US urges Beijing to seek `reconciliation'

NEW TERM, SAME MESSAGE: The assistant secretary for East Asian affairs told a House subcommittee that Washington is pushing for dialogue, not confrontation

By Charles Snyder

STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON

The US State Department's new top Asian affairs policymaker has called on China to seek "reconciliation" with Taiwan through dialogue with the government, rather than basing its Taiwan policy on its "Anti-Secession" Law and the law's provision calling for military action as an ultimate solution to cross-strait issues.

Assistant Secretary for East Asian Affairs Christopher Hill made the comment in testimony at a hearing of the House subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific dealing with US policy toward Northeast Asia.

But in using a new State Department term -- reconciliation -- in Washington's Taiwan-policy lexicon, Hill emphasized that he was not enunciating a new cross-strait policy but underscoring existing US policy in favor of dialogue.

"I think it's important that on the `one China' policy, China should not just act on it as a matter of legality [through the Anti-Secession Law], but also as a matter of reconciliation," Hill said. "I think China should think about how to achieve reconciliation with this population of 23 million people, this democracy of Taiwan. And if China can think of it not just as exerting a legal right, but also as taking an act of reconciliation, they would see the value of engaging the elected authorities of Taiwan as well. And we encourage them to do so."

"I am not making any new policy," Hill told reporters afterwards, discussing the recent trips to China of Nationalist Chinese Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan and People First Party Chairman James Soong, "except to say that if you deal with the opposition and you deal with the government, you are truly reaching out in a very important way. And that's why I used the word reconciliation."

Hill, however, said that in meetings with US officials, the Chinese have not indicated that they are ready to meet with President Chen Shui-bian or his government.

He said the US regards the Lien and Soong visits as "encouraging, positive steps, and, like all steps, if they can be followed by other steps, it would be even better, and that the other step would be to deal with the elected government of Taiwan."

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Richard Lawless raised some eyebrows during his testimony when he seemed to talk favorably about Taiwan's unification with China.

"China maintains that it seeks peaceful unification with Taiwan, and we welcome that," Lawless said in a presentation given without a prepared text or notes.

Asked about that afterwards by a reporter, he clarified that he mean to say, "a peaceful resolution of the issue."

Lawless is known to be among the strongest supporters of Taiwan in the administration.

In his testimony, Lawless warned about the dangers of the Chinese military buildup aimed at Taiwan.

The US, he said, is "watching carefully and we cannot ignore the dangers inherent in China's current military buildup, especially as it affects the security of Taiwan. Relations between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan remain on an unpredictable trajectory. The possible use of force or coercion to resolve cross-strait differences remains a threat to regional stability, and these have global implications.

"Beijing's refusal to renounce the use of force as an option, and its military modernization, do raise questions of its commitment to see a peaceful resolution of this issue," he said.

He also defended continued US sales of weapons to Taiwan as directed by the Taiwan Relations Act.

"We have repeatedly said to China, `please consider that you are driving the equation, not necessarily the Taiwanese. If you do put 600 missiles off the shores of Taiwan and decline to renounce the use of force to reunify, then you are creating the situation where the Taiwanese feel threatened and where our Taiwan Relations Act comes into play,'" he said.

"Absent direct dialogue and absent China's willingness to renounce the use of force in correcting the situation between these two entities, we have no choice than to abide by the law of the land," he said.

He refused to pass judgment on the Lien-Soong China visits, though.

"We are dealing with a democracy. Taiwan is a functioning democracy. What the people of Taiwan choose to do, and their political parties choose to do in the final instance is their decision," Lawless said.

US representatives urge passage of arms budget

STOP THE OPPOSITION: Citing concerns about Taiwan's defense abilities, dozens of members of Congress sent a letter to Lien Chan urging the KMT to end its boycott

By Charles Snyder

STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON

Nearly three dozen members of the US House of Representatives sent a letter to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan urging him to end his campaign to block passage of a special weapons budget for US arms systems that, they say, will be crucial to fending off a Chinese military attack later in the decade.

