In the complicated world of politics, it is pathetic for a government to act as though it is unaware of hostile schemes, but downright despicable if it is well aware of an adversary’s scheming yet chooses to look the other way. In view of the latest developments concerning the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, one can’t help but wonder if the latter scenario is the direction in which the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government is heading.
On Sunday at a roundtable meeting held on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia, Chinese delegates called for the signing of an ECFA, stressing how both sides of the Taiwan Strait could benefit from the pact. Several delegates also said the ECFA could help “speed up the goal of a unified motherland.”
A day earlier, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) also expressed support for an ECFA during a meeting with the head of the Taiwanese delegation, Fredrick Chien (錢復). Saying that “one China” is the “cornerstone for the development of peaceful cross-strait relations,” Xi was quoted by the media as saying that “compatriots from both sides of the Strait are members of the Chinese nation (中華民族) and that cross-strait economics are part of the Chinese economy (中華民族經濟).” He added that strengthened economic cooperation from both sides was “helpful in jointly promoting prosperous national economic development and safeguarding and broadening the overall interests of the Chinese nation.”
Wang Yi (王毅), director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a press conference later that same day that “the foundation of cross-strait economic cooperation comes from closeness of blood, the shared sentiments of compatriots and love of the nation … which exceeds the usual business partnerships and simple exchange of business interests.”
While some may be quick to dismiss these remarks as the usual rhetoric of Chinese officials, what those people are doing is simply turning a blind eye to the obvious. The truth is, all these statements from the Chinese officials, spoken against the backdrop of the proposed ECFA, show that politics is written all over the so-called cross-strait trade pact.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶), speaking at the National People’s Congress earlier last month, also issued a call for the completion of an ECFA. Wen said the Chinese government would continue developing cross-strait relations to realize the ultimate goal of peaceful national unification and that striking an ECFA with Taiwan was a priority.
Judging from these remarks, it is obvious that the true purpose behind Beijing’s support for an ECFA is to help realize its goal of “taking back” Taiwan.
Their remarks also debunked claims by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration that an ECFA has nothing to do with politics.
Time and again, Ma has stated that a referendum is unnecessary because the proposed ECFA is an economic matter that is related to neither politics nor sovereignty.
It is shocking that ordinary people can see China’s cunning intent behind its support for an ECFA, yet the Ma administration still fails to connect the dots and insists otherwise. Or could it be that the government simply chooses to play dumb?
If the Ma government is too dumb to figure out China’s devious scheme, that would be all the more reason for a referendum on an ECFA to let the people speak for themselves.
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
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
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
The military is conducting its annual Han Kuang exercises in phases. The minister of national defense recently said that this year’s scenarios would simulate defending the nation against possible actions the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might take in an invasion of Taiwan, making the threat of a speculated Chinese invasion in 2027 a heated agenda item again. That year, also referred to as the “Davidson window,” is named after then-US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson, who in 2021 warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the PLA to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Xi in 2017