Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Forward Forum in Taipei, former Singaporean minister for foreign affairs George Yeo (楊榮文) proposed a “Chinese commonwealth” as a potential framework for political integration between Taiwan and China. Yeo said the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait is unsustainable and that Taiwan should not be “a piece on the chessboard” in a geopolitical game between China and the US.
Yeo’s remark is nothing but an ill-intentioned political maneuver that is made by all pro-China politicians in Singapore. Since when does a Southeast Asian nation have the right to stick its nose in where it is not wanted and make judgements on cross-strait relations?
Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀), and former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) were on such cordial terms that Chiang signed an agreement called “Project Starlight,” allowing Singapore to dispatch troops to Taiwan for training. With that history in mind, perhaps Yeo thought he could “help” decide the fate of Taiwan by helping to spread Beijing’s propaganda.
Neither Taiwan nor China is made up of a single ethnic group. Terms such as “Zhonghua minzu” (中華民族, “Chinese nation”) or “Chinese people” were invented to support pro-unification ideology. Even in Singapore, only three-quarters of the population are considered “Chinese” or are the descendants of Chinese people.
Perhaps Yeo should first conduct a survey in Singapore by asking how many Singporeans are willing for Singapore to form a “Chinese commonwealth” with China. If the majority approved, Yeo could then sell the idea to Taiwan.
The UK and the US are democratic countries. Despite their shared language and history, and overlapping in religious beliefs and legal principles, as well as ties that reach back hundreds of years, they are close allies and independent entities that have each other’s backs. They are not a “commonwealth.”
In the case of China and Taiwan, anyone can see that the two have more differences than similarities, in terms of political systems, ideologies and values, not to mention distrust and no feelings of kinship. How could this become a “commonwealth”?
Beijing has always accused other nations of interfering in China’s internal affairs; why is it now being oddly silent about Yeo’s stupid remark?
Hung Yu-jui is a Japanese-language teacher and translator.
Translated by Rita Wang
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to bully Taiwan by conducting military drills extremely close to Taiwan in late May 2024 and announcing a legal opinion in June on how they would treat “Taiwan Independence diehards” according to the PRC’s Criminal Code. This article will describe how China’s Anaconda Strategy of psychological and legal asphyxiation is employed. The CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) conducted a “punishment military exercise” against Taiwan called “Joint Sword 2024A” from 23-24 May 2024, just three days after President William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was sworn in and
Former US president Donald Trump’s comments that Taiwan hollowed out the US semiconductor industry are incorrect. That misunderstanding could impact the future of one of the world’s most important relationships and end up aiding China at a time it is working hard to push its own tech sector to catch up. “Taiwan took our chip business from us,” the returnee US presidential contender told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview published this week. The remarks came after the Republican nominee was asked whether he would defend Taiwan against China. It is not the first time he has said this about the nation’s
In a recent interview with the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called President William Lai (賴清德) “naive.” As always with Ma, one must first deconstruct what he is saying to fully understand the parallel universe he insists on defending. Who is being “naive,” Lai or Ma? The quickest way is to confront Ma with a series of pointed questions that force him to take clear stands on the complex issues involved and prevent him from his usual ramblings. Regarding China and Taiwan, the media should first begin with questions like these: “Did the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
The Yomiuri Shimbun, the newspaper with the largest daily circulation in Japan, on Thursday last week published an article saying that an unidentified high-ranking Japanese official openly spoke of an analysis that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) needs less than a week, not a month, to invade Taiwan with its amphibious forces. Reportedly, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has already been advised of the analysis, which was based on the PLA’s military exercises last summer. A Yomiuri analysis of unclassified satellite photographs confirmed that the PLA has already begun necessary base repairs and maintenance, and is conducting amphibious operation exercises