Thu, Sep 24, 2020 page8

• Czech visit could inspire others

  • By Manik Mehta
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  China-watchers in the US and elsewhere are struck by the audacious and path-breaking visit by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil who last month led a 89-member delegation to Taiwan and defied the “red-line warnings” by acerbic Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅).

  Wang, who was visiting several European countries when Vystrcil was speaking in Taipei, ranted against the Taiwan visit in threatening language: “The Chinese government and Chinese people won’t take a laissez-faire attitude or sit idly by, and will make him [Vystrcil] pay a heavy price for his short-sighted behavior and political opportunism,” Wang said.

  The threat received a sharp rebuke from German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas, who while addressing the media in Berlin with a stern-looking Wang standing next to him, emphasized that Europeans offered their international partners respect and expected “exactly the same” from them.

  “Threats do not fit in here,” Maas said.

  The French government also lambasted Wang’s comments as “unacceptable.”

  Similar views were also expressed by Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova, writing on Twitter that “threats directed at one of the EU members and its representatives contradict the very essence of our partnership and as such are unacceptable.”

  Much of Europe was also incensed by Wang’s outburst and his arm-twisting tactics, when he warned Norway against awarding Hong Kong democracy protesters the Nobel Peace Prize.

  What irritated China most was Vystrcil’s bold statement, saying “I am Taiwanese” at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, reminiscent of former US president John F. Kennedy’s 1963 remarks in Berlin.

  “Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis Romanus sum. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is: ‘Ich bin ein Berliner,’” Kennedy said.

  Vystrcil’s message to China was clear: Many world leaders stand with democratic Taiwan in its fight against communist China’s belligerence, which threatens world peace and stability.

  China’s aggressive tones, part of its “wolf warrior” diplomacy, are badly denting China’s external image.

  While underdeveloped countries are pressured to break ties with Taiwan in exchange for China’s economic sops, developed countries in the West are alarmed with their growing trade and economic dependency on China and, at the same time, appalled by Beijing’s aggressive designs and actions against Taiwan, and in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Tibet, the South China Sea and India’s Ladakh region, among others.

  There is a growing sense of frustration, anger and distrust against China in many parts of the world, exacerbated by the Chinese Communist Party’s manipulations to cover up the initial COVID-19 outbreak.

  The world was shocked to learn that while residents of Wuhan — COVID-19’s point of origin in central China — were in the first few months following the outbreak barred from domestic travel, they were allowed to travel abroad.

  On the other hand, Taiwan’s successful containment of the COVID-19 pandemic has impressed the world. Taiwan’s willingness to offer expertise and concrete help to other nations was well received, with public opinion around the world also turning against the WHO for its reluctance to grant Taiwan even observer status at its conferences.

  US experts on cross-strait relations have privately told this writer that they would “not be surprised at all” if Vyzstrcil’s visit prompted politicians in other countries to visit Taiwan and defy Chinese warnings.

  “What can China do if politicians from much of the world decided to visit Taiwan or even establish formal ties? Will China attack or take punitive action against countries whose top politicians visited Taiwan? Does it have the capability to do that against the world at large?” a representative of a New York City-based think tank said.

  It also remains to be seen what punitive measure China might take as a reaction to last week’s visit to Taiwan by US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach.

  The visit came after a trip last month by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, the highest-level US official to visit since the US switched formal relations from Taiwan to China in 1979.

  However, the US can — and should — go beyond merely forging closer bilateral relations with Taiwan, and encourage leading politicians of other nations to visit Taiwan and forge closer ties. It could offer incentives under its Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, which states: “It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government should consider, in certain cases as appropriate and in alignment with United States interests, increasing its economic, security, and diplomatic engagement with nations that have demonstrably strengthened, enhanced, or upgraded relations with Taiwan.”

  The US could also try to help the Czech Republic against any possible retaliatory action by China.

  Beijing’s actions and conduct, particularly since Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) took over the government reins in 2013, have acquired a belligerent character, stepping on the toes of an increasing number of states and trying to eventually crush them. If the US provided tangible support to the Czech Republic, it could inspire leaders of other countries to also visit Taiwan. By doing so, the US could also regain a large measure of the leadership profile that it had built over the decades in the Indo-Pacific region.

  Manik Mehta is a New York-based journalist with writing experience on foreign affairs, diplomacy, global economics and international trade.
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