Since the “representatives of Chiang Kai-shek” (蔣中正) were expelled from the UN with the passing of Resolution 2758 in 1971, Taiwan has had to come up with innovative ways to get around its international isolation and expand its international space.
This isolation was prolonged until the death of Chiang, who insisted that “gentlemen cannot stand together with thieves,” meaning that the Republic of China would not stay in organizations that also contained the Chinese Communist Party.
This changed under his successor and son, Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), who implemented what became known as “practical diplomacy,” which included using economic initiatives and cultural exchanges to enhance Taiwan’s international space. Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) expanded this strategy with his “pragmatic diplomacy,” leveraging the nation’s newfound economic power to expand Taiwan’s international space by joining regional economic groups.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) strategy for more international space was to prioritize positive ties with China, hoping that Beijing would allow Taiwan to participate in international governmental organizations. Although Ma had some initial success, his strategy did not meaningfully enhance the nation’s international space.
As London-based researcher Mariah Thornton said, Taiwan’s participation under Ma was “temporary and contingent upon China’s consent,” which it could withdraw at any time, exposing the limitations of depending on Beijing to enhance the nation’s international participation.
Not only did Ma disregard the “primary goal” of Taiwan’s quest for international participation, which is “to obtain rights to participation separate from China,” according to Taiwan researcher Sigrid Walker, but his reliance on China’s consent also undercut Taiwan’s visibility and status as a nation separate from Beijing.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) learned from Ma’s mistakes. Her decoupling of Taiwan’s international participation from relying on Beijing’s authority by diversifying the nation’s international ties has proved far more effective and durable.
She described her strategy thus: “The Democratic Progressive Party walks toward the world and walks toward China with the world, while the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] walks toward China and walks toward the world with China.”
Tsai’s strategy helped boost Taiwan’s international status and visibility, turning the nation into a core pillar of the democratic world. Her tenure saw an unprecedented increase in parliamentary exchanges, including Japan, India, the UK and other European states, who wished to expand ties, and express support for Taiwan’s ongoing sovereignty and independence.
However, the KMT is still stuck in its old ways. It refused to join the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) — a global, cross-party alliance to address the challenges that China poses to the rules-based order — for fear of upsetting Beijing. It still wants to depend on China for the nation’s international space.
At the IPAC summit in Taipei on Tuesday last week, about 50 lawmakers from 24 nations passed a resolution to commit their respective parliaments to take action against Beijing’s distortion that UN Resolution 2758 decided Taiwan’s sovereignty. The resolution, and the summit itself being hosted in Taipei, was a historical moment in the nation’s foreign affairs, and a reminder that Taiwan’s international participation is enhanced through ties with other democracies and is a ringing endorsement of Tsai’s strategy of walking toward the world and toward China with the world.
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