Cross-strait bliss
For months, a Beijing-initiated international media blitz has painted a portrait of Chinese — on either side of the Strait — fraternizing in utter bliss. The congratulatory tone of global reactions to the close embrace between Beijing and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is palpable.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese anger seethes to the point of boiling over, a clear sign of something amiss.
But Western governments are trying hard to ignore these “troublemakers,” a stigma the West first bestowed on former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) when he deviated from the script the West, Washington in particular, had crafted to define Taiwan’s role in the greater scheme of China’s “peaceful rise.”
Despite the success of the Ma-Beijing axis at hewing the lifelines of Taiwan’s democracy, Washington deems all matters between Beijing and Taipei as either innocuous or localized and claims utter impotence in the face of a relatively peaceful process.
Those excuses might not go far when it comes to the latest Ma-Beijing handiwork.
Out of the blue, an invitation from the WHO for Taiwan to take part in this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer under the designation “Chinese Taipei” was dropped in the lap of the chief of Taiwan’s public health authority. WHA observer status is critical only in the context of becoming a full member of the WHO, which would provide Taiwan with a platform to articulate its international health needs as well as contribute as a sovereign nation. Devoid of sovereignty, WHA observer status is empty because there is zero probability of Taiwan becoming a WHO member.
Taiwanese would experience little improvement in public health. Worse yet, Ma has consented to let Beijing monopolize the position of go-between, silencing voices of support for Taiwan from other countries, including Japan and the US.
Ma and company rejoiced at the fruit of their efforts despite the shadow of treason hanging over the WHA matter, as it is rumored to be the direct result of a secret agreement ironed out between a Ma emissary and Beijing. The agreement allegedly spells out Ma’s consent to a 2005 memorandum of understanding between Beijing and the WHO in which Beijing defines Taiwan’s WHA observer status within the confines of a subordinate territory of China.
That the Ma government is eyeing other international organizations, including the Red Cross, to apply this mode of operation reflects Ma’s desire to subordinate Taiwan to China at the expense of further isolating Taiwan, while garnering no benefits to Taiwan in return.
One might surmise that the Beijing-Ma charade could culminate in an “invitation” from the UN to the Ma government for annual observer status in the name of “Taiwan, China.”
The insidiousness of this Beijing-Ma alliance is its penchant for playing on Taiwanese wants, such as a yearning for more international space and a desire for economic security.
The US, Japan and other nations would be reluctant — while not unable — to thwart China’s attempt at conducting this sort of home run on Taiwan unless Taiwanese stir from their collective stupor.
HUANG JEI-HSUAN
Los Angeles, California
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