China's unification on Sep 05, 2004

China's unification efforts will fail

By the Liberty Times editorial

China's unification tactics are getting increasingly sophisticated. A Ministry of National Defense report revealed that in its desire to achieve unification with Taiwan, China is now targeting the "southern Taiwanese" population using a combination of culture and religion to "improve those people's perspective of China."

The report also pointed out that China was pulling back troops from Dongshan Island, a clear indication that the high-profile military exercises that had been hyped since May were called off. These two pieces of information indicate that China has launched a new strategy in its campaign to unify with Taiwan.

The communist giant is now attempting to get its secondary enemy to destroy its primary enemy. China's greatest enemy is Taiwanese independence, and, at least in the minds of its leaders, democracy and localization are synonymous with independence.

Therefore, its greatest enemies are former president Lee Teng-hui, an avid supporter of independence, and also the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has been in power since 2000.

For this reason, China originally tried to drive a wedge between the people of Taiwan, and its government. But in 1996, even under the threat of a missile exercise, Lee was elected president, and subsequently in 2000 and 2004, Chen Shui-bian was voted into office. This provided incontrovertible proof that democracy and localization was what the majority of Taiwanese people wanted, and was not something that could be manipulated. As such, China's perception of the sentiments of the Taiwanese people was clearly false.

Now, China has a new plan in its unification efforts. In the name of cultural and religious integration, it is targeting the people of southern Taiwan, appearing to put aside its belligerent attitude in order to win over their hearts and minds. But as many local officials in the south have pointed out, the consensus is that the future of Taiwan lies in the hands of the majority of Taiwanese people and there is no market for a "Greater China" ideology. If China thinks that by targeting a number of representatives in the south it will be able to makeover its image, then it clearly does not understand the strength of the Taiwan identity among the southern Taiwanese. So, even though China has changed its tactics -- hoping to win over the traditionally "green" and "parochial" southerners -- they are destined to fail.

China's method of luring locals in southern Taiwan over is also useless because the Chinese government still does not understand the true meaning of Taiwan's democracy.

Beijing does not seem to understand that support for unification is dead here. More ridiculously, they seem to believe that pan-green supporters are staunchly pro-independence while pan-blue supporters are staunchly pro-unification.

It is undoubted that a gap between northern and southern Taiwan does exist, as the green camp enjoys strong support in the south, while the blue camp enjoys strong support in the north. But voter support for different political parties are often very different from their positions regarding unification and independence. In fact, we know from past opinion polls that most Taiwanese people desire the maintenance of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and disagree with China's "one country, two systems" model; while more and more people here consider themselves "Taiwanese," not "Chinese."

Moreover, despite their ideological fighting in the runup to the March presidential election, both the ruling and opposition camps took "loving Taiwan" as the foundation for campaigns. Thus, a local identification has become the mainstream. Voters may support different candidates for various reasons, but their stances regarding unification and independence is not the main factor that affects voting behavior. In other words, supporting Taiwan's democratization and localization is the wish of the majority of Taiwanese people -- except for a group of isolated politicians. Although the Taiwanese people are divided into the green and blue camps during elections, they are actually united when fighting against Chinese hegemony.

To eliminate post-election conflicts, both the ruling and opposition camps have proposed increasing dialogue with each other. The DPP is planning a proposal to resolve issues regarding Taiwan's ethnicity later this month -- with a focus on promoting ethnic diversity and national unity. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also last month proposed a draft of its new discourse, entitled "a shared local destiny," to strengthen its local identification. Therefore, China's latest united front strategy targeting the southern Taiwanese will never be able to infiltrate and destroy the strong castle of the Taiwanese people's shared destiny.

Thus far, we have been unable to develop positive cross-strait relations and build a win-win situation simply due to China's insistence of annexing Taiwan -- as the former never treats the latter as an equal political entity. No matter how it refines its methods to make them look more attractive, it cannot hide its unificationist ambitions. As such, it is impossible for Beijing to win the Taiwanese people's trust, so its strategies cannot work.

Take China's withdrawal of its military exercise on Dongshan Island for example. If Beijing cannot change its military expansion aimed at Taiwan, the cancelation of a few military exercises is merely an empty gesture, and cross-strait relations will never improve.

The key to improving cross-strait relations lies in whether or not China can treat Taiwan equally, and recognize the country's existence. Notions of eventual unification are an illusion.

