Beijing should not rebuff moderating Taipei stance
By FRANK CHING 25 December 2008
Last week, for the first time since the Chinese civil war was fought almost six decades ago, passenger jets and freighters set off from Taiwan for mainland China while planes and ships departed the mainland bound for Taiwan, marking a dramatic improvement in the cross-straits relationship.
The inauguration of direct flights and shipping marked the implementation of the ‘three links’ - direct trade, mail and transport ties between the two sides.
‘We first proposed the three links on 1 January 1979,’ said Xu Shiquan, vice-chairman of the National Society for Taiwan Studies, who is a leading authority on Taiwan. ‘Now, 30 years later, they have come into practice.’
China’s message to its ‘compatriots’ in Taiwan, delivered the day Washington broke relations with Taipei to establish ties with Beijing, declared: ‘The reunification of the motherland is the sacred mission history has handed to our generation. . . Let us join hands and work together for this glorious goal!’
In 1981, Beijing offered to provide economic aid to Taiwan if needed. At a time when Taiwan’s per capita GDP was many times that of the poverty-stricken mainland, this offer was not taken seriously.
But now, things are different. This week, China announced 10 measures for economic cooperation with Taiwan, aimed at helping the island cope with the global financial crisis, including support for Taiwanese-funded companies and the promotion of cross-straits investment.
Over the last three decades, the situation became more complicated as Taiwan first appeared to be interested in reunification, at least as a long-term goal, and established National Unification Guidelines under which the grand goal would be realised in phases. Actual reunification would only take place after the mainland became democratic.
However, at the time, Taiwan’s overtures were rebuffed. When the National Unification Guidelines were adopted, they were derided by people on the mainland as ‘National Non-Unification Guidelines’.
Then, in the last eight years, Taiwan was led by Chen Shui-bian of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party as the island’s president, who suspended the National Unification Guidelines so that reunification was no longer an established policy.
The current leader, President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang (KMT), seems to be trying to return to the political situation of the early 1990s.
Instead of emphasising Taiwan’s sovereignty, he talks about the ‘Taiwan region’ and the ‘mainland region’ as parts of China. This was the language in a law adopted in 1992 called Act Governing Relations between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.
Though the law remains on the books, it has been ignored for the last decade as Taiwanese leaders emphasised the island’s independence from China.
Many people in Taiwan feel that time has moved on and these concepts are no longer relevant. And yet, when Chen jettisoned them in 2006, Beijing’s anger was palpable. It should have cherished the guidelines when they were first promulgated.
In the early 1990s, Taiwan also abandoned its position that the mainland was under the control of ‘communist bandits’, hoping that Taipei and Beijing could recognise each other, if not as governments, at least as ‘equal political entities’. That, too, Beijing would not do.
Now, Mr. Ma is moderating his approach a bit. Instead of calling for mutual recognition, he is asking for ‘mutual non-denial’, that is to say, if the two sides cannot accept each other’s legitimacy, they can at least not deny each other’s existence. The hope is that, in time, there will be ‘mutual recognition’.
When the concept of ‘one China’ was discussed in the early 1990s, Beijing insisted that Taipei accept that Taiwan was a part of China. At the time, Taipei acknowledged that ‘Taiwan is indeed part of China, but the mainland is also part of China’.
It was not until 2000 that Taiwan’s position was accepted, with then vice-premier Qian Qichen asserting that ‘the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China’. But by then the pro-independence Chen had already been elected president and the KMT was out of power.
Repeatedly, Beijing rejected proposals made by Taiwan, only to accept them when the political situation on the island had changed. It must not repeat this mistake.
China’s leaders now say that the current cross-straits situation offers a ‘precious’ opportunity that is to be ‘cherished’. They should realise that if they do not grasp the hand being extended by Mr. Ma but make the situation embarrassing for him, there may never be another such opportunity.
This is not a time to put the squeeze on Taiwan. This is a time for generosity of spirit.
