Today is a day of great significance for cross-strait relations. Taiwan's first charter flight for the Lunar New Year heads for China, the first non-stop flight after more than fifty years of political stalemate across the Strait. Although this policy is beneficial only to Taiwanese businessmen in China, the decision made by the government is still of great symbolic significance at this juncture when the cross-strait relationship is still strained.
Additionally, marking the tenth anniversary of "Jiang's Eight Points," proposed by former Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) in 1995, Jia Qinglin (賈慶林), chairman of China's People's Political Consultative Conference, adopted a carrot and stick approach. He reiterated China's policy on Taiwan and pointed out that China is willing to negotiate with the DPP if it abandons the cause of Taiwan independence. However, Jia harshly criticized the idea of Taiwan independence, pointing out that China will not balk at going to war to prevent a permanent split.
Jiang declared his eight points a decade ago. Despite being the foundation of China's Taiwan policy, they have had little effect on Taiwan itself. This is because they only see the situation from China's own perspective, and fail to take into account the incontrovertible fact that Taiwan already is an independent, sovereign nation. They require Taiwan to deny its own existence in favor of the "one China" concept and to trust the Chinese government to bestow upon it some degree of freedom and autonomy. But that would lead to Taiwan being downgraded to the same status as Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" principle. This is unacceptable to most Taiwanese. Given this, Jiang's Eight Points are not overly appealing.
A few months ago, China adopted the two-pronged approach of hardening its stance on some issues while softening it on others. On the one hand, China is reaching out to some Taiwanese, for example by allowing direct cross-strait flights for the Lunar New Year, which enables Taiwanese businesspeople in China to spend the holidays with their families. On the other hand, they are preparing for the worst, stepping up military purchases and getting ready for hostilities. They also plan an anti-secession law designed to provide a legal basis for an attack on Taiwan.
Both the US government and US academics believe this law is unwise and will change the cross-strait status quo. Taiwan's response has been even stronger, with some people suggesting that the response to China's law should be a defensive referendum or an anti-annexation law. Both sides of the Strait are building up their defenses in preparation for armed conflict. They also have plans for legal warfare, and the international propaganda war is ongoing. These actions are not at all beneficial to maintaining the cross-strait status quo.
Rather than loudly promoting Jiang's Eight Points, China should promote the spirit that led to the Lunar New Year charter flights across the Strait. To get that deal, both sides displayed flexibility and creativity by first establishing mutual credibility and consensus on economic and practical issues.
Following his re-election, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has on several occasions extended goodwill to China. The next premier, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), has also made some concrete conciliatory measures. If China would let Wang Daohan (汪道涵) properly address the death of Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫) and delay the passage of the anti-secession legislation, a resolution of the cross-strait issue would no longer seem impossible.
Giving up fixed opinions, building mutual trust and creating beneficial conditions are all necessary to improve the cross-strait relationship. Will a window of opportunity for such improvement be opened soon? That will depend on China's leaders.
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of