20040814

By Chiou Chwei-liang

In recent years, China's economy has taken off, with an average annual economic growth rate of 7 to 9 percent. The rapid economic boom is a result of China's development of traditional labor-intensive industries, where it has an edge due to its low labor, land and material costs. At the same time, both the export-oriented market and massive foreign investment have caused a favorable "cluster effect."

Although China's huge consumer and investment markets have not been liberalized completely, the country still enjoys a dominant position today. Not only has this "magnet effect" pressured Taiwan and attracted numerous Taiwanese businesspeople to China, but it has also affected Southeast Asian countries and even South Korea and Japan -- most foreign capital is now flowing to China, rather than to their neighbors.

But the situation has changed this year. Due to excessive foreign investment, signs of an overheated economy have appeared. Hence, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has vowed to push for "macroeconomic control measures" to cool down China's economy and achieve a soft economic landing. One of the indexes of this policy change is the growing pressure on the so-called "green" Taiwanese businesspeople in China who support Taiwan independence. To a degree, Beijing has signified that it no longer needs Taiwan's capital and technologies. Thus, it's time for businesspeople to return home.

In his book Taiwan's Economic Strategy: from Huwei to Globalization published in March, Taiwan Thinktank chairman Chen Po-chih views the issue from the history of the nation's economic development, arguing that the government's "go west" (to China) policy was a mistake. Chen points out that China is not a free economy at all, as the Chinese government monopolizes and interferes in the market. China is the most hostile country to Taiwan in the world, and has never given up the threat of military invasion. How can we develop close relations with such an enemy? The separation of politics and economics in cross-strait relations is also wrong. Beijing's recent crackdown on green Taiwanese businesspeople has proven that in communist China that separation is a myth.

As Chen states, the nation should seek cooperation with advanced countries and import their new technologies to upgrade its industries and improve its competitiveness. Through lowering their costs by moving to China instead of upgrading, the outflow of Taiwanese businesspeople will only increase the nation's unemployment rate, decrease wages and hollow out industries.

Why don't we make business arrangements with Southeast Asian countries or even India, and the gradually rising Eastern European countries? Why do we have to blindly "go west" and invest in China, a country where freedom, democracy, and the rule of law are absent -- and one that may attack Taiwan?

The massive Chinese market is certainly attractive. However, the fundamental weakness of Asia's economic miracle has already appeared in China, as predicted by US columnist Paul Krugman -- who claimed in 1995 that the miracle was not due to total factor productivity growth, but rather intensive use of inputs (eg, tremendous capital and labor inputs). Although China may not necessarily spark another Asian economic crisis like the one in 1997, it's surely impossible for it to maintain the high economic growth of the past. Unfortunately, even after economists have issued their warnings, we are still "going west" without vigilance, jumping one after the other into the black hole of autocratic China. This situation is truly worrying.

Chiou Chwei-liang is a visiting professor at the Graduate Institute of Southeast Asian Studies at Tamkang University.

By Ho Tung-hung

At 10pm on July 31 at the Mountain stage of Taipei's Formoz Rock Festival in Yuanshan Park, singer Michelle Shocked, with her guitar and trumpet player Rich Armstrong, delivered a spectacular performance that captured the hearts of all the people in the audience.

She said in a preface to her performance that she is an American, and if we are pursuing freedom by regarding the US as our friend, that would be wrong; she urged the public not to forfeit each individual's prospects in the hands of war mongers and arms dealers.

It was not only her bold introduction that shocked the audience, but also her meaningful lyrics referring to sociopolitical issues, such as women's autonomy, love's ambiguity and young widows' war accusations, which fused easily and smoothly with diverse musical genres like street jazz, country music and folk ballads, to touch the audience and capture their hearts. Comparing such an emotional moment with the recent Beijing concert of Chang Hui-mei, also known as A-mei, which was full of incidents that were further sensationalized by the media, enables us to see the truth and hypocrisy of popular music.

