In a recent interview with Newsweek, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma emphasized that the KMT's eventual goal in cross-strait relations is unification, but not now since "the conditions are not ripe."
He went on to say that "the most important thing for Taiwan is to maintain the status quo," and the precondition for doing so is not pushing for de jure independence.
He added that China can accept the sort of independence that exists currently, which is the status quo.
In fact, Ma's perspective is no different from the old KMT's political obsession with "overthrowing the communists and retaking the nation."
For him, Taiwan's existence is no more than a tool to help realize his political goal.
When reporters asked Ma about his stance on the issue of constitutional amendments, he tactfully sidestepped the question by saying that constitutional reforms should not be carried out in haste, adding that he hoped to see less inter-party strife in future.
Obviously, his attitude is related to the fact that he regards Taiwan simply as a "society" rather than a "sovereign nation."
To Ma, important issues like constitutional reform, national defense, diplomacy and similar matters are worth nothing, rather than being of central importance to Taiwan as a nation.
Ma has always believed in the legitimacy of China. Therefore, any constitutional amendments must not conflict with his belief that Taiwan's legitimacy is based on the "one China" principle.
In other words, Ma believes that the fundamental structures of this legitimacy cannot be tampered with beyond some basic tinkering with some of the imperfections of the nation's Constitution.
When the Constitution of the Republic of China (
During World War II, Taiwan in fact stood on the side opposing China, as it was a Japanese colony. As a result, talk of "returning" the Constitution is totally meaningless. This point echoes former president Lee Teng-hui's (
Ma's strong "Chinese nationalism" has caused him to blur the distinction between friend and foe.
He has spoken of China's decision to remove tariffs on the import of 15 kinds of Taiwanese fruits, saying that China was showing its willingness to take the lead in making concessions; therefore, if Taiwanese people interpreted China's goodwill in a malign way, it would suggest that the Taiwanese were being too persnickety.
But, Ma has never mentioned certain important facts, such as China's deployment of ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan along the coast of the Taiwan Strait and its recent massacre of protesters in Guangdong Province.
Democracy and liberty are two of Taiwan's precious assets, and they came at the cost of many lives.
As we enter the 21st century, a good national system and lifestyle should be the ultimate choice of humankind.
Any moves to put a kind of empty "nationalism" upon the development of freedom will only result in catastrophe.
Huang Ter-yuan is a doctoral candidate in the Sun Yat-sen Graduate Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities at National Chengchi University.
TRANSLATED BY LIN YA-TI
It is employment pass renewal season in Singapore, and the new regime is dominating the conversation at after-work cocktails on Fridays. From September, overseas employees on a work visa would need to fulfill the city-state’s new points-based system, and earn a minimum salary threshold to stay in their jobs. While this mirrors what happens in other countries, it risks turning foreign companies away, and could tarnish the nation’s image as a global business hub. The program was announced in 2022 in a bid to promote fair hiring practices. Points are awarded for how a candidate’s salary compares with local peers, along
China last month enacted legislation to punish —including with the death penalty — “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists.” The country’s leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), need to be reminded about what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has said and done in the past. They should think about whether those historical figures were also die-hard advocates of Taiwanese independence. The Taiwanese Communist Party was established in the Shanghai French Concession in April 1928, with a political charter that included the slogans “Long live the independence of the Taiwanese people” and “Establish a republic of Taiwan.” The CCP sent a representative, Peng
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced that the military would hold its annual Han Kuang exercises from July 22 to 26. Military officers said the exercises would feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure. This year’s exercises underline the recent reforms in Taiwan’s military as it transitions from a top-down command structure to one where autonomy is pushed down to the front lines to improve decisionmaking and adaptability. Militaries around the world have been observing and studying Russia’s war in Ukraine. They have seen that the Ukrainian military has been much quicker to adapt to