No statements seem too ridiculous in Taiwan, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and its unbelievable claims. The KMT promotes national policies that bear no relation to the realities on the streets and in the homes of Taiwan. What Taiwan needs is not a fantasy world, but a sustainable future based on harmony between national policies, the wishes of the population and the realities of Taiwan today.
A few examples illustrate the upside-down perspective of Taiwan’s relationship with China, such as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) considering himself president of China and Taiwan, despite the fact that the whole world recognizes Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) as the president of China.
It also makes no sense to say that the recently signed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) is between “two regions” in the Republic of China, and to claim that the agreement upholds Taiwan’s sovereignty based on a non-existent “1992 consensus” about “one China.”
The government has promised “no unification” during Ma’s presidency. Therefore, it also appears illogical to promote unification by calling China’s response “pragmatic,” as the presidential spokeman did after China emphasized that Singapore “should recognize China’s sovereignty over Taiwan” when Taiwan and Singapore initiated talks about a trade deal.
The negative consequences for Taiwan because of these statements are twofold: First, they portray Taiwan as a part of China to the international community. This would be a reasonable policy if the Taiwanese approved, but they do not. More than 80 percent of the public said no to China’s “one country, two systems” policy in a recent Mainland Affairs Council survey. Given a free choice, 72 percent would vote for independence.
Second, because these statements and policies are not in harmony with what the Taiwanese public wants, they are not sustainable. To enforce such policies, the government will need to employ an unacceptable degree of political engineering to overcome resistance, which will lead only to more division.
On the domestic front, there have also been several ridiculous statements by the KMT. KMT News recently hinted that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a “kind of Taiwanese Nazi Party,” evidently comparing the achievements of a democratic party with the atrocities of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, despite the fact that the DPP has had no comparable policies and embraces all people living in Taiwan.
A KMT news story on July 19 identified independence sentiment and the DPP with corruption and war, with no mention of the KMT’s own long tradition of corruption, and despite the fact that the KMT’s unification drive is no guarantee of peace for Taiwan.
Again, the KMT is trying to create a fantasy world. The problem is that the propaganda is not only fallacious, but also generates an increased and unnecessary disharmony in Taiwan.
A sustainable future requires harmony between the national policies and wishes of the population in a democratic dialogue. It is crucial for Taiwan to avoid this kind of demonization and promotion of imagined worlds, and instead to develop mutual respect and reach a level of trust where public differences are realized and can be handled.
When the international community embraces the ECFA and related policies in ignorance of these tendencies toward disharmony, they risk supporting unsustainable development. Instead, support for Taiwan’s right to self-determination, as well as democratic and economic development, is needed to foster mutual understanding in Taiwan.
Michael Danielsen is the chairman of the Copenhagen-based Taiwan Corner.
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