Some people might say that Shocked is an intellectual, whereas A-mei is just a pop music singer seeking to perfect her performances; therefore, the two cannot be compared with each other. This argument can be refuted by the following examples:

When Shocked entered the mainstream music industry in the late 1980s, at the peak of her career, her recording company wanted to invest US$1 million to promote her to be a superstar, but she refused without a second thought. In turn, she demanded that the company use 90 percent of this amount to invest in relatively unknown creative artists. Furthermore, when the Bush administration went against public opinion to insist on the war in Iraq, getting the US involved in the terror of a new McCarthyism and patriotic chauvinism, Shocked toured the country with many local groups and pop musicians, singing and organizing workshops to make their anti-war voices heard.

Now let's look at A-mei, who has emerged as an "international superstar." She helped raise NT$1 million in a charity performance for victims of the flooding caused by Typhoon Midulle early last month. In their charity work, superstars like A-mei don't usually make donations out of their multi-million dollar income, but use their showmanship to attract media attention and "plead" for their fans to participate in the events. What's even more ironic is that, despite being of Aboriginal descent, A-mei never gets involved in public affairs under her tribal identity, but at the same time wants her fans in China to picket outside her Beijing concert to express their support for Taiwanese Aboriginals' demand for justice, and protest fiercely against Vice President Annette Lu's vilifying speech about the Aboriginals. This is astonishing.

Five years ago, after the 921 Earthquake, A-mei's fame was at its peak, and the media portrayed her as an Aboriginal visiting disaster areas without ostentation of any kind. She was shown embracing Aboriginal children with tears in her eyes. When I was visiting the same Aboriginal tribe myself at the same time, I realized that the heart-wrenching scene had been rehearsed. I would rather believe that A-mei did not know about it, and hope it was simply an act orchestrated by her record company or agent along with the children.

Comparing A-mei with Shocked is not intended to defame the former and applaud the latter, but rather to demonstrate the fact that we often mistakenly regard politics and music as separate, and then discover connections between the two in the actions of various artists. But think about it: wasn't A-mei's "abject apology" in front of Chinese media a complete showing of her political stance? The NT$20 million performance and the media support, the clamor of her Chinese fans and the pressure on "green entertainers" all go to show that music is a part of politics. Being citizens themselves, aren't the performances of singers and their daily lives an indication of their political stances?

According to some people, this is an example of the difference between popular and rock music, with the former emphasizing "performance" and the latter "spirit." But over-generalizing could result in regarding popular singers as having no social or political consciousness and over-idealizing rock singers.

I believe that musical discernment can only be achieved through the cultivation of taste. But the audience created by this discernment will not be reflected in record sales. Audiences and performers should not succumb to the illusion of profits.

Sometimes it simply requires a guitar and a trumpet to make honest and touching popular music that greatly surpasses any quantity of political polemic and propaganda. Moreover, there is no need to spend millions of dollars to design a dazzling stage and emphasize carnal desires. The hypocritical charity of the pop music industry, which is totally geared around superstars, stinks of opportunism, in which fans are exploited.

Ho Tung-hung is an assistant professor in the sociology department at Fo Guang University.

A forum for "facilitating communication" among the nation's allies and other Pacific and East Asian countries initiated by Vice President Annette Lu began with a preliminary session yesterday.

President Chen Shui-bian expressed his confidence in the eventual establishment of a group, the Democratic Pacific Union, related to the forum.

"I believe that by convening the second [Democratic Pacific] Assembly, we will be able to usher forth the birth of the Democratic Pacific Union in the near future," Chen said in a written congratulatory statement welcoming academics and foreign dignitaries to the three-day assembly, which started yesterday.

The assembly was first held last year to promote democracy, human rights and freedom.

Through seminars and plenary sessions, more than 100 experts and political figures from 24 nations will take part in the assembly to discuss cooperation on a wide range of issues, including regional security, maritime resources, industrial development and technology exchanges, along with the promotion of democracy.

Acknowledging Lu's active promotion of the realization of the assembly, Chen noted that the assembly, having undergone lengthy preparation, "is dedicated to developing an alliance of Pacific Rim democracies and their joint creation of a platform for dialogue and a mechanism for cooperation."

"We hope sincerely that the promotion of soft diplomacy will inspire democratic countries in the Pacific region to establish alliances based on the ideals of security, freedom, democracy and human rights," Chen said.

"That these alliances can be further developed into a security mechanism that can prevent conflicts and wars before they happen," Chen said.

