Taipei Times: Nauru's recent defection cut the number of countries recognizing Taipei instead of Beijing to 27, triggering concern that Taipei's remaining allies might follow suit, as China consolidates its economic and political power. What's your take on this?
Eugene Chien (
Ties between Taiwan and its allies are defined by friendly mutual cooperation. Numerous collaborative projects have facilitated development among our allies and have been mutually beneficial, so much so that it would not be easy for China to come between us.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORG, TAIPEI TIMES
Moreover, it is my understanding that this incident has prompted much discussion within China. Due to China's rapid economic growth in recent years, Beijing has continuously projected itself as a major power. The nation's elite students and diplomats have had misgivings about Beijing's use of resources in the handling of its foreign relations.
While some in Taiwan have pointed out the disadvantages of "dollar diplomacy," I would like to believe that people in China, though under communist rule, would harbor similar suspicions. After all, that country's gross national product per capita remains extremely low. To spend such a large amount (US$137 million) on Nauru amounts in practice to "dollar diplomacy."
It is surprising that a nation with a population of around 1.3 billion could go so far as to claim that it really took pride in its "diplomatic coup" of luring into its fold a country with a population of around 10,000. The people of China, especially the elite, will think twice about this rhetoric.
TT: Taiwan has accused China of practicing "dollar diplomacy" in the case of Nauru. But Taiwan has recently confirmed reports that the country had promised to give US$10 million in aid to its allies Haiti and Panama over the next few years. So both Taipei and Beijing use cash as an instrument of foreign policy. How can Taiwan justify doing so?
Chien: We can analyze the issue from various perspectives. The first dimension is the purpose of the move in diplomatic terms. In order to safeguard our sovereignty and national dignity, Taiwan has to maintain a certain number of diplomatic allies. China, a giant state, has diplomatic ties with hundreds of nations. Beijing's huge expenditure is aimed at eliminating the Republic of China. I don't think China, with its population of around 1.3 billion, can really benefit in any concrete terms from forging ties with a country of only 10,000 people. Its only purpose is to destroy our country.
Secondly, Taiwan takes measures to help our allies tackle problems related to the livelihoods of people and economic development. This is reasonable in light of the aid Taiwan enjoyed from the US as it was developing. It's now time for us to give back to the global community. Budgets for Taiwan's aid programs have been approved by the legislature. China's aid is another story. The cash flow from China is not as transparent as that from Taiwan. And sometimes China spends time and effort on [foreign] politicians, a move absolutely unhelpful to the livelihoods of people.
Third, as far as the duration of aid is concerned, Taiwan has offered aid for fixed terms, normally quite a long period of time, such as four to five years. We want to help our friends for more than just a day and we are not interested merely in establishing ties for their own sake. China's practice, however, is largely short-term. And in some instances, China has failed to keep its promises.
TT: Can you elaborate?
Chien: It's not convenient for me to elaborate here. But some countries got in touch with us after China failed to honor its promises to them.
Finally, as far as capability is concerned, Taiwan seeks to help others when we have strength to spare. China, on the other hand, has presented to many countries the aid that it has itself received from Japan, the US and some European countries. Frankly, China has gone beyond its means to present an impressive front.
TT: As far as expanding its external relations, what are Taiwan's comparative advantages over China?
Chien: Taiwan has embraced the mainstream thinking and politics that have gained the upper hand in mankind's development, namely freedom, democracy, human rights and market economics. In other words, we speak the same language and adhere to similar modes of thought as countries like the US, European Union member states and Japan, so it's easy for us to forge ties and establish friendships.
China, however, is bedeviled with problems. Beijing's crackdown on the Falun Gong sect speaks volumes about the fact that it's a state without religious freedom. As to the upcoming 16th Chinese Communist Party Congress, the next-generation Chinese national leader [Hu Jintao, 胡錦濤] was appointed by a man [Deng Xiaoping, 鄧小平] who died over ten years ago.
All this makes one wonder whether such a system is indeed a good one. Taiwan's largest comparative advantage lies in its transformation into a mature democracy after the country witnessed its first transfer of political power in 2000, and this also provides us with a niche within which to expand our foreign relations.
Taiwan's second advantage lies in its economic development. After five decades, Taiwan has climbed up the developmental ladder to the drumbeat of a market economy. Our "Taiwan experience," is looked upon favorably by many countries. Our economic strength, in aggregate terms, is not as large as China's, given the sheer size of China's population. But in actual terms, Taiwan's gross national product (GNP) equals 30 percent of the GNP of China, which is 300 times larger than Taiwan and whose population is 60 times larger than Taiwan's. This is a splendid accomplishment. Many countries feel that Taiwan can do a bit more for them if they are able to engage with us, as we have enough economic strength to spare.
Moreover, Taiwan is a small state and I am sure many similarly-sized countries can indeed learn much more from the "Taiwan experience" than anything China can offer.
China also faces many internal difficulties. The extent of backwardness in the remote northwest and southwest regions of the country exceeds that in many of the nation's that presently benefit from Chinese aid. China has diverted to other countries the aid given to Beijing from some European and the US. This is unreasonable in the eyes of many Western states.
Fourth, Taiwan's existence is pivotal to the peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region.
Taiwan occupies a critical position in the region, as evidenced by the vessels and civil aircraft using the waters and airspace around the country on a daily basis. If Taiwan were eliminated, or if an international dispute occurred because of Taiwan, shipping and international trade in the area would be severely affected.
To sum up, Taiwan's freedom and democracy, its economic prosperity and its determination to safeguard regional peace and security constitute what I call the three pillars underpinning our attempts to expand our external relations.
Finally, we should enhance US-Japan-Taiwan triangular relations to ensure the three parties can jointly safeguard the peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region. Taiwan has made a tremendous contribution to international shipping and aviation. It would make an enormous difference to regional security if Taiwan were eliminated by China.
TT: Do you mean the ministry plans to redistribute its resources to further cement relations with major states such as the US and Japan?
Chien: Taiwan's security depends upon the security of the region. We will move in this direction through various levels and modes of cooperation. Although Taiwan faces certain limitations, such as its lack of diplomatic ties with the US and Japan, it is mutually beneficial for us to safeguard regional security together even without such ties.
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