Translated by Eddy Chang and Ian Bartholomew

Address root causes of terrorism

The hostage standoff in Beslan, Russia, ended in a siege by Russian special forces and many casualties. An authoritarian Russian Federation government led by Vladimir Putin versus a Chechen pro-independence terrorist group -- that's a combination that can only result in more deaths and an escalation of hostilities, with neither side willing to back down.

On the one side are radically militant terrorists who do not mind killing themselves and innocent bystanders, and hence often do not even have any "exit plan" in their terrorist attacks. They feel justified by what they think is a higher and noble cause -- to free Chechnya from Russian rule, an effort that began long before troops were ordered by Boris Yeltsin to invade Chechnya to keep it from becoming independent from Russia. They of course are wrong, because no amount of wrong on the part of one's enemy can justify terrorism -- especially when innocent people, children in particular, are killed as a result.

On the other side is Putin, who has a tough policy toward Chechen independence and terrorism, and has never made compromises in the face of terrorist demands. Moreover, the Russian Federation remains a state in which human rights and lives are not exactly valued as a top priority. Therefore, in the Dubrovka theater siege, the Russian special forces' Alfa Brigade deployed poison gas which successfully ended the standoff, but also took the lives of more than 100 hostages.

In the Beslan hostage-taking episode, Putin repeatedly said that his government would give top priority to the lives of the hostages. But the standoff nevertheless ended with a siege and mass bloodshed. The Russian government claims that the siege was not planned, and was only triggered when the terrorists began to fire shots at the hostages. But over the past 30 years, out of the twelve sieges that resulted in the most casualties, four were launched by Russia -- and not surprisingly, all four were related to Chechnya. So, in view of Russia's record in handling similar situations, it's no wonder that many feel skeptical. The European Union is among those demanding an explanation from the Russian government about how this could have happened.

What results is a seemingly never-ending series of terrorist attacks with high death counts, including the Beslan school episode, two Russian plane crashes, the bomb attack in the Russian metro station and the Dubrovka theater hostage standoff two years ago. The tragedies will more than likely repeat themselves, since no resolution of the issue of Chechen independence appears near.

With terrorism rapidly flowing across national borders and becoming an international rather than domestic problem, countries face a dilemma. It is important to keep in mind that refusing to give in to terrorists' demands often does not deter or discourage them, since unlike common criminals, they are often motivated by what they believe to be higher causes and ideals. Between a tough and uncompromising policy such as Russia's, which typically results in the loss of innocent lives, and caving in to terrorist demands -- which will only encourage more terrorist attacks over other supposedly noble causes -- no workable solution seems to exist.

One way to ease hostilities is to address root problems behind conflicts in accordance with universal principles of human rights and democracy. That is how Putin and his government can begin to deal more effectively with the situation -- instead of stubbornly claiming that Chechen independence is only an internal problem.

Insist on using "Taiwan"

By Yu-Chong Lin

The international community keeps its eyes shut to the fact that there are two distinct entities -- one Taiwan and one China -- and country on each side of the Taiwan Strait.

It is a reality that can no longer be ignored. Continuing to do so jeopardizes peace and security in Asia, which potentially involves Japan, Korea, as well as the US. Many still prefer clinging to a "one China" policy despite differing interpretations among nations.

Domestically, Taiwan desperately tries to make the distinction between Peoples' Republic of China and the Republic of China (ROC), despite the fact that the ROC ceased to exist in the minds of diplomatic communities when it was expelled from the UN in 1971.

Taiwan has experimented with terms like "ROC on Taiwan," "Taiwan is the ROC," "Taiwan equals the ROC," "Taiwan (ROC)," "Taiwan-ROC" and of late "Taiwan, ROC." But no matter what one uses, the reality remains that Taiwan is Taiwan and China is China. Two distinct governments exist.

Despite this, many unification supporters continue clinging to the use of "ROC" in the name of patriotism. They are unwilling to recognize that doing so does more harm than good to the 23 million residents of Taiwan.

At present, the ROC maintains diplomatic relations with fewer than 30 nations, or so-called nations. Even the US, one of Taiwan's staunchest allies, has switched its diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China.

In its place, the US enacted the Taiwan Relations Act. (Note that it is called the Taiwan Relations Act, and not the ROC Relations Act.)

The Taiwan Relations Act has been cited in various contexts to suit various purposes and motives. It has been characterized as everything from worthless to absolutely essential.

Certainly, the Act has its limitations, but it provides adequate protection for Taiwan from foreign invasion. Without it, Taiwan would have been ruled by a communist regime shortly after the US embassy was removed from Taiwan in 1980.