The US representatives, all big supporters of Taiwan, include House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde and three of the four co-chairmen of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus.

"The PRC's `Anti-Secession' Law and aggressive military build-up demonstrate continued hostility toward the people of Taiwan," the letter says. "Taiwan's procurement of the defense systems provided for within the special budget is vital to maintaining peace and prosperity across the [Taiwan] Strait."

"Failure to pass the special budget," the congressmen add, "has raised concerns in the United States about Taiwan's ability to defend itself against potential aggression. We encourage you to affirm your party's commitment to a strong defense force and a strong US-Taiwan relationship by supporting these purchases in full and without further delay."

The systems involved in the special budget are eight diesel-electric submarines, 12 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, and a dozen Patriot air and missile defense systems (PAC-3s).

"Delaying the acquisition of these priority capabilities will make Taiwan increasingly vulnerable in the second half of the decade, a time-frame the [US] Department of Defense and the [Taiwan] Ministry of National Defense judge especially dangerous," the letter says.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a measure calling for intensified high-level US-Taiwan military cooperation through the exchange of senior military officers.

The measure was part of a bill authorizing US military programs for the fiscal year 2006, which begins on Oct. 1. The measure was approved by the House late Wednesday evening by a 390-39 vote, and sent on to the Senate.

It would promote the exchange of general and flag officers and senior civilian officials at the level of deputy assistant secretary of defense or above. That could technically allow the US secretary of defense and Taiwan's defense minister free rein to visit each other's country.

The exchanges would focus on threat analysis, military doctrine, force planning, logistical support, intelligence collection and analysis, and operational tactics, techniques and procedures.

Prospects for the provision in the Senate are uncertain. While the House has passed such measures in recent years, they have consistently failed to gain momentum in the Senate, where the Armed Services Committee has consistently rejected them.

Also in the House, a subcommittee of the International Relations Committee on Thursday approved a measure promoting visits to Washington by President Chen Shui-bian and other high-level leaders.

The measure was added to a bill authorizing State Department and other foreign affairs activities for next year and 2007 by the subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations.

The non-binding resolution said that "it is in the national interest of the United States to communicate directly with the democratically-elected and appointed officials of Taiwan, including the president of Taiwan."

Tokyo slams Beijing on gas project

RANK HYPOCRISY: The Japanese trade minister said that China's start of construction on a project in disputed waters ahead of talks was 'outrageous'

REUTERS, TOKYO

Japan's trade minister accused China of hypocrisy yesterday for sratring construction of a gas project in disputed waters of the East China Sea, the latest in a series of remarks threatening to worsen a diplomatic feud.

China, whose ties with Japan are at their worst in decades, said on Thursday it was committed to talks scheduled for May 30-31 on resolving the row but criticized Japan for starting the process of awarding exploration rights in the disputed area.

Japan, in turn, expressed outrage over evidence that Beijing was going ahead with the construction of facilities in the same area ahead of the talks.

"It's outrageous," Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa was quoted by a ministry official as telling a news conference.

"While shaking hands with the right hand, they are dealing a blow with the left. It's unacceptable," Nakagawa said, adding it was only natural that this would affect next week's talks in Beijing.

Nakagawa said that government inspections of the area had shown that rather than halting its project, China was going ahead with building facilities.

"Work is proceeding. That is a big problem from the viewpoint of Japan-China friendship," Nakagawa－who last month called China a " scary country "－said.

Sino-Japan relations, already chilly, worsened sharply this week when Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi abruptly cancelled a meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi over his refusal to stop visits to Tokyo’s Yasukuni shine, where convicted war criminals are honored along with Japan's 2.5 million war dead.

Ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) senior official Shinzo Abe told reports after meeting Koizumi that he thought China would continue to raise the issue of how Japan handles its wartime past whenever Bejing thought it would benefit.

"I told him my views ... that they [China] would continue to use this as a diplomatic card as long as they can and they would not let go of it," said Abe, often cited as a possible successor to Koizumi and known for his outspoken criticism of China.

