Thu, Feb 15, 2007 page8

• A-bian needs to fight fire with fire

  • By John Diedrichs
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  Two important ideas are often lost in all the cross-strait controversy. What Westerners miss is the flimsiness of China's claim over Taiwan. What Taiwanese folks miss is the degree to which that Western ignorance affects their status in the world.

  Although academics and pundits have publicly stated the facts about Taiwan's history and status, most Westerners are still not aware of these things.

  The Taiwan issue is just one among thousands that vie for precious air time on the nightly news, and more often than not, the local weather and sports scores occupy most Westerners' minds much more than Taiwan's distant needs.

  Academics and pundits aren't newsmakers. So in order to grab the world's attention and get the message out, a real newsmaker needs to step up.

  President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁, nicknamed A-bian) has been known in the past to make headlines across the globe with both his deliberate statements and his unintentional gaffes. He also occasionally publishes articles in Western media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal. Therefore I suggest that A-bian should make some intentional waves with a statement like this: "Taiwan is now approaching the 60th anniversary of the 228 Incident, when in 1947 tens of thousands of our citizens were murdered in a campaign by the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] to subdue the Taiwanese populace and decapitate its natural leadership. As I enter my eighth and final year in office, I'd like to take this opportunity to set the record straight on how the current cross-strait impasse with China came about.

  "Because of several decades of brainwashing in the KMT-controlled school system, sadly even many of my countrymen do not know the full story I'm about to tell. Naturally, even fewer in the West have heard this story. It is the story of Taiwan's history, and it bears heavily on the validity of China's supposed claim to this territory, the so-called `one China' principle.

  "If there is anything the Chinese love to talk about more than the `one China' principle, it is the `5,000 Years of History' of which they are rightly so proud. And since the main island of Taiwan is so close to China on the map, it's hardly surprising that so many Westerners would assume Taiwan has been a part of China, inhabited by Chinese people, right from the start. But that is not the case."

  (To save space, I'll skip the history lesson that would be the bulk of A-bian's statement. The reader may refer to Bruce Jacobs' excellent article last week ["Describing Taiwan's real history," Feb. 9, page 8] or the Taiwan History page on www.wikipedia.org. It will suffice here to note simply that there were few Chinese inhabitants on Taiwan until the 1600s, when the Dutch began importing them as laborers. Traditionally, Chinese rulers deemed Taiwan a "useless ball of mud." And even for the 212 years (1683 to 1895) when China did nominally claim this territory, it was seen as much more of a nuisance than an asset. The "one China" principle is nothing but an artifact of Cold-War propaganda and of dictator Chiang Kai-shek's (蔣介石) selfish refusal to lose face, by admitting he'd lost China.)

  Continuing now with my speculative A-bian statement: "China makes much of its `century of shame' at the hands of Western colonial powers in the 1800s, and claims Taiwan is the last piece of territory yet to be repatriated from that period -- following the handover of Hong Kong and Macau in the 1990s. But what of Taiwan's `century of shame' at the hands of colonizers from Japan and China in the 1900s? Do not the Taiwanese people also deserve a chance to reclaim their dignity and sovereignty?

  "As a member of the UN, China purports to uphold the ideals of the UN charter, Article I of which declares `respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.' But the `one China' policy is clearly incompatible with this principle.

  "If China wants to join the ranks of mature, stable world powers, it ought to be "big enough" to admit that it already has plenty of territory, and acknowledge the Taiwanese people's right to choose their own destiny -- just as the US has allowed the people of Puerto Rico to hold several plebescites on their sovereign status over the years.

  "When you study the history, this notion that Taiwan is an `inalienable' part of China starts to look pretty weak. But hey, don't take my word for it. (After all, I'm the president of Taiwan, and my views might be biased.) Look it up for yourself. Go down to the library or get on the Internet, and see what you can learn about our history. Then decide for yourself whether or not China has any legitimate claim to our country."

  One of the main reasons why China has been so successful with its campaign to isolate Taiwan diplomatically is because most people in the world still think Taiwan has been "Chinese" since ancient times. Just look at how every article or story about Taiwan contains a line or two explaining that "Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949" to see how deeply entrenched this notion has become.

  But if that notion were to be challenged and shaken -- perhaps by a headline-making statement like this from A-bian -- China's claim over Taiwan might soon be recognized for the petulant, narcissistic whining it truly is. Instead of gaining sympathy from a guilt-ridden West over the wrongs suffered by China in the past, the "one China" policy could quickly become a face-losing proposition for the Chinese.

  The court of world opinion is currently in recess on the question of Taiwan. But it won't be long before a verdict is called for. In the meantime, Taiwan's government and its people should be doing everything in their power to sway the prevailing mood in their direction. China certainly is, and has been for years.

  John Diedrichs is a writer based in Taipei.
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