A national referendum must be held as soon as possible to immediately cease the use of the term ROC and use Taiwan instead. The first nationally elected president, Lee Teng-Hui , is now leading a movement for name rectification.

To gain international acceptance, a domestic consensus must first be achieved. To begin with, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, China Airlines and the like should be renamed to reflect Taiwan.

Popularizing the use of "Taiwan" instead of "ROC" can help distinguish Taiwan from China -- the People's Republic of China.

More importantly, much confusion could be avoided in the international scene. Citizenry around the world readily recognize these two distinctive entities. The government in Taiwan must take a firm stand on using "Taiwan" consistently, and have the perseverance to carry it out.

Wavering between "Taiwan" and "ROC" prolongs the diplomatic isolation between Taiwan and the rest of the world.

Political entities all over the world avoid "ROC" like the plague but are receptive to Taiwan. I am certain Taiwan will be admitted to far more international organizations than the ROC has been.

The Global Alliance for Democracy and Peace was established to promote the peaceful coexistence for both sides of the Strait. Taiwan has been ruled separately since 1895, when it was ceded to Japan.

For peaceful and equal status to continue, distinctive names must be used. We must insist on using "Taiwan" exclusively rather than "ROC" as a part of its name.

We agree there is only one China -- let the mainland natives have it. And let the residents of Taiwan have Taiwan.

Yu-Chong Lin, PhD
Honolulu

Chen praises Taiwan-US relationship

NO PROBLEM: Playing down concerns that the relationship between Taiwan and the US has changed, President Chen Shui-bian said on Friday that the two are best friends

By Huang Tai-lin
STAFF REPORTER , IN SEATTLE, WITH CNA

Addressing concerns that there have been changes in the relationship between Taiwan and the US, President Chen Shui-bian on Friday stressed that there is no problem in Taiwan's relationship with the US.

Chen made the remarks while attending a banquet held in his honor by Taiwanese expatriates in Seattle. Concluding his Central American trip, Chen and his entourage on Friday arrived in Seattle for a stopover before returning to Taipei early today.

"Some said that Taiwan's treatment by the US [this time] had gone backward in comparison with last year," Chen said, referring to his high-profile stopover in New York on his way to Panama last year. On that occasion, Chen received an international human-rights award, delivered a speech and was interviewed by the media during a cruise on the East River.

Chen kept a lower profile this time in his stopovers in Hawaii and Seattle on his way to and back from Central America, and the stops had been cut short to between seven and nine hours from original planned overnight stays.

Regarding the trip this time, Chen said that he appreciated the treatment he received during his transits in Hawaii and Seattle and cited examples to demonstrate the US' friendliness.

Chen said that during his travels in Hawaii, the US government had cleared the traffic for his motorcade, "which was unprecedented during the past four years."

Chen also said that editorials published by the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post Intelligencer were encouraging -- the former welcomed his visit and the latter commended his announcement on Monday to cancel Taiwan's annual live-fire military drills as a gesture of goodwill for cross-strait peace.

"Taiwan and the US are best friends, and being friends, we have to have empathy, comprehend our friend's situation and not bother them when they are occupied with other important events," Chen said, referring to the US' Nov. 2 election.

"As a national leader, I have the responsibility not to let our children go to the battlefields," Chen said, reiterating that he would not accept the unification law which China intended to enact.

"Not only Taiwan can't accept such a law, but the US and the rest of the peace-loving world would not find the unification law acceptable either," Chen said, adding that he hopes to build Taiwan "to be a complete, normal, great and beautiful country."

Chen also said that for the sake of national unity, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is ready to cede some power and resources to other parties.

"For the sake of unifying Taiwan, the DPP will release some of its power and resources and let a non-DPP person serve as the Control Yuan president," Chen said.

Current Control Yuan President Fredrick Chien has said that he won't continue in the post after his present term ends next year.

On criticism that this decision by Chen demonstrates conniving on his part, Chen said that when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was in power, it never occurred to them to give the post of head of one of the five yuans to a member of another party.

Claiming that "the DPP is broad-minded," the president said democracy requires checks and balances to prevent the accumulation of absolute power and thus corruption.

He stressed that the DPP will not adopt a "winner takes all" approach, adding that in the next three or four years, he will lead Taiwan in this spirit to enable the country to shed its tragic past and move toward becoming a "normal, complete, great and beautiful country."

Other important public figures at the banquet included the chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, William Brown, the acting Governor of Washington State and Taiwan's representative to the US, David Lee.

Chen also met with Democratic representatives Jim McDermott and Rick Larson of Washington.