US supporters of Taiwan reacted with surprise and anger at President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) reference to Taiwan as a “province” during talks with visiting Texas Governor Rick Perry in Taipei earlier this week.
“In 1988, Texas and Taiwan Province became sister states,” Ma said. “Over the past two years, we have engaged in many exchanges in technology, culture, education and agriculture.”
In fact, an official resolution passed last year by the Texas House of Representatives — reaffirming the friendship agreement — refers to Taiwan throughout as a “Sister State” and not as a province.
What particularly upset Taiwanese-Americans was that only last week, the Federal Register — the official journal of the US Government — announced that for the first time Taiwan was being regarded as a “new designated country.”
The announcement said the Federal Acquisition Regulation had been amended to add Taiwan “as a designated country, due to the accession of Taiwan to membership in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement.”
The move, which has been pending for about a year, is not expected to have any major impact on trade.
Nevertheless, it was considered significant for symbolic reasons.
The fear by many Taiwanese-Americans is that by referring to Taiwan as a “province,” Ma may have conceded that a Chinese takeover was inevitable.
“It is extremely disturbing,” said Coen Blaauw, executive director of the Formosan Association for Public Relations (FAPA).
“American policymakers and government institutions bend over backwards in the international community to treat Taiwan as a sovereign country,” he said. “And here we have President Ma referring to that very country as a province of China when dealing with Governor Perry. Many of our members are very upset.”
A typical reaction came from a Taiwanese-born American now working for the US government in Washington.
“It makes me furious. All of my Taiwanese friends here can’t understand why President Ma would talk in this way. Obviously, we are not a province of China. If we were, we would be ruled by Beijing,” he said.
FAPA president Bob Yang (楊英育) said: “ I am concerned that Taiwan will start attending international meetings such as the WHA with permission from China and that this will become a trend and an accepted norm. It will mark a slippery slope for Taiwan and for Taiwan’s supporters, who want to see Taiwan as a free and democratic country receive greater international recognition.
“The bottom line is that the Chinese leadership cannot be trusted. It is high time Taiwan’s leadership recognized that,” Yang said.
While not directly connected to Ma’s remarks, Congressman Scott Garrett on Tuesday called for full membership for Taiwan in international organizations instead of just “meaningful participation.”
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