The president will address the assembly's attendants as the keynote speaker during the event's opening ceremony today. The president of El Salvador, Elias Antonio Saca, will be the other keynote speaker at the event, with a speech entitled "A New Vision for the Pacific Era."

Among the dignitaries attending the event include 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Betty Williams, Panamanian Vice President Arturo Vallarino, Vice President of Nicaragua Rizo Castellon and former chairman of the International Relations Committee of the US House of Representatives Benjamin Gilman.

"Through this event, we wish to implement step by step what we have long promoted -- soft national power and a maritime-oriented nation," Lu told reporters after she attended a seminar yesterday, adding that she would have a "surprise announcement" to make during the assembly.

While expressing her anticipation to meet with Hou Ren, a Taiwanese-Japanese member of Japan's House of Councilors, the country's upper legislative house, Lu noted that the assembly is an international event with participation by numerous foreign guests. She urged the media to not to focus its limelight on just one individual.

"I believe my meeting Hou Ren will be heart-warming," Lu said. "However, given that [the assembly] is a serious international meeting, I hope everyone will focus attention on the development of the world."

In the above article, "Music and politics are inseparable," Ho Tung-hung compares Ameri-can singer Michelle Shocked to Chang Hui-mei, also known as A-mei, arguing the latter represents "sincerity" and the former represents "hypocrisy." Despite this comparison, no persuasive evidence is offered to support this argument.

First, the article proposes that politics and music are insepar-able. Shocked's brave anti-US and anti-war position moved people to admiration, and her lyrics display a deep concern for social issues. While A-mei, on the other hand, has bowed to China and admitted to having committed a mistake by singing the ROC anthem at President Chen Shui-bian's 2000 inauguration.

Here, I want to say that the idea of music and social engagement as mutual reflections of each other is but one way for artists to express themselves, but not the only way. To put it another way, there is nothing inherently good or bad, right or wrong in the difference between singer Luo Da-you's lyrical social criticisms and Fei Yu-ching's performance-oriented singing.

The idea that artists have certain social responsibilities as a result of their popularity is true, but there isn't only one way to act on those responsibilities. During the March presidential election, for example, some artists clearly expressed their green or blue political biases, while others were of the opinion that as artists, being public personalities, should abstain from influencing their audience's political views.

Throughout the so-called A-mei incident, the singer was unwilling to take a strong stand and therefore chose to deal with protests in a low-key manner. To say that she "bowed to China and admitted her mistakes" is going a bit too far. If she committed any mistake, it was her wavering on her legitimate right to sing the national anthem for fear of being labelled a "green artist."

If we were to ask politicians, Taiwanese businesspeople or artists working on either side of the Taiwan Strait about the issue of unification, the status quo or independence for Taiwan, no one would be able to give a clear, satisfactory answer -- so why should we expect A-mei to come out and take a vocal stand?

Further, the article also casts in a negative light A-mei's visits to the disaster areas in the wake of the 921 Earthquake in 1999 and the flood-damaged areas brought on by Tropical Storm Mindulle last month. This is regretful, and it makes us wonder what benevolent and philanthropic actions one must undertake in order to be considered sincere. Ho suspects that A-mei's visit to indigenous people following the earthquake was insincere. He also claims that the singer did not contribute some of the "astronomical amount of money" she makes to the charity benefit for which she performed following last month's flooding disaster, but merely attracted a lot of media attention.

Let's leave aside the issue of the truth about her visits to the disaster areas, since we don't know if the author's understanding of the issue following his own visit is complete. Does charity have to be anonymous, and do donations have to be monetary to be considered sincere? Is it not a positive thing when artists promote public concern for social issues?

Following the 1999 earthquake, many public personalities made generous donations -- including A-mei -- who donated NT$1 million to charity. This time she chose to give a charity concert to solicit donations from the public. Wasn't that a meaningful gesture? When is a charity concert or fund-raising initiative sincere enough to satisfy this author? I don't believe there is a formula for how artists should engage in the public sphere. Thus, it is preposterous to label such charity hypocritical.

Perhaps what we really should examine is how much sincerity other actors, singers or TV show hosts have displayed as they have performed in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong in recent years.

