Protesters call on Japan to release Tibetan Taiwanese
　

By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, May 01, 2008, Page 1

Dozens of Tibetan and human rights activists shouted “Free Tibet! Free Tashi!” yesterday during a demonstration in front of the Japanese representative office in Taipei, calling on Japan to release Tashi Tsering (札西慈仁) as soon as possible.

Tashi, an exiled Tibetan who holds a Taiwanese passport, was arrested in Nagano, Japan, on charges of “forcible obstruction of business” when he attempted to approach the Olympic torch during the Nagano leg of the relay.

Tashi was detained for 48 hours with no visitors allowed before being transferred to a prosecutor on Monday. However, a decision was made to extend his detention for 10 more days.

“At this point, officials from our representative office in Japan are not allowed to visit him and we don’t know what awaits him after the extended 10-day detention — release, even longer detention, or indictment,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) told the Taipei Times.

The activists found Japan’s handling of Tashi’s case unusual.

“Tashi did not act violently when he tried to approach the torch and he didn’t have anything on him that could cause anyone physical harm either,” Own Su-jei (翁仕杰), deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan-Tibet Exchange Foundation, told the crowd. “Normally, such an act is not considered an offense in Japan — or at most a very minor offense with the person released after the 48-hour detention period.”

He said that three other Japanese who were arrested for throwing eggs at the torch relay had already been released.

“The unusual handling of the case leads us to believe that Japan may be under political pressure from China,” Own said. “We urge the Japanese government to stand firm on the values of human rights and not to bow to political pressure from China.”

Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) is scheduled to visit Japan next Wednesday.

After delivering the speech, Own, along with Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association president Tenzin Tsering and the Taipei Bar Association’s Human Rights Protection Committee chairman Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠), presented letters addressed to Japan’s Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nagano central police station, where Tashi is being detained.

The three were received by an official from the representative office who promised to deliver the letters, but declined to comment further.

The activists also announced Nagano central police station’s telephone number, urging all those who are concerned to call the agency.

Chinese police admit to killing Tibet ‘insurgent’

AFP, BEIJING
Thursday, May 01, 2008, Page 1

Police shot dead an alleged Tibetan independence “insurgent” in northwestern China, state press said yesterday, the first official admission that authorities killed anyone during recent unrest.

A policeman was also killed in the gun battle on Monday in a Tibetan area of Qinghai Province, Xinhua news agency reported.

Tibet’s government-in-exile has said more than 200 people had been killed in a huge Chinese military and police crackdown on protests against Beijing’s rule of the Himalayan region that began on March 10.

Until yesterday’s report, Chinese authorities had insisted they had killed no-one in the crackdown and blamed Tibetan “rioters” for the deaths of 20 people.

China has, however, sealed off Tibet and other hotbed areas in the west of the country that have Tibetan populations to stop foreign reporters and other independent observers from witnessing the crackdown.

Monday’s incident occurred after police went in pursuit of the leader of a handful of “insurgents seeking Tibetan independence,” Xinhua reported, citing the Qinghai public security department.

The group had tried to incite Tibetan herders in Dari county to rally on March 21, a week after major protests erupted in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, Xinhua said.

“After a month-long investigation, the police moved on Monday to arrest the suspected leader. The suspect resisted arrest and gunfire broke out,” Xinhua reported, citing the department. “The officer was killed in the gun battle, and other officers returned fire, killing the suspect.”

Xinhua identified the police officer as Lama Cedain, but did not release the name of the alleged “insurgent” who was killed. Local and provincial police refused to comment when contacted by reporters yesterday.

In a later report, Xinhua said 1,000 people attended the policeman’s funeral, where his body was covered with the Chinese Communist Party flag.

Do not sideline foreign policy now
　

By Liu Shih-chung 劉世忠
Thursday, May 01, 2008, Page 8

One of the greatest external challenges to president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) incoming administration is the extent to which it can strike a balance between improving cross-strait relations and maintaining a healthy and constructive foreign policy.

During the campaign, Ma pledged to replace the so-called “confrontation diplomacy” of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government with his notion of modus vivendi — a concept that aims at exploring pragmatic and flexible strategies toward Taiwan’s external relations.

The idea is based largely on the assumption that a rapprochement of cross-strait relations would automatically lead to a possible “diplomatic truce” between Taipei and Beijing. Ma has also suggested that both sides sign a peace agreement in exchange for China giving Taiwan more room to participate in international activities.

With regard to the appropriate name for Taiwan’s bids to join international organizations, Ma prefers “Chinese Taipei.” Regarding the relationship between Taiwan and its diplomatic allies, Ma said his government would renounce the use of so-called “money diplomacy.”

For years, there has been a debate on whether cross-strait policy or foreign policy should be more important for Taiwan and the issue remains unsettled. Upholding Taiwan’s de facto independent sovereignty, the DPP government tried to improve its relations with Beijing while at the same time enlarging Taiwan’s international visibility.

In theory, foreign policy should be bipartisan. Even when there is an alternation of political parties, continuity and consistency constitute two essential elements to a country’s external relations.

In 2000, President Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration inherited the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) foreign legacy and immediately said that it would continue assistance projects set up by its predecessor. The DPP government incrementally reoriented foreign aid programs away from blanket “loans” to the leader of allied nations toward case-by-case assistance for grassroots projects, low-cost housing, agricultural assistance, disease prevention and computer literacy.

After Ma won the presidential election, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged for him to meet Taipei’s diplomatic corps. Ma promised to execute the programs initiated by the DPP government with Taiwan’s allies.

What has been missing in Ma’s conversations with the diplomatic corps is whether his administration would stress cross-strait policy over foreign policy. Will his government’s foreign policy be sidelined in order to forge a more open policy toward Beijing?

Can the People’s Republic of China adopt the same reconciliatory approach toward Taiwan’s international participation? More importantly, who could guarantee it?

If Ma’s government prioritizes the improvement of cross-strait relations, Ma and his foreign policy advisors must come up with clearer guidelines for Taiwan’s career diplomats to deal with their Chinese counterparts in the international arena. Otherwise, they would not know what and whom they should stand up for and fight for.

For example, how should the front-line diplomats defend Taiwan in the face of Beijing’s continued buy-out of Taiwanese allies? Should Taiwan accept the principle of “dual recognition” if any ally wants to establish official ties with Beijing?

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo said he is interested to improving relations with Beijing after he won his recent election. As Taiwan’s only ally in South America, Lugo’s recent statement will no doubt pose a major diplomatic test for Ma.

Ma faces other tough challenges. The “ice-breaking” handshake between vice-president elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) at the Boao Forum last month was not conducted in an official manner. Siew participated in the forum as the chairman of the Cross-strait Common Market Foundation, not as Taiwan’s vice-president elect.

Will there be another chance for Taiwan’s new leaders to meet with Chinese national leaders on an equal footing? Can Ma or Siew attend this year’s APEC summit in Peru?

Also, if the notion of “Chinese Taipei” becomes a common name for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, will Beijing accept that and stop all efforts to further downgrade Taiwan’s status in international arena?

In the press conference following Siew’s return from the Boao Forum, Ma admitted that cross-strait “ice-melting” should proceed in a gradual pace, otherwise it might create a flood.

In light of the excessive expectations of a cross-strait rapprochement, no naive or wishful thinking should be put into Taiwan’s rigid and fragile foreign relations. The Ma administration should take diplomatic relations and international participation more seriously. Foreign policy should not be marginalized by cross-strait policy.

Liu Shih-chung is vice chairman of the Research and Planning Committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.