Since the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office, it has constantly claimed that a diplomatic truce and cross-strait reconciliation would not compromise Taiwan’s sovereignty. But experience shows that China likes to play a dominant role in cross-strait issues, while the Ma government seems incapable of dealing with China. Sovereignty and security in Taiwan are encountering unprecedented threats.
First, there has recently been much criticism about cross-strait dialogue being that between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Since cross-strait issues are discussed via a KMT-CCP forum, the government can evade legislative supervision and exclude the opposition from the picture.
Even if cross-strait agreements are signed via the mechanism of the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, their evasion of legislative review creates the impression that cross-strait talks are closed-door meetings between the KMT and the CCP.
The content and execution of cross-strait agreements have gradually made people worry about issues like cross-strait relations becoming domestic issues and the territories of Taiwan becoming part of China. Since Ma asserted that relations between Taiwan and China are not “state-to-state,” but “region to region,” the government has in practice labeled cross-strait air routes as domestic by opening domestic airports to China, but not to other countries. The government has also opened the nation’s seaports to China, giving the international community the impression that the Taiwan Strait has become part of China. There have been several recent cases in which Chinese tourists attempted to enter Taiwan without the required documentation. The government then rushed to apply for permits on their behalf. It is extremely worrying to think that Taiwan might soon become a province or an area of China and lose its sovereignty.
The Ma administration’s emphasis on cross-strait policy over diplomacy shows that it thinks the quickest route into the international community is via Beijing. This has also given rise to the possibility that rumors about Taiwan’s international space becoming something for Beijing to decide will start to circulate in the international community. By saying that Taiwan’s invitation to become an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA) represented China’s goodwill, the Ma administration helped spread these rumors throughout the international community, which means that Taiwan’s WHA observer status could become Taiwan’s first major loss in its diplomatic battle with China.
Lastly, the Ma administration’s promotion of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China is making a “one China market” more likely. Without carrying out any assessments, without any plans and without having gained a consensus on the matter within Taiwan, the Ma administration has persistently pinned the hopes of Taiwan’s economy on China. This will have various negative effects, including the relocation of local industries and a continued rise in unemployment, and will make Taiwan lose all its bargaining chips in political talks with China.
The international community and Taiwan must come up with timely controls to stop the Ma administration and the CCP from conspiring to rob Taiwan of its sovereignty. Therefore, we would like to urge each Taiwanese to stand up and take action to help protect Taiwan’s sovereignty. We cannot keep waiting, as there is a risk the situation will reach a point of no return.
Taiwan Thinktank is an independent, nonprofit public policy research organization based in Taipei.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG AND DREW CAMERON
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