In an interview with two Singaporean newspapers on Friday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that if he is re-elected in 2012, he may launch talks with China on political issues. Such talks would lead to a fundamental change in cross-strait relations.
While meeting Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) last Friday to persuade him not to resign, Ma said cross-strait relations would be handled based on the principles of “better to go slow than be hasty; easy issues before tough ones; and economics before politics.”
During the first year of his presidency, however, Ma’s cross-strait policy has been hasty, with three rounds of talks with China and agreements signed without legislative approval. The government is expediting cross-strait exchanges, opening up Taiwan to Chinese tourists, forging ahead on cross-strait flights and allowing Chinese investment in Taiwan. The results and potential problems of these policies have not been fully assessed. For Ma to set up a timetable for Taiwan and China to engage in political talks is rash indeed.
Ma’s announcement was aimed at his audience in Beijing, where he hopes to win more trust and policy favors, and intended to pump up his domestic support. Recent cross-strait developments have boosted stock prices, and increasing numbers of Chinese tourists have improved the fortunes of some travel businesses. These factors have eased Ma’s low approval ratings to some extent.
The political issues Ma has in mind are likely to include a cross-strait peace accord, establishing confidence measures in military matters and steps toward exchanging representative offices. Beijing will certainly insist that such negotiations be based on a consensus that Taiwan and China are part of “one China.” For Taiwan, accepting such a precondition would be like putting a yoke around its neck. Neither Ma nor his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) can be allowed to dictate the process alone. Every citizen has the right to determine his or her own future. A referendum must be held before the government begins political negotiations with China.
After the first cross-strait agreements were signed, they were sent to the legislature for discussion and approval, but lawmakers had no chance to debate them. KMT legislators used procedural technicalities to shelve the items, allowing them to take effect automatically after two months. The KMT is likely to use such tactics to push through the new agreements. Railroading the agreements through the legislature shows the Ma government’s complete disregard for public opinion.
Opposition figures, however, are not the only ones to object to these maneuvers. Many KMT legislators, including Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), have voiced misgivings.
Even though the KMT has regained control of both the executive and legislative branches, Ma’s record in office leaves much to be desired. Taiwan is suffering negative economic growth and rising unemployment. Disadvantaged people are being further marginalized. Civil rights and freedoms are under attack.
Faced with a host of problems, the government has chosen to stake everything on China. The public cannot afford to stand idly by but must make its concern and dissatisfaction with Ma’s policies heard. The government has a duty to listen.
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
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
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of