China and Japan, the world’s second and third biggest oil consumers, are also at odds over the disputed area of the East China Sea, with Tokyo demanding China halt energy exploration and provide data on its gas development projects there.

Trade between the two Asian giants has been growing, values at nearly US$170 billion last year.

But diplomatic ties deteriorated sharply last month, when thousands demonstrated across China to protest the Japan's approval of school textbooks that critics say gloss over its wartime atrocities ties and to oppose its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Taiwan has the right of way

By Huang Jei-hsuan

China's "Anti-Secession" Law,has identified conditions that would compel Beijing to use force against Taiwan.

However, given the degree of importance attached to these conditions, they deserve to be better defined.

Whenever the boundary of a condition isn't delineated clearly, people choose to err on the conservative side. To use an analogy of driving a car, it's like yielding when you are unsure if you have the right of way. Perhaps that's how Beijing believes it can get something for nothing.

But the establishment of a "minimum fig leaf" could help.

Article 8 of the "law" states the clearest condition for the application of "non-peaceful" means. It states that if "secessionist forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan's secession from China, or that major incidents entailing Taiwan's secession from China should occur ... the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

This condition is saying that Taiwan hasn't fully "seceded," and whatever it has done so far or will do in the future does not qualify for Beijing's application of non-peaceful means unless full secession becomes a fact.

This is one of those instances where the most important message is in between the lines and what has not been revealed could count just as much. The salient point is that steps taken toward full secession would not elicit a non-peaceful response so long as the last step is not taken.

The room for Taiwan's continuing democratization without drawing military attacks from China could be substantial if a minimum condition for "full secession" -- as Beijing defines it -- could be determined.

It appears that Beijing can't afford a war in the foreseeable future. They have the 2008 Summer Olympics to worry about. After 2008, the US military will probably have substantially disengaged from Iraq and Japan's military will be on its way to a full build-up.

Japan will always weigh prohibitively on Beijing's war impulses; heavy damage will be inflicted on China's economy as a consequence of war with Taiwan, and this could have a domino effect on China's stability and threaten the Chinese Communist Party's grip on power. Therefore, Beijing will use any excuse to avoid going to war. That might actually be what prompted the enactment of the "law" in the first place. Reportedly, the "law" was intended to guard against the possibility that Beijing wouldn't go to war even if Taiwan formally declared independence.

With that in mind, one is justified to define the minimum condition for full secession to be a universally-accepted bare minimum, the realization of which would certainly make China "lose face" internationally -- namely, Taiwan's formal declaration of independence accompanied by a new title and a new flag. The absence of this condition constitutes the "minimum fig leaf."

As a consequence, the second condition of Article 8 which states: "possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted" becomes somewhat moot. The reason is that Beijing can always fall back on the excuse that "possibilities" exist as long as the "minimum fig leaf" is in place.

The last condition. which reads: "major incidents entailing Taiwan's secession from China should occur" is beyond the control of the Taiwanese people. Therefore, it should be ignored too.

The most severe test to the usefulness of the "minimum fig leaf" can be conducted by examining the likelihood of Beijing's use of force, in the event that a brand new constitution for Taiwan -- complete with a new definition of the national territory and a new national anthem -- were brought into being.

As an immediate reaction, Beijing might warn that Taiwan is getting ready to declare independence. But Beijing could be placated with repeated reminders that the "minimum fig leaf" has not been abandoned. Beijing would soon realize that a new constitution is but a necessary step for Taiwan's continuing democratization. Granted, it's a big step. But it would certainly be no more significant than the one undertaken by the Taiwanese people when they first elected their own government.

Taiwan has the right of way, and should just take it.

Huang Jei-hsuan

California

More EU-China dialogue needed

By Bernard Bot

This month, China and the EU mark 30 years of official relations. During that period, changes within China, and in the nature of those relations, have been dramatic. But how will relations evolve over the next thirty years? Will China and the EU be competitors or partners?

