Beijing’s warm reception of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) during his visit to China to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) was an attempt to use the KMT-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) platform to relieve pressure on the KMT for government-to-government dialogue and marginalize Taiwan’s democratic supervisory mechanisms. Furthermore, the Chinese government has sought to weaken the Taiwanese government’s ability to control cross-strait policy by winning over various KMT heavyweights individually.
From Beijing’s red-carpet treatment of former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) during his previous visits, to the resumption of Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung’s (江丙坤) delayed visit to China, to the premise that no promises would be made as to when talks between the SEF and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) would resume, two conclusions can be reached.
First, it shows that China will not accept all of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) requests and has established a model for future cross-strait negotiation: Start with a KMT-CCP platform, launch talks between SEF and ARATS and finally pass resolutions in the KMT-dominated legislature.
This model is very similar to how the CCP manages to pass bills that require the co-operation of other parties: Suggestions are made in the Political Consultative Conference (PCC) and endorsed by the CCP, whereupon the National People’s Congress officially announces them. Similarly, suggestions will be made in the KMT-CCP forum, the SEF and ARATS will engage in consultations, and finally the KMT-controlled legislature will pass the resolutions. Such similarity is turning the KMT into mere political consultants.
This model will have a strong impact on Taiwan’s democracy. Not only will the opposition parties struggle in the legislature without having any influence on the process, the public will also have no chance to understand the process through legislative proceedings, because everything has already been decided in the opaque KMT-CCP forum and its legitimacy will only stem from the dominance of the KMT.
Just because the KMT and CCP discuss economic and trade issues today doesn’t mean they will not turn to political issues tomorrow. Given the lack of transparency, the public will have no way of knowing what kind of sacrifices the KMT will be making in return for more international space.
If nothing is done, our sovereignty and democracy will be in grave danger.
Lai I-chung is an executive committee member of Taiwan Thinktank.
Translated by Ted Yang
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
RSS