Cure worse than the disease

Monday, Apr 07, 2008, Page 8

At first glance, a government united — as opposed to divided — would seem to be diplomatically stronger in dealing with foreign nations.

That might not hold true when it comes to Taiwan’s interaction with China, especially with the government in the hands of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the party whose ultimate goal is unifying Taiwan with China. The KMT’s hand is further weakened by the must-do list of president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

Worse still, the KMT, by virtue of its control of all branches of government, would run out of excuses for not complying with Beijing’s wishes given the alliance pact that former KMT chairman Lien Chan formed with the Chinese Communist Party. Beijing’s heightened expectations could spell disaster for the Taiwanese.

As soon as Ma scored a resounding victory over Democratic Progressive Party candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), he floated the balloon of the dual interpretation of “one China” as a basis for cross-strait talks aimed at bringing about direct links.

Three days later in a telephone conversation with US President George W. Bush, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) echoed Ma’s idea with rare enthusiasm.

The fact remains that, while Beijing is encouraging Ma to snow the Taiwanese with his fairytale world of the existence of a Republic of China (ROC) that encompasses modern-day Mongolia, Taiwan and China, direct links would only be possible if Ma formally agrees to Beijing’s “one China” policy or agrees that the links are “domestic” in nature.

Beijing’s policy stipulates that there is “one China,” which goes by the name of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and that Taiwan is part of China.

Ma’s consent would be instrumental in taking the first step to conceding Taiwan’s sovereignty to Beijing and thus making the US’ Taiwan Relations Act groundless as the nation is transformed into a “domestic” region of China.

During the presidential race, Ma agreed that Taiwan is a sovereign nation and that the 23 million Taiwanese have the sole right to decide the fate of the nation’s future status. It should follow that a referendum on unification would have to be conducted and affirmed before formal agreement on direct links can be inked, inconsistent with Ma’s guarantee of realizing direct links within one year of taking office.

The road to a formal peace accord might likewise be replete with insurmountable hurdles, not the least of which could be the prerequisite of implementing China’s “Anti-Secession” Law in Taiwan. That would inevitably destabilize Taiwan for years.

Ma’s prescriptions for Taiwan’s perceived economic ills carry grim side effects.

Nevertheless, direct links and a peace accord would constitute the backbone by which Ma would forge a cross-strait common market to provide Taiwan with lasting and painless economic prosperity. Such a feat would be comparable to Ma — with Taiwan in tow — walking on water.

Given that Taiwan does not deserve to sink even though many voters were convinced they should entrust Ma with these impossible tasks, Taiwanese might just welcome a jettison of these unattainable plans now that the election is over.

But the KMT holds a strong hand when dealing for itself within the scope of Beijing’s “one China.”

Huang Jei-hsuan
California