|
Taiwan has no true
friends
By Ted Chang ³¯®mºõ
Taiwan can consider itself fairly lucky. Its economic modernization was
relatively pain-free and it is able to cope with the socio-economic changes
brought on by such development, its political transition from authoritarian
one-party state to a stable democracy was more or less peaceful and it has a
strong and flourishing civil society that helps ensure the stability and
vitality of its democracy.
What Taiwan might be most blessed with, however, is its geographical position,
which has enabled it to serve US geopolitical interests for the past six
decades. Early on in the Cold War, Taiwan was a useful link in the chain of
countries along the Western Pacific stretching from Japan to Indonesia, serving
as a bulwark against what the US deemed the ¡§communist threat¡¨ to the ¡§free¡¨
world. Then-president Chiang Kai-shek (½±¤¶¥Û) and his Chinese Nationalist Party¡¦s
(KMT) opposition to the Chinese Communist Party meant Taiwan was crucial to
Washington¡¦s attempts at containing Beijing¡¦s propagation of revolution in Asia
from the Korean War onward.
Today, the Cold War is no more, but to foreign policy and security hawks in
Washington, China¡¦s rising power is viewed as a threat to US supremacy in the
Asia-Pacific region. Even the administration of US President Barack Obama, a
¡§dove¡¨ by US standards, recently announced it would refocus its attention on the
Asia-Pacific, not just to continue in areas of cooperation with Beijing, but,
more importantly, to counter Chinese power by strengthening its political and
security ties with countries in the region who view China¡¦s increasingly
aggressive posture with concern.
Once again, Taipei¡¦s usefulness to the US will be renewed. Despite increasing
calls by academics for the US to abandon Taiwan in the name of avoiding conflict
with China, the US Congress would never allow this to happen. US lawmakers would
dismiss such calls, saying that Washington should not appease an authoritarian
regime by willfully selling out a democratic nation.
However, such claims by the US establishment that a democratic country should
and would never be sold out must not be taken at face value by Taiwanese. It has
never, nor will it ever, be Taiwan¡¦s democracy and human rights that Washington
comes to defend in the event of a conflict with China. It will solely be to
maintain US dominance in this part of the world, for which Taiwan¡¦s location in
the Western Pacific allows. It was this strategic position, after all, that kept
Chiang¡¦s autocratic regime propped up for decades and maintained the gross
fallacy that it represented a ¡§free¡¨ China, not to mention undemocratic regimes
in South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia during that time.
So while the US Congress and right-wing think tanks, as of now, might have
Taiwan¡¦s back, it is important to keep in mind that their support will only last
until something better suited to their strategic interests comes up.
When it comes to geopolitics, there is no such thing as a ¡§true friend,¡¨ only
strategic alliances.
Despite its advantageous location, Taiwan is caught between Beijing and
Washington¡¦s tug of war for supremacy in East Asia, which only reinforces the
fact that Taipei has no genuine friends. Thus, it is all the more crucial for
Taiwan to be united from within in the face of external challenges.
The intense partisan bickering Taiwan has seen since democratization has to
stop, sooner rather than later, regardless of which camp wins the presidential
and legislative elections in January. Taiwan cannot afford to depend on the
whims of other countries to maintain stability ¡X not the US, not Japan and most
certainly not China.
Look no further than the US to see what it is like when the main parties run
roughshod over a populace for partisan purposes and amplify the dysfunctional
nature of a political system, grinding everything to a halt and fueling a
country¡¦s decline. Let it be a warning to the KMT and the Democratic Progressive
Party.
To many, unity might seem unattainable, but a strong sense of cohesion would
bring focus to policy planning and development, and a way to move forward. And
it is not just defense and security issues on which they would have a positive
effect, but on social development as well.
A safe and confident society, one with a deep awareness of social justice, that
adheres to equality in all forms, makes for a healthy and happy society. These
are the things no other country could ever take away from Taiwan, even if it is
sold out by its ¡§friends.¡¨
Ted Chang is a copy editor at the Taipei Times.
|