Ethnic Taiwanese born overseas can work freely on either side of the Taiwan Strait when things go well, or work in their home country when things are not going so well. In any case, artists who were born and raised in Taiwan have nowhere else to go. For the Taiwanese people, unfortunately, their nationality still falls in a grey area to some extent, and many people are afraid to confront this issue. I hope that society at large will be able to take a more tolerant approach to musicians who come under political pressure.

Chinese authorities have taken issue with a proposal in support of UN membership for Taiwan, warning in a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that "there is only one China in this world," the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.

According to the report, China's acting permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Yishan, delivered a letter addressed to Annan during a meeting on Thursday with his first deputy, Louise Frechette.

The letter reiterated that "the People's Republic of China's government is the only legitimate government with the right to represent all of China," that "Taiwan is a territory of China," and that "the question of Taiwan's right to representation at the UN does not exist," Xinhua reported. Frechette responded during the meeting that the Secretary-General has always insisted upon and abided by UN resolutions, the report said.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Richard Shih said yesterday that China's response was a repetition of previouis statements and a manipulation of the truth.

He said if Taiwan were to join the UN it would benefit both sides of the Strait.

Representatives of 15 of Tai-wan's diplomatic allies put into motion the country's 12th attempt at rejoining the UN on Wednesday when they proposed that "The Question of the Representation of the 23 Million people of Taiwan in the United Nations" be included as a supplementary item on the agenda of the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly. The proposal will be reviewed by the General Assembly's General Committee on Sept 15.

In the past, under pressure from China, the General Committee has opposed the addition of Taiwan's supplementary item to the assembly agenda.

This year as in previous years, China has moved quickly to block Taiwan's efforts to regain UN membership. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said on Wednesday that China took a stance of resolute opposition to the joint proposal put forth by Taiwan's allies, according to Xinhua News Agency.

"Since 1993, the Taiwan authorities have instigated those countries that have diplomatic relations with it to put forward proposals for Taiwan's joining the United Nations. This is firmly opposed by the Chinese people as a whole, including Taiwan compatriots," Kong was quoted as saying in the online English version of the Communist party mouthpiece People's Daily.

"There is only one China in the world and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government that represents all Chinese people," Kong said.

Although Taiwan was a founding member of the UN, it lost its seat in 1971 with the passage of Resolution 2758, which restored "the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China -- as the only legitimate representatives of China" and expelled "the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations."

COOPERATION: At seminars presented as part of the Democratic Pacific Assembly, which started in Taipei yesterday, panelists urged regional bodies to invite Taiwan into the fold

Foreign and local academics yesterday agreed that Taiwan should be involved in regional cooperation to enhance peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The more regional cooperation bodies we have, the better we can provide venues and opportunities for dialogue on the peaceful resolution of conflict," said Cho Woong-kyu, chairman of the Korea-America Society, citing ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and Asian Monetary Fund as examples.

Cho was speaking at a seminar on Regional Security Mechanisms yesterday at the Grand Hotel in Taipei. The seminar was part of the second Democratic Pacific Assembly, which started yesterday.

"But Taiwan, North Korea and Mongolia, which satisfy most of the membership criteria of these regional cooperation bodies, are still excluded from them," Cho said.

"If all the countries in the region are looking forward to having peace and prosperity, there must be extra efforts by the members of the regional organizations to invite these three countries," he said.

In the face of obstruction from China, Taiwan should still seek a breakthrough by cooperating with non-governmental organizations, Cho added.

Panelists at the seminar stressed the importance of establishing multilateral security dialogue and creating confidence-building measures to be able to deal with security issues in the region, such as the drawn-out dispute between China and Taiwan, ideological confrontation between South and North Korea and persistent military competition among the nations in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as non-conventional security issues such as human trafficking, HIV/AIDS and international terrorism.

"Bilateral talks and multilateral forums could serve as a very useful platform for promoting mutual trust, enhancing conflict prevention and eventually achieving the resolution of conflicts," said Vincent Chen, research fellow in the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University.

"Multilateral forums such as the ARF should let Taiwan become a dialogue partner, as well as encouraging dialogue between China and Taiwan to solve their differences," Chen said.

