and regional security. Then, after cross-strait security was included recently in the US-Japan Security Treaty, the security burden to be shouldered by Taiwan also increased. Whether the PFP's attitude towards the arms purchase bill has changed will be a touchstone for the summit's success or failure.
In the Chen-Soong summit, Chen has moved from the mainstream doctrine developed in recent years of "one China, one Taiwan," and regressed to "one China under the Constitution" (
The answer rests in whether the National People's Congress enacts its proposed anti-secession law after it meets on March 5. If China insists on going ahead with this legal and international propaganda war against Taiwan, then it will be clear that Taiwan's goodwill might just as well have been tossed into the Taiwan Strait. The sacrifices made in the name of the Chen-Soong summit are not insubstantial, but if this is the price of negotiation, then the PFP should also make some concessions regarding the arms procurement budget, and China should also make concessions regarding the anti-secession law, to show their sincerity. If the sacrifices are being made only by the green camp and by Taiwan, then it is not a case of each party benefiting and making concessions in equal measure, but is simply the looting and raping that follows defeat.
On April 19, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) gave a public speech, his first in about 17 years. During the address at the Ketagalan Institute in Taipei, Chen’s words were vague and his tone was sour. He said that democracy should not be used as an echo chamber for a single politician, that people must be tolerant of other views, that the president should not act as a dictator and that the judiciary should not get involved in politics. He then went on to say that others with different opinions should not be criticized as “XX fellow travelers,” in reference to
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
During the “426 rally” organized by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party under the slogan “fight green communism, resist dictatorship,” leaders from the two opposition parties framed it as a battle against an allegedly authoritarian administration led by President William Lai (賴清德). While criticism of the government can be a healthy expression of a vibrant, pluralistic society, and protests are quite common in Taiwan, the discourse of the 426 rally nonetheless betrayed troubling signs of collective amnesia. Specifically, the KMT, which imposed 38 years of martial law in Taiwan from 1949 to 1987, has never fully faced its
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator-at-large Liu Shu-pin (劉書彬) asked Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) a question on Tuesday last week about President William Lai’s (賴清德) decision in March to officially define the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as a foreign hostile force. Liu objected to Lai’s decision on two grounds. First, procedurally, suggesting that Lai did not have the right to unilaterally make that decision, and that Cho should have consulted with the Executive Yuan before he endorsed it. Second, Liu objected over national security concerns, saying that the CCP and Chinese President Xi
RSS