Wed, Jan 06, 2010 page3

• ANALYSIS : Critics skeptical over Chinese overtures

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  In response to demonstrations in Taichung last month, China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) said he “fully respected the different opinions expressed by our compatriots.”

  Despite Chen’s attitude, political observers questioned the Chinese communist regime’s true intentions in light of the sentencing of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) last month.

  Liu co-authored “Charter 08,” which calls for an end to Chinese Communist Party dominance and the implementation of constitutional democracy in China.

  Critics argue that if the Chinese regime is so harsh to its own people, it is wishful thinking to expect it to treat Taiwanese any better.

  Some are worried that the direction President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is leading Taiwan in would push it a step closer to unification with China. Paul Lin (林保華), a political columnist and commentator, said China should “fully respect the different opinions” of its people before it was in a position to make such a remark in Taiwan.

  “Before China took back Hong Kong [in 1997], it said the only thing the territory needed to change was its flag,” Lin said. “But now we see what really happened. Hong Kong is a very good example of how China breaks its promises.”

  Describing Chen’s remark as nothing but a “lie,” Lin said it was unfortunate that many Taiwanese believed Chen and even Ma said ties between Taiwan and China are based on blood rather than water.

  But if blood is thicker than water, Lin said, then it should apply to Chen and Liu, who Lin said are both from the northeastern China.

  “But why were they so cruel to Liu?” Lin asked. “If any Taiwanese believes what Chen says, I hope they see more clearly what China really is through the Liu case.”

  Lin said Beijing might be more accommodating to Ma, but it would not be so tolerant to ordinary Taiwanese.

  Lin said he was not against engaging with China and taking a more flexible approach but such a strategy must not be made at the expense of sovereignty because without sovereignty, Taiwan would have nothing.

  Since China refused to recognize Taiwan’s sovereignty, Lin said negotiations between Taipei and Beijing were never conducted on an equal footing. If the problem was not properly addressed, all cross-strait negotiations risked compromising national interests, he said.

  “Had former presidents Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) decided to relinquish sovereignty, they could easily have had direct transportation links or bilateral interactions with the Chinese Communist Party a long time ago,” he said.

  Transparency and freedom of speech were another problem associated with cross-strait negotiations, he said, adding that closed door negotiations would only undermine the credibility of the administration and cross-strait negotiations.

  For future cross-strait negotiations, Lin said he hoped the two sides would respect each other’s sovereignty and engage in reciprocal exchanges in politics, economy and culture.

  Nanhua University professor Wang Szu-wei (王思為) said Liu was not the only person who suffered under China’s rule.

  Another immediate example was the recent execution of a British citizen for drug smuggling, he said. The sentencing provoked strong criticism from the UK and international community alike, he said.

  Wang said he suspected Beijing deliberately used the case to flex its muscles and remind the world that it was the boss, knowing it is becoming a superpower.

  “When Beijing wrecks the climate deal in Copenhagen and could not care less about how Washington feels, I don’t think many people are optimistic about cross-strait relations,” he said.

  Wang said the Ma administration’s biggest problem was it was vague about Taiwan’s national identity.

  “No wonder Ma’s confidants such as Nan Fang Shuo (南方朔) and Lin Huo-wang (林火旺) were recently critical of him because even they are unclear about where Ma is leading the country,” Wang said.

  Ma also relied heavily on his small inner circle to make decisions, Wang said, but when things went wrong, Ma liked to blame those people and claimed the policies were made by joint decision.

  Huang Mo (黃默), a political science professor at Soochow University, said that he believed Chen’s remarks were only diplomatic in nature and as unification remains the ultimate goal of Beijing, it will do whatever it takes to lure Taiwan into political talks.

  Huang, who also doubles as the director of Soochow University’s Chang Fo-chuan Center for the Study of Human Rights, said Liu’s sentencing was “unjust,” “unfair” and should not have happened.

  The verdict not only invited global condemnation but also dealt a blow to Beijing’s effort to turn itself into a country governed by the rule of law, he said.

  Huang, however, was reluctant to draw a parallel between Liu’s sentencing and China’s attitude toward Taiwanese, saying such a conclusion was premature.
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