Taiwan & China *** About both sides of the Taiwan Strait

Sounds chilly (from the Financial Times):

“Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan’s president, has suggested his country could “freeze” its current constitution and adopt a new one, a move likely to re-ignite tensions with China.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr Chen said that defining the scope of Taiwan’s sovereignty and territory was “extremely serious, complicated and sensitive, but also extremely important”.The remarks indicate that Mr Chen intends to challenge Beijing further before he steps down in May 2008.
China retains a threat of war against the self-ruled island in case it formalises its de-facto independence. Past moves by Taiwan to amend its constitution – in place since 1947 – have provoked stern warnings from Beijing.
Altering Taiwan’s constitution would be difficult since any change would require a three-fourths majority in the opposition-dominated parliament. A change would also require approval by at least 50 per cent of the electorate in a referendum.
However, Mr Chen pledged to put constitutional change at the centre of the agenda for his remaining time in office. “I must pursue three big movements [including pushing for] a new constitution which truly fits Taiwan,” he said.
Mr Chen’s comments indicate he could adopt a more audacious course in strengthening Taiwan’s separation from China before he steps down, an approach which would unsettle cross-Strait relations after more than two years of relative quiet.
Mr Chen triggered warnings from China and the US in late 2003 and again in early 2004 when he first proposed a new constitution and pushed for Taiwan’s first island-wide referendum.” [more]

Grieving seems to ease the relations between the Taiwan Strait (from the China Post):

“The bereaved family members of five Chinese tourists who died in a bus crash in central Taiwan earlier this week held a memorial services and cremated the bodies yesterday for the trip home.
Officials from the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), the Tourism Bureau, representatives from the local travel industry and Nantou County chief Lee Tsao-ching also took part in the joint ceremony at the county funeral parlor.
Volunteers from the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation and other organizations were on hand to assist and comfort the families.
Officials said they are working to arrange the earliest possible flight for the families of the Chinese tourists to go back home to Liaoning Province in northeastern China.
But they said the families might have to stay in Taiwan for a couple of more days since all flights were fully booked as people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait took advantage of the long holiday to either rush home for reunions or take overseas trips.
Officials said a chartered plane for direct flight could be considered if the visitors make such a request.
One of the two buses carrying 39 Chinese tourists plunged into a ravine from the new central Taiwan Cross-Island Highway in central Nantou County on Monday evening when they were returning from a trip to Alishan (Mount Ali) in southwestern Chiayi County.” [more]

… according to Margot Chen via her comment at the Taipeitimes:

“With Taiwan still very much enmeshed in the political conflict between supporters of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and followers of former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh’s (施明德) anti-Chen campaign, Taiwanese haven’t had much time to concern themselves with affairs in the rest of the world.
China has used this opportunity to quietly launch a fresh round of campaigns to gradually absorb Taiwan. In addition to its long-term policy, China has also adopted a number of new approaches.
First, Beijing is attempting to weaken the nation’s economy by excluding it from participating in the establishment of a free-trade zone in East Asia. Japan has proposed an East Asian Free Trade Zone that would include the 10 member states of ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
However, because of China’s objections, Taiwan is being excluded. If the formation of the trading bloc continues to progress, Taiwan’s economy and industrial development is bound to suffer marginalization.
Second, Beijing has stepped up its tactic of bombarding Taiwan with agricultural incentives to befriend farmers here. On Aug. 1 last year, Beijing removed all tariffs for 15 kinds of fruit from Taiwan to ingratiate itself with farmers as part of its “united front” strategy.
Although both Taiwan and China are WTO member states, China has agreed to zero-tariff pacts with certain groups here outside the framework of the WTO. The initial proposal, made to former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) during his visit to China, was clearly politically motivated. In effect, the proposal deprives Taiwanese farmers of the protection they would receive if a similar agreement was reached under WTO protocols.
In April, the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a cross-strait economic forum in China. Following the forum, China inaugurated experimental cross-strait agricultural cooperation zones in both Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. It also tried to lure Taiwanese farmers’ investments and acquire Taiwan’s agricultural technologies, talent and capital by designating the establishment of industrial zones in both Fujian and Shandong for Taiwanese farmers to start businesses in China.
The CCP and KMT also plan to hold a forum on cross-strait agricultural cooperation next month in China’s Hainan Province. China has implied through the media that it would provide more “incentives” to Taiwanese farmers at the meeting, but in the end, the incentives are designed to acquire investment and technology for China’s benefit, not Taiwan’s.
Third, China has strengthened its efforts to deny the fact that Taiwan is a nation and has worked to block the word “Taiwan” from appearing in any international organizations that symbolize national sovereignty.
While the nation recently discussed the feasibility of joining the UN using “Taiwan,” China made efforts to oppose this and boycotted the US “note” that was appended to the UN Conventional Arms Registry (UNCAR), which showed US arms sales to Taiwan.
As a result, the UN decided that only the transfer of conventional weapons involving member states of the UN has to be reported to the UNCAR, forcing the US to stop registering its transfer of arms to Taiwan.
Clearly, China is adopting a systematic approach toward annexing Taiwan. If the people here have yet to become aware of Beijing’s plot and continue to be entangled in the meaningless debates about the future of the president, then Taiwan will soon be forced off the world stage altogether.” [more]

