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Taiwan’s sovereignty slipping away
By James Wang 王景弘
I have a question. If “one China” refers to the Republic of China (ROC) on
Taiwan, as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) says it does, why did the Philippines
extradite ROC citizens, together with other “Chinese,” to the People’s Republic
of China (PRC)? How fatuous is this government to have reached a stage that it
no longer dares even insist that Taiwanese and Chinese have different
nationalities?
Ma is happy to bang on about how harmless the idea of “one China” is, but every
day the folly of this position becomes more apparent. Beijing has its talons
locked around Ma’s government, making it accept a consensus on Beijing’s “one
China.” Beijing is now trying to transform principle into reality.
This international fraud case is a perfect example of the serious consequences
of falling into the trap of the “one China” -principle. Taiwan forgoes its
national identity and status as an independent country and, because the
government has conceded that Taiwan belongs to China, the Philippines handed the
suspects over to the Chinese government. The Philippines did this to allow China
to deal with the matter, respecting a consensus arrived at by both parties.
Taiwan has been wronged by China and this loss of face is now being reflected in
its dealings with the Philippines. Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) shies away from
distinguishing between the people of Taiwan and the people of China, between
citizens of the ROC and citizens of the PRC. He talks instead of people living
in Taiwan and those living in China. If he can’t articulate this distinction,
how can he expect other governments to understand?
This case involves judicial jurisdiction of criminals committing crimes
overseas, but Ma’s government refrains from broaching the issue of nationality.
So, the Philippines dutifully extradited those “Taiwanese” to China. This has
again forced Taiwan’s hand, as it now has to ask China for access to the
suspects.
This it can do under the terms of a previous mutual assistance agreement based,
again, on the “one China” principle. Yes, the agreement benefits Taiwan because
it means China might hand over the Taiwanese suspects, but it also represents a
diplomatic victory for Beijing in the push to annex Taiwan, being yet another
clarification of the position that Taiwan is part of China.
At the Tokyo International Film Festival last year, China wanted the Taiwanese
contingent to arrive behind China’s, and recently Chinese tycoon Chen Guangbiao
(陳光標) visited Taiwan to give cash handouts to the poor, amid much fanfare. No
officials asked where this money came from or what it was for. This is all about
identifying Taiwan as part of China, according to the “one China” principle.
Chen’s donations exposed poverty in Taiwan. Regardless, Ma still gave money
during the approach to Lunar New Year. If he can’t help lift the poor from
poverty as head of the government, what good is splashing cash around? It’s all
hypocrisy and hidden agendas. This government really is something else.
James Wang is a media commentator.
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