Many challenges face both China and the EU. The first are economic. China's development in recent years has been magnificent. But speedy growth always incites turbulence, which China will have to minimize and manage. As it integrates into the world economy, it must seek to sustain growth while protecting the environment and reducing poverty and inequality. These are daunting tasks, and China cannot address them alone.

Indeed, sustainable development is a challenge for both China and Europe. After all, by far the most important factor determining whether our children and grandchildren will enjoy secure, healthy, and productive lives is whether the world's natural ecosystems survive the pressures put on them by modern civilization. A recent UN report warned that we have already entered the danger zone. Numerous land and sea ecosystems are in danger of being destroyed forever, with effects that are hard to predict.

One downside to China's rapid growth is its rising demand for energy and the increased carbon dioxide emissions that accompany it. China is quickly turning into one of the world's largest importers of oil and gas. The International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2004 predicts that, between now and 2030, global demand for energy will rise by roughly 60 percent, with China and India accounting for nearly two-thirds of that increase.

Huge investments -- worth trillions of dollars -- will be needed to meet global energy requirements. The same report warns that, if we do not change our ways, worldwide carbon dioxide emissions will rise exponentially. So a new phase in international environmental cooperation is needed, with China's active contribution.

Of course, China clearly has a right -- like any country -- to seek the energy, minerals, and other resources it needs. But a lack of cooperation could result in higher-than-necessary oil and gas prices and perhaps defeat in the battle against climate change. This means that China must treat climate change and intelligent energy use as priorities in its national policies.

Beyond economics, China must reassure others that its awakening will not make the world tremble. Thus, in formulating its policies, China must also sell those policies to a global audience. Most Europeans believe that China wants to be a shaper of -- not a challenger to -- a balanced world order, a strong UN, and an effective multilateral system. But, in a global village, misperceptions can arise all too easily -- and can do great damage.

China's important role concerning North Korea's nuclear ambitions is a good example of exercising responsibility for international security and stability. The international community counts on China to pursue that role with vigor. If necessary, it must use its influence even more assertively to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. Obviously, that solution must be in line with Chinese proposals and interests: a denuclearized Korean peninsula, which has the EU's support.

Opportunities exist for a constructive Chinese role elsewhere. Having concluded a ten-year energy agreement with Iran, China is in a position to support the EU's efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation, as the EU supports China's efforts concerning North Korea. This is not just about Iran, but also about the threat of a nuclear arms race across the entire Middle East. Chinese interests are served by a Middle East marked by regional cooperation. We count on China's continued support for European and US efforts in making sure that Iran's nuclear program remains limited to purely civilian purposes.

Europe and the world are also watching China's handling of domestic human rights issues. The EU welcomed the inclusion last year of the following clause in the Chinese Constitution: "The government respects and protects the human rights of the people." But it is deeds that matter. At the EU-China Summit, we discussed the Chinese government's plans for ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

One subject China should address is freedom of belief. The obligation of prior registration of religious communities is discriminatory. Ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights -- and the resulting changes in Chinese laws and practice -- would help to secure social and political stability in China, boost dialogue between China and the EU, and increase China's moral authority.

It is time to replace the old cooperation agreement between the EU and China, dating from 1985. Our relationship has evolved from a predominantly economic one into one that includes fighting terrorism, piracy and organized crime, as well as many other issues. A structured dialogue -- including the private sector, which is so intimately involved in China's development -- is needed on energy, sustainable development, and the environment. We must see environmental problems and energy scarcity for what they are: threats to mankind as a whole.

China will undoubtedly find the EU a tough negotiating partner. The EU sets all kinds of conditions for cooperation with other countries. Some issues are non-negotiable, because they are pillars of the European model that we seek to share with the world.

These include democracy and the rule of law, respect for human rights and the environment, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery and the campaign against terrorism.

The EU's political standards are high, but the fruits of cooperation are sweet. If we tackle our common problems together, China and Europe can be instrumental in turning the twenty-first century into a century of hope.

Bernard Bot is Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.