Opening to the enemy on June 30, 2004

Opening to the enemy

With Beijing cracking down on "pro-green" Taiwanese businesspeople and entertainers, it has become clear that it is trying to realize political concessions via economic sanctions. This should be a cause for concern in political and business circles.

At a conference last Sunday, former president Lee Teng-hui spoke the truth about Beijing's mentality -- it abhors the democracy and freedom that Taiwan enjoys. The reason is simple: a free, democratic Taiwan is like a mirror that reflects the ugly face of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Given this contrast, it is only natural that China should see Taiwan as an enemy and seek to destroy it.

Both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administrations have failed to implement the "no haste, be patient" policy Lee advocated eight years ago. As a result, many businesspeople brushed off the warnings and rushed to invest in China. But many of the ill consequences that Lee predicted would happen have come to pass.

For example, Lee predicted that by investing in China to expand production, Taiwanese business-people would eventually get caught up in a price war which would destroy their profit margins.

Second, Lee said, the outflow of industry to China would result in a sharp fall in the domestic demand for labor, raising Taiwan's unemployment rate. He also said that China would endeavor to achieve political ends through economic means by keeping the political affiliations of individual companies under tight control -- as the recent Chi Mei incident illustrates.

It is a matter of some regret that, according to figures released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, there has been a significant annual increase in Taiwanese investment in China since the DPP came to power in 2000. In 2002, Taiwan overtook Japan to become China's second-biggest source of foreign investment. This increase is largely a result of the Chen administration's "active opening, effective management" strategy. To critics, this was no more than a euphemism for removing restrictions on Taiwanese investment in China, leaving local businesses to take care of themselves. It is ironic that despite this toadying Beijing has not shown one iota of goodwill, and the number of missiles targeting Taiwan has continued to increase.

Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, and since that time its fledgling democracy has been retreating to such an extent that 500,000 people took to the streets in protest last July. With many Hong Kong businesspeople relocating factories and transferring investment to China, academics based at Hong Kong Polytechnic University have indicated that personal income in Hong Kong has fallen to 1995 levels and that unemployment rose to an all-time high of 8.8 percent in May last year. Is Taiwan heeding their discomfort?

Beijing sees Taiwanese businesses as weapons in the campaign for unification. Those who do not obey are regarded as "poisonous weeds" to be rooted out. This means that not only are businesspeople expected to give their money to China, they are also expected to forego their ability to think critically.

Can our government, which professes with its every breath to love Taiwan, continue to allow factories and money to be relocated to China? It is an absurdity that the DPP government is lending support to its enemies in this economic war, and it is no surprise that Lee has been forced to reprimand the administration.

Unite in the face of Beijing's oppression

By Cao Changqing

The Chinese oppression of "green" [pro-Taiwan] business-people investing in China demonstrates two things.

First, not only has Beijing deprived China's 1.3 billion people of their freedom of speech and electoral rights, but it has also oppressed pro-independence Taiwanese businesspeople and deprived them of their right to political expression. When entering China for business, not only do you have to invest money, but you also have to submit your brain to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which decides how you vote. This amounts to making slaves of the Taiwanese people through business means.

Second, Beijing claims to be willing to open direct links across the Strait, and calls the Taiwanese businesspeople "overseas compatriots." But the CCP's treatment of Taiwanese investors exposes the true face of China's dictatorship. Beijing has no affection for Taiwan or its businesspeople; it only cares about the US$50 billion they have invested in China -- which enables the CCP to boost the economy and extend the party's life. The greater the Taiwanese investment, and the more Taiwanese businesspeople there are in China, the more bargaining chips the CCP has. The party will first blackmail and subjugate the Taiwanese businesspeople, and then do the same to Taiwan itself, forcing the nation to accept its proposal of "one country, two systems."

Both political camps should continue to protest Beijing's vicious actions, regardless of their political affiliation. Although Beijing is attacking the pan-green camp at the moment, the pan-blues might be the next. If you come from Taiwan and are not as red as the Communist flag, you may become a target of attack sooner or later. Beijing will only restrain itself when the voices of protest become louder. After all, it values Taiwan's investments, which the CCP is using to save its political life.

Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China should not think themselves lucky. The CCP's trick has always been "to unite the majority against the 5-percent enemy." However, by repeatedly attacking certain minorities, such as Taiwanese businesspeople, everybody will suffer eventually.

Cao Changqing is a writer and journalist based in New York.

Democracy for China now

For most people who live in civilized societies, it is very difficult to understand the persistent threats from China against the Taiwanese government.

For the 1.3 billion Chinese, who do not own any property in Taiwan and do not have any voting rights, to claim Taiwan as their territory is also beyond comprehension. Moreover, for those Chinese who have never set foot in Taiwan to claim the right to rule over the Taiwanese merely due to similar ethnicity is not acceptable, not only in Taiwan but also around the world.

Many Taiwanese have in the past believed that the regimes from China would eliminate the oppressive occupations of foreign powers. Instead, their fellow ethnic Chinese have invariably persecuted Taiwanese far worse than the foreigners. The most recent example is the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which treated Taiwanese as second-class citizens. Within two years of its arrival, the regime created shameful and rampant corruption that sparked a civilian uprising; then it liquidated the finest of Taiwan's intellectuals who tried their best to assist the regime in ending the chaos.

The fact that they were lured into brutal executions by deception torments all Taiwanese, even after more than half a century. Four decades of suffocating repression -- Taiwan endured the world's longest martial-law regime -- followed that heinous atrocity.

Despite generations of traumatic experiences, many Taiwanese still support the KMT in local and national elections. Many Taiwanese businesspeople also invest heavily in China, attesting to the strong affinity of some Taiwanese toward China. However, China's persistent military threats and its policy of isolating Taiwan reinforces the past's unbearable sufferings. Once again Taiwanese are demoted to second-class citizens and deprived of human dignity by China. In this sad historical context, Taiwanese are now reluctantly distancing themselves from China, and they believe that the current Chinese regime will do more harm to them than the KMT.

Nevertheless, many Taiwanese still earnestly hope that one day China will become a democracy. Then the conflict across the Taiwan Strait will be solved within a mutually acceptable system. Such a day is not near, as autonomy for Tibet and democracy in Hong Kong and China are losing ground, not to mention the worsening suppression of religious freedom and persecution of Falun Gong followers.

We entreat all Chinese officials to consider that it is to their own advantage to embrace democracy. In the current system, not a single individual will be protected from authoritarian rule. Many of your prominent predecessors suffered such a sad fate in the past. Sacrificing lives to achieve unification is outdated in modern society.

Please accept democracy now! It is just a simple change of attitude. Then you and your families as well as 1.3 billion Chinese will enjoy peaceful and civilized lives. The problems of Hong Kong, Taiwan, religions and Falun Gong will become irrelevant. You will gladly accept Taiwan independence and complete autonomy for Tibet and Hong Kong. His Holiness the Dalai Lama will happily return to Tibet and rejoice with all Tibetans for the restoration of their treasured culture. You will be the savior of not only China but also the entire world. Your past mistakes in sacrificing millions of innocent people in the name of communism and nationalism will be forgiven. You will bathe in the triumph of decency with ethnic Chinese around the globe.

Ming Chang, Albert Chen, Ting Chen, Chi Su, Thomas Tsai and Samuel Yang

United States