In stark contrast to the excitement surrounding the 50th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China, Taiwan's public has mostly expressed indifference toward what Beijing heralds as one of the pinnacle celebrations in Chinese history.
The lack of concern has been exacerbated by China's exploitation of the catastrophic earthquake in central Taiwan last Tuesday, in the aftermath of which Beijing championed political issues over humanitarian concerns.
"I don't have any feelings towards their 50th anniversary ... there really is no such thing as `one country, two systems,' it's a fallacy," said a taxi driver surnamed Chu.
"If China thinks of us as their blood kin, why did they obstruct international aid efforts to Taiwan?" he added.
Fresh in many minds was the fact that Beijing meddled in the United Nation's decision to send a relief mission from the UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to Taiwan last week, insisting the UN must obtain "permission" from Beijing first.
China also delayed the arrival of a Russian rescue team by 12 hours by refusing to allow their aircraft to pass through Chinese air space.
"On the surface China says one thing and then does another," said James Yang (
Following the quake last week, Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
Yet Beijing has continued to throw obstacles in Taiwan's way as the island is struggling to recover from the quake.
"People are pretty fed up with China," Yang said.
When Taiwanese were first allowed to travel to China in the late 1980s they immediately caught "mainland fever," said Lin Chong-pin (林中斌), vice chairman of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council.
But after the Tiananmen square incident in 1989 the enthusiasm began to taper off, Lin said.
"People care more now about what Beijing does to us than what the developments in China have been," Lin said.
According to Lin, people in Taiwan tend to view cross-strait relations only through a political spectrum because of Beijing's constant threat to use force against the island.
No one is really concerned about the popular culture in the mainland, he said. "It's too bad, but it's due to what they [China] do to us."
Beijing's unrelenting efforts to push its "one China" policy on the international community has even repelled some in Taiwan who are supportive of eventual unification with China.
"I don't really support Taiwan independence, but this is not the time for China to be promoting its `one country, two systems model,'" said Andy Mao (
Even the more conservative elements of Taiwanese society agree on this point. Liang Su-jung (
"They should not set political conditions for humanitarian aid to Taiwan," Liang added.
"China has changed for the better in the last 50 years. They have abandoned communism and moved on to reformed socialism," Liang said.
"We hope China will use the [anniversary celebration] to ease cross-strait tension and resume the Koo-Wang talks," he added.
Taiwan's foreign ministry urged China to seize an opportunity to show some goodwill toward the island.
"Of course we hope China will use the occasion to renounce the use of force across the Taiwan Strait and seek peaceful developments in cross-strait relations and regional stability," said foreign ministry spokesman Henry Chen (
"But we know such wishes will fall on deaf ears," he added.
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