Chinese Sphere: All Eyes on November 3
There has been a significant thawing of relations between China and Taiwan ever since Ma Ying-jeou assumed the presidency of Taiwan back in May. Formal channels of communication between the two sides, dormant for eight years during the administration of Ma's predecessor Chen Shui-bian, have suddenly been revived.
The key difference has been that Ma has hewn to his Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) traditional stance towards the status of Taiwan, which is that the island is a part of China, and the rightful ruler of China is the Republic of China (ROC) government. Disagreement over the "rightful ruler" part notwithstanding, this is good enough for the government of People's Republic of China, which prefers Ma's stance much more than Chen's past insistence on upholding Taiwan's sovereignty and independence.
The topic of cross-Strait relations has been a hot topic in the Chinese-language media this past week, especially in anticipation of Chen Yunlin's Monday visit to Taiwan. Chen is the chairman of the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), the body in charge of conducting relations with Taiwan. The visit will be of particular historical significance because he will be the highest-level Chinese official to set foot on the island. An agreement is expected to be signed that would clear the way for direct air, shipping, and postal links between the two sides as well as the creation of a food safety mechanism.
Singapore's leading Chinese-language daily, Lianhe Zaobao, is very upbeat on this meeting. An October 29th editorial states, "From an objective standpoint, this pragmatic cooperation will most certainly bring about tremendous and long-ranging benefits for the two sides of the Strait. It will especially inject vitality into Taiwan which has limited room for development. This kind of mutually beneficial win-win cooperation is also helpful for maintaining stability and peace in the Taiwan region."
However, not everyone in Taiwan is happy about the rapprochement with China. Taiwan's main opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), staged a protest on October 25th which generated a surprisingly large turnout of 600,000. In the October 30th edition of Apple Daily, one of Taiwan's largest circulating tabloids, Lee Wen-chung writes, "Over the course of 12 years of Lee Teng-hui and eight years of Chen Shui-bian's presidencies, Taiwan completed its transition to a democracy in the midst of hardship and formed a shared community. No matter whether your preference is for 'Taiwan' or 'Republic of China,' the names all refer to this land and its people; the dispute over the future of Taiwan can be handled through a democratic process. However, the Ma administration's disregard and concessions over national sovereignty has severely undermined the consensus over this community."
The "concessions" that the writer is referring to include Ma's referral to Taiwan as a "region" in an interview and his willingness to allow Chen Yunlin to address him as "Mr. Ma" instead of "President Ma." The October 30th editorial of the Taiwan-based China Times newspaper declares, "If the Chinese Communist authorities truly understood the Taiwanese people, they should know that there is nothing that can take the place of dignity. Furthermore, if Chen Yunlin is unable to address Ma Ying-jeou as 'president' when they meet, than there is no need, nor is it appropriate for the two men to meet. Ma Ying-jeou is the leader chosen by ballots cast by the people of Taiwan. He is a representative of our national sovereignty. If he is not able to be properly addressed in his own country and is even willing to be called 'Mr. Ma' or other substitute titles, than not only is that a personal insult, but it is also an insult to Taiwan's sovereignty."
The controversy over titles stems from the Chinese government's refusal to acknowledge Taiwan as an independent country. Therefore, Taiwan is always referred to as "the Taiwan region" and its president is referred to as the "leader" in the Chinese media. An op-ed column by Chien Han-sun in the overseas edition of the People's Daily, the Chinese government's official newspaper, gives an example of this: "Ever since Mr. Ma Ying-jeou assumed the leadership of the Taiwan region, cross-Strait relations have been developing in a positive direction."
Along the same vein as the Lianhe Zaobao editorial mentioned above, the writer plays up the economic benefits that closer economic integration will bring to the two sides. His conclusion, however, would not only worry independence supporters in Taiwan, but also the majority that just wishes to keep the status quo of the relationship between Taiwan and China: "I often hear that the 'status quo' should be maintained in the cross-Strait relationship. This simply does not make any logical sense because the 'status quo' changes with time. Yesterday's 'status quo' is different from today's, and todays 'status quo' will be different from tomorrow's. For every single day of the past eight years the DPP had tried every which way to shift Taiwan's 'status quo' closer towards 'Taiwan independence.' Now that the KMT is in power, I hope that every day they will pull the 'status quo' back upon the path of peaceful unification. It is only in this way that the 'status quo' will be meaningful. Otherwise, we will fall into the 'Taiwan independence' trap."
