During his visit to Beijing, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) “humbly” referred to the Republic of China (ROC) as daonei (島內, “on the island”) when addressing Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤). Wu later defended himself by saying he had not intended to belittle Taiwan. When President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) tried to defend Wu, it sounded as if he were blaming Wu for being a pro-independence activist.
The Ma administration’s admission of the “one China” principle has already denigrated Taiwan and destroyed the ROC. With Taiwan becoming an “area” of China, an “island” or “Taipei,” is there any room left for the ROC? Given this, how can the Ma government negotiate with China on an equal footing?
The only thing that seemed to be equal during Wu’s visit to China was the handshake with Hu. Other than that, Hu appeared to be lecturing a local governor in his capacity as head of state, bestowing favors and giving admonishments. And Wu seems to have enjoyed it.
Although Hu received Wu in his capacity as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he intentionally brought up the past during the meeting, reiterating the “six points” he made to mark the 30th anniversary of the “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan” to highlight his status as “head of state.”
This move involved many hidden motives. The “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan” was a statement that China made to summon late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) to surrender and Hu’s six points followed along the same lines.
Not only are these points based on the view that China and Taiwan belong to “one China,” Hu also said patronizingly that he “would try his best to respond to urgent calls from Taiwan.”
Wu seemed to be proud of taking orders as he did not make his position clear and also avoided terms like “Taiwan,” “Taiwan’s view” and instead used the expression “on the island.” Worse, in his defense of Wu, Ma said the phrase “on the island” had been used in a pro-Taiwanese independence publication.
However, the publication used it to belittle the KMT government, not Taiwan. When Ma used this argument, he seemed to blame Wu for being a pro-independence activist.
The KMT has surrendered to the “one China” framework, so it does not think the nation has been “belittled” regardless of how Taiwan is trampled on. The so-called “mutual non-denial” approach is just window dressing.
The Ma administration has repeatedly denied itself before China has even had a chance to do so. Wu is one example, as is Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), who lost his control when being confronted by Taiwanese students in Geneva last month.
They do not understand that denial of oneself in the international arena is more serious than being denied by others, nor that the consequences of remaining silent when being denied by others are more serious than the consequences of protesting.
James Wang is a media commentator.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
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