There is a lot going on in Taiwan these days. China is watching carefully (from the N.Y. Times):

“China blasted Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian on Wednesday for a plan to change the constitution and rename the island, moves Beijing would consider a formal declaration of independence of territory it claims as its own.
Chen’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is studying constitutional changes to name the island the ‘’Republic of Taiwan,'’ instead of “Republic of China,'’ and redefine its national territory.
Party members may introduce legislation next month.
“We will never tolerate their seeking de jure independence by amending the constitution,'’ said Li Weiyi, spokesman for China’s policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office.
“We will closely watch and be on high alert to new developments,'’ he added, calling Chen’s plan a “splittist'’ and ‘’base'’ act that would threaten peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and in the Asia-Pacific region.
“It once again demonstrates that he has never had credibility and his political personality has completely gone bankrupt,'’ Li told a regular news conference.
Beijing, which considers the island a breakaway province, has vowed to attack if it declares formal independence. The two sides have faced off since China’s defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

WASHINGTON WARNING

Taiwan still officially styles itself the Republic of China and claims sovereignty over mainland China in its constitution.
But Chen’s DPP, which ended more than 50 years of Nationalist rule on the island in 2000, has frequently upset Beijing by advocating a Taiwan identity separate from China and pushing to “re-engineer'’ what it sees as an anachronistic constitution.
The United States, which recognizes Beijing’s “one China'’ policy, warned Chen on Monday against seeking the changes.
“The United States does not support independence for Taiwan, and we continue to be opposed to unilateral changes in the status quo by either side,'’ State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.
“We also take very seriously President Chen’s repeated commitments not to permit the constitutional reform process to touch on sovereignty issues, which includes territorial definition … we expect him to carry out those commitments.'’
Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but is obliged by the Taiwan Relations Act to defend the island.
Taiwan media on Wednesday quoted Chen’s office as saying the proposed changes would not violate his previous commitments.
Li, the Chinese spokesman, said Chen’s move was intended for personal gain amid mounting pressure in Taiwan, where protesters across the island have called for him to step down in recent weeks over allegations of corruption.
Opposition lawmakers presented their second motion to oust Chen in three months on Tuesday, though the chance of success was remote as they lack a two-thirds majority in parliament.” [more]

In cases of emergency there can be direct cross-strait flights (from the Taipeitimes):

“A cross-strait medical charter flight carrying 42 passengers yesterday arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
The flight, which departed from the Yanji Airport in China’s Jilin Province, consisted of 14 Taiwanese tourists who had been injured in China, 12 of their family members and 16 medical attendants.
A bus carrying tourists from Taiwan slid off a mountain road in Jilin Province last Monday, killing two female passengers and injuring 14 others.
After a flight of about five hours via Hong Kong’s airspace, the Trans Asia Airways airplane landed in Taiwan at 1:30pm.
All the injured were immediately transferred to Taipei’s Wanfan Hospital.
Trans Asia Airways president Fan Chih-chiang (范志強) said that the flight involved the largest number of passengers and greatest distance covered since the cross-strait medical service was initiated last Thursday.
The semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said yesterday that the flight had been the result of a well-coordinated safety and rescue network.” [more]

Im Folgenden finden Sie einen Brief von Cheng Wen-tsang, Minister, Governme Information Office, Republic of China (Taiwan), der Taiwandesk.com zur Verfügung gestellt wurde und in dem es um die chinesisch-taiwanischen Beziehungen geht:

“Die Raketentests von Nordkorea Anfang Juli diesen Jahres haben zu großer Besorgnis unter den Ländern Ostasiens geführt. Indem er die Resolution 1695 verabschiedete, machte der Sicherheitsrat deutlich, dass jede Provokation, die den Frieden und die Stabilität in der Region gefährdet, eine sofortige und einheitliche Reaktion der internationalen Gemeinschaft zur Folge hat. Leider kaum beachtet wird dagegen eine lang bestehende gefährliche Bedrohung durch Raketen in der Taiwanstraße.

