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EDITORIAL: Do more to
stem the erosion
The little things in life often matter the most. That is why a steady drip,
drip, drip of seeming minor irritations impinging upon Taiwan’s sovereignty
could eventually undercut and sink this nation. What is making matters worse is
that many of these cuts are inflicted by Taiwanese.
There are the government officials who apparently see nothing wrong with
Taiwanese wanting to get involved with committees of the Chinese People’s
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) or who accept Chinese officials
passing off Beijing’s new passports as “not official” and just “being trendy.”
Then there are people and groups who think it does not matter how Taiwan is
labeled if that label will get you a seat at the table or a spot in an
international organization.
They are wrong. These things do matter, even if it is only a question of
self-respect.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said on Wednesday
that many Taiwanese businesspeople working in China want to be members of CPPCC
committees so they can voice their opinions on Chinese bureaucracy. While
neither the Republic of China Constitution or the Act Governing Relations
Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例)
allow Taiwanese to officially serve on such committees — Liu appeared open to
the idea that Taiwanese might be able to be “specially appointed” to the
committees.
Do Taiwanese businesspeople seek to “sit” on national committees in Cambodia,
Indonesia, Thailand, the US or any number of other countries in which they do
business? No, and it is not likely they would be allowed to do so. Foreign
businesspeople working in Taiwan do not seek comparable positions; they get
their views across to the government through organizations such as the American
Chamber of Commerce in Taipei. So why should Taiwanese businesspeople in China
seek special status, a status that Beijing would be too willing to allow because
it would reinforce the stance that Taiwan is a province of China?
Officials are also sending mixed messages about the acceptability of China’s new
passport illustrations, which include two sites in Taiwan as well as a
contentious outlining of South China Sea territory. Several nations are taking
steps to make it clear that they do not accept the new design, including
refusing to put their entry and/or exit stamps in the passports.
Liu seemed to brush off the question of whether the passports infringe upon
Taiwan’s sovereignty by noting that Chinese usually use a Mainland Residents
Taiwan Pass to enter Taiwan, not their passports. Meanwhile, Straits Exchange
Foundation Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) took at face value the Chinese
explanation that the new passports are not official ones and the design changes
were made in an attempt to be trendy.
Such excuses are not acceptable. If those passports are “not official” travel
documents, then the Chinese would not be able to use them to leave China, much
less enter other countries.
Then there is Chang Liang-yi (張良伊), the first Taiwanese to be elected as a
representative to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) youth
group, who has been in hot water because he was listed as being from “Taiwan
(Province of China).” After much criticism, Chang said he would resign if the
UNFCCC Secretariat did not change his listing. Ironically, there are two
Taiwanese foundations and two institutes accredited by the UNFCCC who are listed
as being from China. They apparently did not protest the appelation. Why is not
more of a fuss being made over their status?
Polls have consistently shown a growing number of people identifying themselves
as Taiwanese, not Chinese, and supporting Taiwan’s sovereignty as opposed to
unification with China. It is bad enough that Beijing keeps chipping away at our
sovereignty. Taiwanese, whether on a government, private or individual level
should not contribute to the erosion.
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