Now that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has again taken the helm of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the question is whether he will use the position to meet Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) at one of the KMT-CCP cross-strait economic, trade and cultural forums.
Signing a peace agreement was one of the goals of the common vision for cross-strait peace and development signed by Hu and then-KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) on April 29, 2005. It was written into the KMT’s party platform in 2007 and became one of Ma’s campaign promises for last year’s presidential election. It has been a key policy of the KMT administration.
A Ma-Hu meeting could take place at the start or close of talks on a peace deal.
If Ma intends to push for a cross-strait summit, he must recognize the conditions for a meeting: He is the president of the Republic of China (ROC) and represents 23 million Taiwanese. The KMT chairmanship is only an opportunity to meet Hu, but Ma must not think that because the KMT is the ruling party, it can replace the government and sign a cross-strait peace agreement on behalf of Taiwan without legislative oversight.
If Ma is confused about his position and doesn’t understand the restraints that apply to cross-strait diplomatic protocol and the handling of Taiwan’s domestic politics, then neither a Ma-Hu meeting nor a peace agreement will win the public’s support.
Nor would anyone expect a meeting to bring lasting peace to the Taiwan Strait or each of the two sides domestically.
Taipei and Beijing have formed special “state-to-state” relations, with each side having its own Constitution. A peace agreement would therefore not be a truce agreement between a state and a belligerent neighbor, as was the Summary of Conversations between the Representatives of the Government and the CCP (政府與中共代表會談紀要), also known as the Double Tenth Agreement (雙十協定).
It would certainly not be an agreement between a central government and a local government either, such as the Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet (中央人民政府和西藏地方政府關於和平解放西藏辦法的協議), also known as the 17-Article Agreement on the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet (十七條協議).
A cross-strait peace agreement can only be a special “state-to-state” peace agreement. At least it should be more like the Treaty on the Basis of Relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, so as to lay a foundation in international law for the normalization of cross-strait relations. The PRC’s respect for the ROC and Ma’s self-respect are the premises for peaceful cross-strait development.
Tseng Chien-yuan is an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration at Chung Hua University.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
US political scientist Francis Fukuyama, during an interview with the UK’s Times Radio, reacted to US President Donald Trump’s overturning of decades of US foreign policy by saying that “the chance for serious instability is very great.” That is something of an understatement. Fukuyama said that Trump’s apparent moves to expand US territory and that he “seems to be actively siding with” authoritarian states is concerning, not just for Europe, but also for Taiwan. He said that “if I were China I would see this as a golden opportunity” to annex Taiwan, and that every European country needs to think
For years, the use of insecure smart home appliances and other Internet-connected devices has resulted in personal data leaks. Many smart devices require users’ location, contact details or access to cameras and microphones to set up, which expose people’s personal information, but are unnecessary to use the product. As a result, data breaches and security incidents continue to emerge worldwide through smartphone apps, smart speakers, TVs, air fryers and robot vacuums. Last week, another major data breach was added to the list: Mars Hydro, a Chinese company that makes Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as LED grow lights and the
Today is Feb. 28, a day that Taiwan associates with two tragic historical memories. The 228 Incident, which started on Feb. 28, 1947, began from protests sparked by a cigarette seizure that took place the day before in front of the Tianma Tea House in Taipei’s Datong District (大同). It turned into a mass movement that spread across Taiwan. Local gentry asked then-governor general Chen Yi (陳儀) to intervene, but he received contradictory orders. In early March, after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) dispatched troops to Keelung, a nationwide massacre took place and lasted until May 16, during which many important intellectuals
US President Donald Trump is an extremely stable genius. Within his first month of presidency, he proposed to annex Canada and take military action to control the Panama Canal, renamed the Gulf of Mexico, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a dictator and blamed him for the Russian invasion. He has managed to offend many leaders on the planet Earth at warp speed. Demanding that Europe step up its own defense, the Trump administration has threatened to pull US troops from the continent. Accusing Taiwan of stealing the US’ semiconductor business, it intends to impose heavy tariffs on integrated circuit chips
RSS