Mon, Nov 09, 2015 page8

• ‘Significance’ of the Ma-Xi meeting

  • By Cheng Tzu-leong 鄭自隆
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  The meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was very important for Ma, because it is the only thing he has achieved during his eight years as president that could earn him a place in history. However, it was not so important for Xi.

  For that reason, what people have seen about the meeting is that the Chinese side has been pulling all the strings. The things Taiwan has said about the meeting, such as that the two sides would pay for their own banquets was a sign of equality, are a joke.

  The timing of the event also shows that Taiwan is falling into a “one China” trap. It is not that Ma should not have meet Xi, but he should not have met him at this time in Singapore.

  Xi’s trip to Singapore was a state visit to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the city state and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The establishment of diplomatic ties between Singapore and the PRC signified the Republic of China’s (ROC) international status passing into the hands of the PRC, and as such it has a heavy political significance.

  China’s agreement to have a meeting with Ma at this particular time and place is clearly meant to belittle Taiwan, but that did not stop Ma from heading to Singapore with a smile on his face.

  This kind of insensitivity with regard to timing is something that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has often overlooked. When former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) climbed onto Tiananmen to watch the military parade that was held in Beijing on Sept. 3, many people accused him of doing the wrong thing, but his critics missed the point, which was that only 66 years had passed since “new China” — the PRC — was founded with Beijing as its capital, so what was it doing celebrating the 70th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan?

  This, too, was a symbolic attempt by the PRC to claim the ROC’s heritage. The ROC was defeated by the PRC, which became its successor state. Lien has served as vice president and other high-ranking posts in the ROC, yet he did not find it insensitive to take part in the PRC’s celebrations.

  In terms of its significance, the Ma-Xi meeting is just a personal political show put on by Ma. Given that his popularity has already hit rock bottom, he has nothing to lose from meeting with Xi — he can only gain from it. As to whether it would help the KMT in the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, and whether it would be of any benefit to Taiwan have no place among Ma’s concerns.

  The nation’s communications with China were long ago upgraded from being handled by non-governmental bodies — the Straits Exchange Foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits — to being dealt with by ministry-level departments — the Mainland Affairs Council and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council — so a meeting of the leaders of the two nations has only symbolic significance.

  On the surface, the reason why Xi “granted an audience” to Ma at this juncture seems like a “graduation gift” in response to the China-friendly policies that Ma has pursued during his eight years as president.

  However, his real motive was to demonstrate the “one China” framework to the international community so that the actions of Taiwan’s next president would be limited. That is why Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) keeps talking about the “1992 consensus.”

  As to Beijing’s possible motive of getting Taiwan to support it in its disputes over territories in the South China Sea, those who suggest it are probably overestimating Taiwan’s importance. Since Beijing recognizes only “one China,” it does not need the support of Taiwan.

  Would the Ma-Xi meeting contribute anything to the KMT’s electoral prospects? It is hard to say. On the upside, it could bring some “shallow blue” supporters back into the fold, but the downside is that, should the meeting cause Ma to lose face in any way, it could turn out to be a disaster for his party.

  A further risk was that if the South China Sea disputes were brought up and Ma said something inappropriate, it could have offended the US.

  The only person in Taiwan who stands to benefit from the meeting is Ma. What he stands to gain is his dream of an illusory and vacuous place in history.

  That is why he was happy to eat at the table, even at China’s beck and call.

  Cheng Tzu-leong is a professor at National Chengchi University’s College of Communication.

  Translated by Julian Clegg
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