Vor zehn Jahren, am Vorabend von Taiwans erster direkter Präsidentenwahl, feuerte das totalitäre China mehrere Raketen in die Gewässer vor der taiwanischen Küste, um die Wählerinnen und Wähler einzuschüchtern. Seitdem hat Beijing kontinuierlich seinen militärischen Druck auf Taiwan gesteigert. Zur Zeit sind mehr als 800 Raketen auf den Inselstaat gerichtet. Es wird geschätzt, dass sich die Zahl der Raketen pro Jahr um achtzig bis hundert Stück erhöht.

Obwohl Taiwans Demokratie in der letzten Dekade trotz des Schattens der militärischen Bedrohung durch China überleben konnte, sollte die internationale Gemeinschaft geeignete Maßnahmen ergreifen, um die gegenwärtige Sicherheitslage in der Taiwanstraße vor weiterer Verschlechterung zu bewahren und die schwer errungene Demokratie des Inselstaates zu schützen.

Chinas Militärausgaben wachsen seit siebzehn Jahren in Folge zweistellig. Der schnelle Aufbau des Militärs droht das militärische Gleichgewicht der Region zu kippen, was bedeutende Folgen nicht nur für Taiwan, sondern für die Asien-Pazifik-Region als Ganzes hat. Die militärische Expansion und das hegemoniale Streben Chinas vertiefen die Befürchtungen der Anrainerstaaten.

Folgende Frage ist legitim: Wenn kein Land in der Asien-Pazifik-Region eine militärische Bedrohung für China darstellt, warum weitet Beijing trotzdem seine militärischen Programme in derart fieberhafter Eile aus? Taiwan beispielsweise hat allen Grund besorgt zu sein über Chinas militärische Expansion. Beijing will nämlich noch immer nicht auf den Gebrauch von „nicht-friedlichen Mitteln“ zur Lösung der Streitigkeiten in der Taiwanstraße verzichten.

Militärische Transparenz ist eine wichtige Basis, um zwischen Ländern Vertrauen aufzubauen. Das verringert die Gefahr von Fehleinschätzungen, die zu einem ungewollten Konflikt führen könnten. Im Hinblick darauf hat Taiwan die Einrichtung von Mechanismen vorgeschlagen, die beiderseits der Taiwanstraße Vertrauen schaffen und Missverständnisse beseitigen sollen. Doch bisher stößt Taiwans Initiative in Beijing auf taube Ohren.

Schlimmer noch: Beijing zerstört fortgesetzt Vertrauen durch Maßnahmen wie Militärmanöver, die eine Invasion Taiwans simulieren oder diplomatische Offensiven mit dem Ziel, Taiwan international zu isolieren. Chinas unnötige, oft provokative Aktionen zwingen die Menschen Taiwans zu einem Leben in ständiger Angst und bedrohen den Frieden und die Sicherheit in der Region.

Das Motiv dieser Einschüchterungen ist klar: Mit der Strategie der „schleichenden Annexion“ soll Taiwan gezwungen werden, eine endgültige Wiedervereinigung mit China zu akzeptieren. Das zunehmende militärische Ungleichgewicht in der Taiwanstraße und Chinas unermüdliche Anstrengungen, Taiwans internationales Unterstützungs-Netzwerk zu zerstören, lässt Beobachter aufmerken. Sie befürchten, dass die Chance, den Streit in der Taiwanstraße friedlich beizulegen, bald vertan sein wird. Dennoch nimmt die internationale Gemeinschaft diese Entwicklung leider kaum wahr.

Außer der Gefährdung des Weltfriedens und der internationalen Sicherheit hat Chinas Einschüchterung eine tiefere moralische Dimension: Sie höhlt heimtückisch die Grundfreiheiten der taiwanischen Bevölkerung aus. Beijing übt Druck auf Taiwaner aus, die mit oder in China Geschäfte machen: Sie sollen das „Ein-China-Prinzip“ unterstützen. Das führt dazu, dass viele Geschäftsleute, selbst wenn sie wieder zurück im demokratischen und freien Taiwan sind, ihre politischen Ansichten und ihre religiöse Zugehörigkeit verbergen. Oder sie üben sich in anderen Formen der Selbstzensur, indem sie keine chinakritische Werbung in den Medien platzieren und vorsichtig sind, mit wem sie Kontakt haben.

