In an online interview titled “The Coming US-China Clash Over Taiwan” posted on YouTube, US economist Jeffrey Sachs called for peace.
“We need above all peace and prudence here, because if it were not for the US meddling, I’m quite sure that across the [Taiwan] Strait there would be a solution to these issues that is peaceful, sensible and especially pragmatic, and if ... politicians in the US are pragmatic and prudent, that peace will prevail,” Sachs said.
His summary of the historical situation between Taiwan and China, and the US’ involvement, was largely accurate, and he was certainly less overtly proximate to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) version of events than he has been before.
However, he did repeat the CCP’s mischaracterization of World War II-era agreements as “proving” that Taiwan was ceded to China.
Sach’s preoccupation has long been with what he considers the folly and arrogance of US foreign policy, and with China. There is no reason to doubt his commitment to peace, but there was something he left out in his summary: recognition of the agency of Taiwanese to decide their own future.
It is one thing to not want Taiwan to be a pawn in US-China regional hegemonic politics, but the problem is his tacit agreement to allow Taiwan’s future to be decided by one great power while the other stays on the sidelines. Where is the self-determination for Taiwanese?
Sachs does not want war. Contrary to his suspicions about the prudence of US officials, Washington does not want war, either. Taiwanese certainly do not want war, with the majority in favor of the cross-strait “status quo.”
Moreover, despite saber-rattling by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the Taiwan Strait, neither Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) nor the CCP want war. Initiation of a conflict that would be difficult to contain would be far from prudent. The PLA will continue its pressure to prevent erosion of the CPP’s advantages, but resolution according to international law is Beijing’s most pragmatic option.
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) in an article in the Taipei Times (“Why talk about peace now?” Sept. 18, page 8) urged Taiwan to leverage its agency to push more firmly for peace.
John Cheng, a retired Hong Kong businessman who lives in Taiwan, wrote that there were limits to Lung’s argument (“Let’s talk about peace plainly,” Sept. 19, page 8). In Hong Kong, Cheng saw first-hand the “peaceful, sensible and especially pragmatic” solutions that the CCP might offer Taiwan.
Monique Chu (朱明琴), a lecturer at the University of Southampton, wrote in an online article published on Thursday last week titled “The Use of Force Against Taiwan as a Contested State: An Analysis of Legality and Great-Power Politics,” that Taiwan’s status as a “contested state” could affect the legality of use of force by the CCP to annex it.
Chu detailed the distinction between de jure recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign nation — which Taiwan has been unsuccessful with — and de facto recognition through unofficial channels.
However, while the CCP would frame an invasion as a “domestic action” beyond the scope of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter — which prohibits member states from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state — Chu argues that an alternative reading of international law regards “contested” de facto states like Taiwan as also being protected entities, with use of force contravening its rights and security.
If the CCP were to take the prudent, sensible and pragmatic approach that Sachs hopes for, it would offer a real chance of meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s elected government.
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) recent visit to Beijing and her upcoming visit to Washington will serve as a high-level test of her diplomatic mettle. In Beijing, Cheng was received with symbolic gestures, a warm reception, and high-level access. In Washington, she will receive far less pomp and far sharper questions about the KMT’s vision for the future of Taiwan. Her challenge will be to persuade Washington that the KMT’s engagement with China can coexist with strong deterrence. Cheng’s April 7-12 visit to mainland China coincided with an intense period of conflict in Iran. Despite the strategic significance of Cheng’s trip,
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent the vast Asian chemicals industry into a tailspin. Deprived of the likes of Qatari natural gas and Saudi Arabian oil, the region’s fertilizer and plastics plants are slowing production or even shutting down. Everywhere except China, that is. In petrochemicals, China is unique. As well as a traditional industry that uses oil and gas as feedstock, it has parallel output that relies on its abundant domestic coal. Unsurprisingly, India and other regional powers want to copy and paste the Chinese method. This would not be easy — or climate friendly. The
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says he knows how to fix the problems facing Indonesia. Yet his economic mismanagement and authoritarian tendencies are steering the nation toward a familiar mix of currency instability and political chaos. The world’s fourth-most populous nation risks reversing the hard-won democratic and business reforms that came after the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. At that time, the rupiah collapsed and the political upheaval that followed forced former president Haji Mohamed Suharto from power. Prabowo’s administration is ignoring similar warning signs. That disconnect was apparent in a national address on Wednesday, when Prabowo projected the swagger that has
“Of course you can choose not to be Taiwanese, just do not stay here,” chairwoman of Taipei 101 operator Taipei Financial Center Corp Janet Chia (賈永婕) said in an online interview with local entertainer Tai Chih-yuan (邰智源), triggering intense discussion on social media, with politicians across party lines weighing in. In the interview, which was aired on May 14, Chia and Tai’s discussion over a meal in Taipei 101 covered Chia’s career change from entertainer to chairwoman and US climber Alex Honnold’s free solo climb up the Taipei 101 building. During the interview, Chia said, “Being on this land, we
RSS