Taiwan's "democracy is considerably matured and liberal economics is deeply ingrained, so it is a law-abiding country," then Japanese foreign minister Taro Aso said in March last year, adding that "in various ways, it is a country that shares a sense of values with Japan."
Aso's comment to a parliamentary committee led Beijing to accuse Japan of "crude interference in its internal affairs" and prompted assurances by Tokyo that Aso's comments did not constitute a change in Japanese policy vis-a-vis China and Taiwan.
Slip of the tongue or not, Aso, who last week announced his candidacy to replace Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, had said something that could only please Taipei.
True, Aso has a tendency to glorify Japan's colonial past and a discomforting talent for making politically incorrect comments, but perhaps a firebrand like him is what is needed in the region, which is increasingly mired in the muck of a "status quo" that has only benefited China.
When it comes to Taiwan, the Tokyo-Beijing rapprochement engineered by Abe has not been to Taipei's benefit, and the "political correctness" Tokyo adopted on issues of resonance in Beijing -- Japan's war past and Taiwan, mostly -- only served to diminish the pressure on the Chinese leadership to change its antiquated view of the world.
There are already too many leaders who are willing to cozy up to Beijing -- and what good has that done Taiwan or Tibet, or the countless Chinese locked up in jail for seeking human rights?
Aso, perhaps, isn't such a leader, and therein lies a tremendous opportunity for Taiwan.
For, truth be told, Taiwan suffers from a severe case of Dutch Disease, the term political scientists use to describe a country that relies to such an extent on a single natural resource to function that once that resource expires or its proceeds are diverted, the country faces an existential threat. Diplomatically speaking, Taiwan is just like one of those states, but in this case the "resource," rather than being timber or oil, is the US, around whose political decisions Taiwan's fate seems to revolve.
The only way states suffering from Dutch Disease can improve their chances of survival is to diversify so that the removal of the primary resource would not engender a fall into chaos. Taiwan, therefore, should seek to diversify its allies, with a special focus on major powers -- like Japan, for example, which is not only an economic powerhouse capable of competing with China but also one that happens to have cultural affinities with Taiwan. And it is a regional power, perhaps even in its ascendancy in terms of political engagement and military clout.
By grooming leaders like Aso, Taiwan would substantially improve its odds of survival as a sovereign country in the advent of a US disengagement from the Taiwan Strait.
The US has been a good ally of Taiwan, but it is an ally that has numerous responsibilities around the globe and whose attention span is no match for Beijing's. Having the leaders of other major allies on its side, therefore, wouldn't hurt Taiwan.
Although there is no guarantee Aso will be Japan's next prime minister, wouldn't it be nice if, for once, President Chen Shui-bian (
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
Within Taiwan’s education system exists a long-standing and deep-rooted culture of falsification. In the past month, a large number of “ghost signatures” — signatures using the names of deceased people — appeared on recall petitions submitted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) against Democratic Progressive Party legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶). An investigation revealed a high degree of overlap between the deceased signatories and the KMT’s membership roster. It also showed that documents had been forged. However, that culture of cheating and fabrication did not just appear out of thin air — it is linked to the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
On April 19, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) gave a public speech, his first in about 17 years. During the address at the Ketagalan Institute in Taipei, Chen’s words were vague and his tone was sour. He said that democracy should not be used as an echo chamber for a single politician, that people must be tolerant of other views, that the president should not act as a dictator and that the judiciary should not get involved in politics. He then went on to say that others with different opinions should not be criticized as “XX fellow travelers,” in reference to
RSS