Kurz gesagt: Die Thematik „Taiwanstraße“ hat weitreichende Folgen nicht nur für die Sicherheit der Anrainer, sondern auch für die Fortentwicklung der universellen Werte. Zugunsten der Aufrechterhaltung der Sicherheit, des Friedens und der Stabilität in Ostasien und dem Schutz von Demokratie und Menschenrechten sollte die internationale Gemeinschaft – besonders die Vereinten Nationen – gegen die steigende Spannung in der Taiwanstraße vorbeugende und effektive Maßnahmen ergreifen. Ein wichtiger erster Schritt wäre die Aufforderung an die Länder in der Region, sich für den Dialog einzusetzen, die militärische Transparenz zu vergrößern und gegenseitiges Vertrauen aufzubauen.

Eine Hauptaufgabe der Vereinten Nationen im 21. Jahrhundert ist es, die Welt sicherer für die Demokratie zu machen und die Freiheit der Menschen zu schützen. Effektive Maßnahmen zur Beseitigung der Bedrohung von Frieden und Sicherheit in der Taiwanstraße wären eine machtvolle Demonstration für die Fähigkeit der UN, ihre Ziele zu verwirklichen. Ostasien ist mit der ganzen Welt verbunden. Deshalb sollte sich jede Organisation, Regierung und Person für den Frieden und die Stabilität dort einsetzen, damit der Dialog in der Taiwanstraße vorankommt und eine Vertrauensgrundlage geschaffen werden kann.”

Here is another poster of Taiwans campaign to join the UN:

Many countries in the world miss that major point of developing its economies (from the Taipeitimes). Where is China on the list?

“The nation ranked 12th in the world and second — next only to Singapore — in Asia, in terms of collaboration between business and academic institutes, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said on Tuesday.
Council officials made the remarks when they unveiled a study on how to increase collaboration between business and academic institutes in order to create a more favorable environment for inspiring innovation.
The officials cited a global competitiveness report by the Lausanne-based International Institute for Management Development when pointing out that in the index of “knowledge transfer between companies and universities,” Finland was top, followed by the US. Taiwan ranked 12th, ahead of Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. Singapore was sixth.
They also cited the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006 when noting that Taiwan ranked eighth in the index of collaboration among industries, academic and research organizations, putting it ahead of South Korea in 10th and Hong Kong in 24th.
The Taiwan Institute for Economic Research found in a survey of 900 manufacturers that 43 percent of enterprises have worked with colleges and universities on research and development, showing that bus-inesses attach great importance to cooperation with colleges and universities to improve corporate efficiency.The CEPD said the ratio of college and university R&D budgets coming from enterprises accounted for 5.2 percent in 2004 up from 4.2 percent in 2003, representing a six year high…” [more]

On Sept. 12th the UN will again decide about the Taiwanese bid to join the UN - and won’t accept it most likely (as every year). Here is one poster from the current campaign by the Taiwanese government (taken from the official “Taiwan, U.N. me” Website):

As every year Taiwan tries to join the United Nations where it got kicked out in 1971 when China was accepted. Here are some news (from the Taipeitimes) related to this topic:

“Dozens of Taiwanese-American organizations have joined forces to support President Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) plan to apply for UN membership under the name of Taiwan, in preparation for next month’s session of the UN General Assembly, at which the nation will be making its 14th consecutive bid to gain membership in the global organization.
“Taiwan is a peace-loving country willing and able to carry out the requisite obligations contained in the UN Charter,” the groups said in a letter that was sent to Chen on Tuesday.
“The 23 million people of Taiwan deserve to be represented in this world body,” the letter states.
The letter was signed by 56 organizations which represent, according to estimates by an adviser to the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), one of the lead associations involved, as many as 100,000 Taiwanese-Americans.
It comes just two weeks before the start of the 61st annual session of the General Assembly on Sept. 12, where two Taiwan-related resolutions have been introduced by nations friendly to Taiwan, seeking to convince the world body to accept the country into its membership.
The letter said that Chen had stated in his Lunar New Year address this year that the nation should seriously consider using the name Taiwan to apply for UN membership, and that he on Aug. 19 announced his intention to proceed along these lines.
“We congratulate you on your unambiguous and courageous goal,” the letter said.
Foreign Affairs Minister James Huang (黃志芳) said yesterday that while it would be a breakthrough to apply under the name of Taiwan, he nonetheless had some reservations about the strategy…” [more]