As the conflict over the presidential election continued, China on Tuesday declared that it had established relations with one of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, Dominica. This was an attempt to shame President Chen Shui-bian (
This is no new trick. Anyone familiar with diplomatic affairs understood that China would find some way to take revenge. It was simply a question of where it would apply its efforts.
We are reminded that Liberia severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan a mere three days after last year's Double Ten National Day celebrations. Word later came from Liberia that China had wanted the decision to be announced on Oct. 10 to produce maximum embarrassment for Taiwan, but Liberia chose to make the announcement on the 13th since it had no intention of also ending its friendly relations with Taiwan.
Although we think it shameful that the largest country in East Asia would resort to such treacherous diplomatic behavior, this has long been the norm. As Taiwan knows from its experience in the international arena, China is small-minded in its behavior, although it claims to be an example of benevolence and morality. It really would be strange if Beijing didn't try to avenge Chen's re-election. But this act of pettiness in fact puts the lie to China's claim that it didn't care who won the election.
China, a face-loving country, finds it a loss of face that Chen, despite all challenges, managed to organize the referendum and win the hard-fought campaign. China thus poured financial aid into Taiwan's ally to regain some of its beloved face.
This is certainly regrettable. Not long ago, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) promised to work to create an opportunity for peaceful cross-strait dialogue. His remarks, so refreshing, gave us hope that he intended to leave past Chinese sabre-rattling behind.
However, trust has once again been sabotaged by this sneaky move from Beijing. We cannot but wonder if Hu is truly different from his predecessors, or if he only is better at applying the cosmetic of rhetoric.
Putting aside the cross-strait issue, Taiwan's contribution to developing countries is widely acknowledged. Tired of raising the stakes in this game with China, Taiwan has changed the way it aids its allies. Starting with former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), Taiwan stopped giving fish to its allies and instead started teaching them how to fish. In particular, a lot has been achieved in helping underdeveloped countries develop farming and fishing technologies.
Last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperated with a publisher to produce a bilingual book entitled Greening the Sahel: The Taiwan Experience in Burkina Faso (
We are not trying to toot our own horn by praising the achievements of Taiwan's agricultural technical teams. Rather, we are reminding the international community that although Taiwan's main diplomatic goal is its international survival space, its other, equally important diplomatic goal, is to contribute to progress in the underdeveloped world.
Taiwan has never forgotten the financial and technical aid provided by the UN and the US when we experienced hardship. In fact, the nation's economic miracle is founded on the generous assistance provided by the international community. Chinese pressure will never make us forget our promises.
On Sept. 3 in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rolled out a parade of new weapons in PLA service that threaten Taiwan — some of that Taiwan is addressing with added and new military investments and some of which it cannot, having to rely on the initiative of allies like the United States. The CCP’s goal of replacing US leadership on the global stage was advanced by the military parade, but also by China hosting in Tianjin an August 31-Sept. 1 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which since 2001 has specialized
In an article published by the Harvard Kennedy School, renowned historian of modern China Rana Mitter used a structured question-and-answer format to deepen the understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and China. Mitter highlights the differences between the repressive and authoritarian People’s Republic of China and the vibrant democracy that exists in Taiwan, saying that Taiwan and China “have had an interconnected relationship that has been both close and contentious at times.” However, his description of the history — before and after 1945 — contains significant flaws. First, he writes that “Taiwan was always broadly regarded by the imperial dynasties of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stop at nothing to weaken Taiwan’s sovereignty, going as far as to create complete falsehoods. That the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never ruled Taiwan is an objective fact. To refute this, Beijing has tried to assert “jurisdiction” over Taiwan, pointing to its military exercises around the nation as “proof.” That is an outright lie: If the PRC had jurisdiction over Taiwan, it could simply have issued decrees. Instead, it needs to perform a show of force around the nation to demonstrate its fantasy. Its actions prove the exact opposite of its assertions. A
A large part of the discourse about Taiwan as a sovereign, independent nation has centered on conventions of international law and international agreements between outside powers — such as between the US, UK, Russia, the Republic of China (ROC) and Japan at the end of World War II, and between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since recognition of the PRC as the sole representative of China at the UN. Internationally, the narrative on the PRC and Taiwan has changed considerably since the days of the first term of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic
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