Fadi Essmaeel, homeland security assistant to US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, said the World Health Organization should end its isolation of Taiwan in order to allow transnational cooperation over non-traditional security issues.

At a related seminar entitled "Industrial and Economic Development of the Pacific," panelists emphasized the unexploited potential of small or resource-poor countries.

"Small countries have a lot of opportunities in the Pacific Basin," said Ecuadorian Congressman Luis Fernando Torres.

Torres discussed his own nation's efforts to first take advantage of regional economic prospects and then widen trade relations across the ocean.

He cited Taiwan as a positive model of a small country with a relatively strong economy.

"The initiative of the Taiwanese government [to hold the Democratic Pacific Assembly] should be acknowledged and applauded," he said.

Professor Gerard Mangone of the University of Delaware said Taiwan's efforts to improve its tourism industry were commendable.

He cited Bermuda as an example of a small island nation that has fostered a successful tourism-based economy without the benefit of abundant natural resources such as oil or mineral reserves.

"Modern society has reached a level of affluence that allows a large population the leisure of travel. That opportunity for economic exploitation will continue to grow as it has grown already," Mangone said.

Premier Yu Shyi-kun's Challenge 2008 National Development Project is aimed at increasing the number of tourists visiting the country.

When Yu announced the project in 2002, he put the target at 5 million tourists in 2008. The Tourism Bureau has promoted this year in the international media, including the National Geographic Channel and Time magazine, as "Visit Taiwan Year."

Switzerland, another resource-poor nation, has made its way in the world by promoting an image of monetary security and political neutrality. Security is also important in developing tourism industries, and essential in cultivating an investment-friendly environment, he said.

Chou Yan, director of the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Economic Processing Zone Administration, asked Torres if there were any possibility of forming a free-trade agreement with Ecuador, considering Taiwan's heavy investments in the country's oil industry.

Torres said that he could not officially represent the Ecuadorian government, because his visit to this year's Democratic Pacific Assembly has not been formally endorsed by congress.

Since Ecuador has formal diplomatic ties with China, any treaty with Taiwan, including free-trade agreements, can only be achieved in the long term, he said.

"Ideally, we should work for our mutual benefit, and should not be limited by the selfish demands of a certain nation," he added.

ABOUT FACE, PLEASE: Hong Kong's former second-ranking leader said repressing the territory is poor psychology for persuading Taiwanese to accept Chinese control

AP , Hong Kong

Hong Kong's former No. 2 official said Beijing should allow faster democratic reforms in the territory if it wants to persuade Taiwan to join China, newspapers reported yesterday.

Anson Chan, who stepped down three years ago, said the best way to realize China's dream of absorbing Taiwan was to make Hong Kong an example and "speed up rather than slow down Hong Kong's pace toward full democracy," the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported.

Beijing has threatened to use military force if Taiwan declares independence. It has been pressuring Taiwanese to unify under a "one country, two systems" model similar to the way Hong Kong was purported to have been governed since the former British colony went under Chinese rule in 1997.

Although Hong Kong has enjoyed Western-style civil liberties, it has had only limited democracy since the handover. Its Basic Law sets out universal suffrage as an eventual goal but specifies no timetable.

China ruled in April that people in Hong Kong cannot directly elect their next leader in 2007 nor all lawmakers in 2008. The decision drew sharp criticism in Hong Kong and abroad.

Chan told students at a university on Thursday that citizens should work to assure Beijing that a democratic Hong Kong would not lead to instability, the South China Morning Post reported.

``We will not get an agreement on universal suffrage and the date for it without setting the minds of the central government at ease,'' Chan was quoted as saying. ``It is a job for us to start now.''

Chan was appointed by the last British colonial governor and was seen as a bridge of stability through Hong Kong's handover. When she quit in 2001, many believed it was over disagreements with the territory's chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa.

Chan, who remains popular, said she hopes that Hong Kong could have direct elections for its next leader and all lawmakers in 2012.

Digital Leader
President Chen Shui-bian, center, and Ke Jyh-sheng, president of the Institute for the Information Industry, left, join children at the opening of the 2004 E-Generation Children's Digital Exposition at the World Trade Center yesterday.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES