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Siding with Japan keeps in mind the big
picture
By Nat Bellocchi ¥Õ¼Ö±T
Tuesday, Sep 28, 2010, Page 8
While the row between Japan and China over the Diaoyutai
Islands (³¨³½¥x) has caught international attention, a democratic Taiwan needs to
keep the bigger picture in mind on this issue.
It began as a small incident: During an incursion in the waters surrounding the
Diaoyutais, a Chinese trawler bumped into two Japanese Coast Guard vessels. The
Japanese arrested the Chinese captain and crew, allowed the crew to go after a
couple of days, but held the captain for further legal procedures.
However, the matter quickly evolved into a major political dispute when China
ratcheted up the tension. It summoned the Japanese ambassador in Beijing early
in the morning for a dressing down, suspended high-level exchanges between the
two countries, while officials, including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (·Å®aÄ_),
threatened ¡§further action¡¨ by making threats about what would happen if the
captain was not released.
In this tense situation it is extremely important that Taiwan makes the right
decisions and doesn¡¦t let its actions aggravate the situation even further.
Against this background it was not wise to allow a fishing boat from Taiwan with
several activists on board to set sail to the Diaoyutais in the middle of this
month. The media in Taiwan reported that the activists, including several from
Hong Kong, went there to assert ¡§Chinese¡¨ sovereignty over the islands.
Taiwan needs to side with the forces of democracy.
It should be clear to even a casual observer that China is pushing its model of
¡§strong economic growth combined with strict political control¡¨ ¡X some refer to
this as the ¡§Beijing consensus¡¨ ¡X on the world.
Taiwan, on the other hand, is still clearly a member of the democratic camp:
Countries which value democracy and understand that true and equitable economic
growth can only occur through adherence to the basic principles of democracy.
Looking toward the future, Taiwan needs to decide in a democratic way what the
people of the island want for their future: Drift closer to China, which will
inevitable mean a loss of democracy and human rights, or remain a free and open
democracy.
If it wants the latter, it needs to align itself with other nations that adhere
to the same value system. That means Japan: It is the closest democracy and if
Taiwan¡¦s existence is ever threatened by China, Japan and other allies in the
region would no doubt align themselves with the US and come to Taiwan¡¦s defense.
This means that Taiwan needs to maintain good relations with Japan and not let
the fracas over a few goat-inhabited rocks damage ties with a friend whose
support Taiwan will surely need in the future.
The importance of Japan as a partner was also emphasized recently by US Vice
President Joe Biden.
At a function in Washington he stated: ¡§I don¡¦t know how it works without our
partner in that part of the world.¡¨
China¡¦s upping the ante in the territorial claim over the islands and the arrest
of the fishing boat captain shows that it still has to learn how to be a
responsible stakeholder in the world. If it behaves in this way over such
relatively ¡§small¡¨ matters, one wonders if it will play by fair rules when a
bigger conflict arises, say over the future of Taiwan? Will it respect the
wishes of the people of Taiwan or run roughshod over them, like they did in
Tibet and East Turkestan?
Taiwan will therefore need to keep the bigger picture of its future as a free
and democratic nation in mind and let its decisions be guided by longer-term
strategies. True statesmen will have the wisdom to make the right decisions.
Nat Bellocchi is a former chairman of the American Institute
in Taiwan and a special adviser to the Liberty Times Group. The views expressed
in this article are his own.
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