The experience Hong Kong has had since its hand-over to China in 1997 shows that joining China is not desirable as human rights have worsened there, Taiwan's representative to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Wednesday.
Wu was responding to a question from the audience after delivering a speech at the Leadership Institute, a Virginia-based organization that holds seminars and workshops for conservatives in the US.
Wu said that the Chinese government has been touting the "one country, two systems" model for Taiwan.
He said that the Taiwanese people were uninterested in unification for two reasons -- the wealth gap between the two sides and Beijing's totalitarian control.
Wu said he believed that if China became democratic like the US or UK, it would encounter less resistance from the people of Taiwan.
Becoming a democracy would require that Chinese learn to respect the will of the Taiwanese people.
Wu said Taiwan is a de facto independent country, even though the US does not recognize its nationhood.
As Taiwan enjoys a vigorous democracy and a brisk economy, people see no reason they should be excluded from international organizations, Wu said.
However, Taiwan has been barred from joining the UN and WHO, which he said is "unfair to Taiwan."
Wu blasted China for relentlessly oppressing Taiwan and for claiming that Taiwan is a part of China, which he said blocks Taiwan's participation in the world community.
Noting that China has continued to provide assistance to dictatorships such as North Korea, Myanmar and Iran, Wu said that China does not simply pose a threat to Taiwan but also creates problems for democracy elsewhere.
As China expands its military clout and escalates tensions in East Asia, cooperation between Taiwan, Japan and the US is needed to ensure security, Wu went on.
However, Wu said that the US government is drawing increasing criticism from the average person in Taiwan for opposing a democracy entering the UN.
Citing the results of a survey, he said that 16.8 percent of respondents considered the US government "friendly," which was a sharp drop from last year's 32.2 percent.
Wu said that the US government could improve its image in Taiwan by granting visa-free entry to Taiwanese tourists, allowing the use of Taiwanese driving licenses in the US, signing a free-tree agreement with Taiwan, selling more defensive weapons to Taiwan, and supporting its participation in the international community.
Relations with the US are generally good, Wu said, but there are problems.
He held up his business card, showing that his title was not ambassador or even "representative of Taiwan" but rather "representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office."
As a result, Wu said people sometimes think he is a sales representative and he has even been asked what product he sells.
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