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Beijing should not rebuff moderating Taipei stance
By FRANK CHING
25 December 2008
Last week, for the first time since the Chinese civil war was fought almost six decades ago, passenger jets and freighters set off from Taiwan for mainland China while planes and ships departed the mainland bound for Taiwan, marking a dramatic improvement in the cross-straits relationship.
The inauguration of direct flights and shipping marked the implementation of the ‘three links’ - direct trade, mail and transport ties between the two sides.
‘We first proposed the three links on 1 January 1979,’ said Xu Shiquan, vice-chairman of the National Society for Taiwan Studies, who is a leading authority on Taiwan. ‘Now, 30 years later, they have come into practice.’
China’s message to its ‘compatriots’ in Taiwan, delivered the day Washington broke relations with Taipei to establish ties with Beijing, declared: ‘The reunification of the motherland is the sacred mission history has handed to our generation. . . Let us join hands and work together for this glorious goal!’
In 1981, Beijing offered to provide economic aid to Taiwan if needed. At a time when Taiwan’s per capita GDP was many times that of the poverty-stricken mainland, this offer was not taken seriously.
But now, things are different. This week, China announced 10 measures for economic cooperation with Taiwan, aimed at helping the island cope with the global financial crisis, including support for Taiwanese-funded companies and the promotion of cross-straits investment.
Over the last three decades, the situation became more complicated as Taiwan first appeared to be interested in reunification, at least as a long-term goal, and established National Unification Guidelines under which the grand goal would be realised in phases. Actual reunification would only take place after the mainland became democratic.
However, at the time, Taiwan’s overtures were rebuffed. When the National Unification Guidelines were adopted, they were derided by people on the mainland as ‘National Non-Unification Guidelines’.
Then, in the last eight years, Taiwan was led by Chen Shui-bian of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party as the island’s president, who suspended the National Unification Guidelines so that reunification was no longer an established policy.
The current leader, President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang (KMT), seems to be trying to return to the political situation of the early 1990s.
Instead of emphasising Taiwan’s sovereignty, he talks about the ‘Taiwan region’ and the ‘mainland region’ as parts of China. This was the language in a law adopted in 1992 called Act Governing Relations between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.
Though the law remains on the books, it has been ignored for the last decade as Taiwanese leaders emphasised the island’s independence from China.
Many people in Taiwan feel that time has moved on and these concepts are no longer relevant. And yet, when Chen jettisoned them in 2006, Beijing’s anger was palpable. It should have cherished the guidelines when they were first promulgated.
In the early 1990s, Taiwan also abandoned its position that the mainland was under the control of ‘communist bandits’, hoping that Taipei and Beijing could recognise each other, if not as governments, at least as ‘equal political entities’. That, too, Beijing would not do.
Now, Mr. Ma is moderating his approach a bit. Instead of calling for mutual recognition, he is asking for ‘mutual non-denial’, that is to say, if the two sides cannot accept each other’s legitimacy, they can at least not deny each other’s existence. The hope is that, in time, there will be ‘mutual recognition’.
When the concept of ‘one China’ was discussed in the early 1990s, Beijing insisted that Taipei accept that Taiwan was a part of China. At the time, Taipei acknowledged that ‘Taiwan is indeed part of China, but the mainland is also part of China’.
It was not until 2000 that Taiwan’s position was accepted, with then vice-premier Qian Qichen asserting that ‘the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China’. But by then the pro-independence Chen had already been elected president and the KMT was out of power.
Repeatedly, Beijing rejected proposals made by Taiwan, only to accept them when the political situation on the island had changed. It must not repeat this mistake.
China’s leaders now say that the current cross-straits situation offers a ‘precious’ opportunity that is to be ‘cherished’. They should realise that if they do not grasp the hand being extended by Mr. Ma but make the situation embarrassing for him, there may never be another such opportunity.
This is not a time to put the squeeze on Taiwan. This is a time for generosity of spirit.
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