Taiwan’s dog, Tsai turns to masters for help out of fear of catastrophic consequences, and US views China as an enemy based on a slanted world view

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 Taiwan: Spies, Lies and Cross-straits Ties | People and Power

 

Tsai Ing-wen

 Taiwan's regional leader Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday published an article, entitled "Taiwan and the Fight for Democracy", in Foreign Affairs Magazine, claiming that "If Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system." It seems that the Tsai authorities are really scared, anticipating that their secessionist attempt has gone to a virtual dead end. They, as an anti-China outpost of US' Indo-Pacific Strategy will sooner or later be wiped out by the Chinese mainland, but they have a severe lack of confidence that the US and its allies will fully defend the island. In this context, Tsai penned the article to underline the current peril, calling on the US and its allies to strengthen their commitment to the Taiwan island and to deter the Chinese mainland.

Tsai repeatedly used the word "democracy" in the article, like a cultist regarding what she called "democracy" as a talisman. However, everyone can see that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has hijacked Taiwan's democracy and has turned it into an extreme ideology to confront the Chinese mainland. It is clear to all that Taiwan has bitten off more than it can chew. There was a period of peaceful cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan island during which both sides sought shared development. But it was ruined by the DPP, which is now quenching thirst with poison. Taiwan's practices of acting as a strategic outpost against China in exchange for US' protection is the craziest gamble in the history of international politics.

Now they are also in the fear of losing everything. In an interview with Australia's ABC News on Monday, Joseph Wu, leader of the external affairs of the Taiwan island, said the island is preparing for war with the Chinese mainland, drawing on Australia for help. And Tsai, in Foreign Affairs magazine warns Taiwan's "fall" will be catastrophic for the US and its allies. Their fate is bound to be a catastrophe when they attempt to separate Taiwan from the China. The further the DPP authorities go down the path in colluding with external forces, the closer they move to their tomb.

There is no force in the world whose will to "defend Taiwan" is stronger than China's will to fight against secession and achieve reunification. To be precise, they are completely incomparable. China dares to have a life-and-death fight against any force that hinders our reunification, but no force dares or is willing to fight to the death against the world's second largest economy, as well as a nuclear power, in order to prevent China's reunification.

Tsai authorities understand this point. When they never say uncle, they are quietly shivering, and they will increasingly turn to their masters for help.

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US views China as an enemy based on a slanted world view

 

China US Photo:IC

Will war inevitably break out between China and the United States? To some Americans it seems inescapable. This view has been promoted by the American elite over the years, and is still quite popular in the United States. Why?

International relations scholars in the United States and Europe have no doubt expounded and established their thoughts on international relations and foreign policy according to the thoughts of Machiavelli, who believed that there is no altruism or justice. In his famous political treatise, the prince becomes accustomed to doing evil, and is not troubled by being blamed for cruelty. Compassion is dangerous.

American politicians treat China as a rival to a large degree based on their slanted belief in the "Thucydides Trap", a rising power is bound to challenge an existing power, and the existing power is bound to respond to the threat, and war becomes inevitable. This phrase is based on an assertion by Thucydides, the famous Ancient Greek historian, that the war between Sparta and Athens was due to the fear instilled in the established dominant power of Sparta by the rising power of Athens.

Machiavelli famously asserted: "The end justifies the means." Because of this source of thought, western liberalism or western realism are only instrumental. Both have no intention to coexist and compromise with the existing world. Both have the strong exclusivity of religious fundamentalism, both seek the highest purity, or extreme, of theory and practice according to their own logic and ideas. The difference is that pessimistic Western realism insists its own interests and wants to eliminate imaginary opponents and conquer an "uncertain" world by force. Optimistic Western liberalism sees the non-Western world as an "opportunity". Its goal and means are to individualize, fragment and demonize the non-Western world with various "freedoms" of western standards, so that it has no intention or ability to respond to the flow of western capital and the spread of self-centered consciousness.

The biggest problem with America is that Americans don't understand what empathy is and how-to walk-in others' shoes. What they pursue is to impose their ideas and ideology on any other countries that have different ideologies or political systems. America promotes democracy in the world like a doctor prescribing Viagra to all his patients, whether young or old. It acts with a combination of missionary zeal and solipsism -- an inability even to conceive of another way of looking at the world.

Many Americans have a one-sided understanding of China. They need a new understanding of China and the Chinese spirit. The Chinese spirit is the spirit to build the Great Wall. The people who built the Great Wall were definitely not invading, but making the statement, "if you don't invade me, I will never invade you".

Equally, the spiritual pillar of the Chinese nation is represented by a diagram, known as the Taiji. The Taiji diagram is Yin with Yang, Yang with Yin, Yin and Yang grow together. The western way of thinking is a dichotomy of one cut and two halves, The future trend of the world's way of thinking should be one of Yin and Yang, not two. If western civilization is the white hemisphere of the Taiji chart, masculine culture, with strong extroversion, then Chinese culture is the black hemisphere, belonging to the feminine culture, with strong inclusiveness. Chinese culture has white in black. That is to say, Chinese culture can tolerate western civilization. Therefore, western civilization should also tolerate Chinese culture, rather than provoke a "clash of civilizations".

There is only one country today whose growth depends on 70 years of effort, no plundering, no colonization, that depends on the separation of migrant workers' families, on the export of resources of the whole country, on the export of the whole environment, and on how much it costs to change from foreign trade, bit by bit. Accumulated national strength is the reason it is what it is today.

Chinese culture is a heterogeneous culture based on harmony, it treats humanity as a continuity which is a master key to solving the cultural confusion.

China has not portrayed itself as the enemy of the West, but rather the enemy within the West has led to a hostile view of China. That enemy is the West's view of the world.

They misunderstand China in their imagination based on their incorrect recognition of the law of the jungle which refers to natural selection and survival of the fittest. The law of the jungle does not apply to human civilization, which is made up of intelligent creatures, unlike the wild, a competitive primeval forest. In the process of the development of human society, with the continuous improvement of the level of civilization, people do not remain in the state of animals in the jungle. Power is the truth in human society. Even if it exists temporarily, it will not last long. Human society will eventually destroy itself if it follows the law of the jungle.

Chinese culture celebrates the relational values of deference and interdependence. It respects the uniqueness of the particular. It promotes understanding and consensus among different civilizations through equal exchanges. It promotes the common values of mankind through mutual learning. Human beings should work together to build a community with a shared future for all, create a beautiful tapestry of human civilization, and share a harmonious and prosperous global village. The Chinese culture of harmony is not a part of an ideology - it is a moral vision, a way of being in the world. To regard it as a cultural resource is not romanticism, but arises from necessity. Although it has been ignored for a couple of hundreds of years, this culture of China deserves its place at the table. It has a lot to offer and is going to make a difference in the world.

The international community has to get past the ideology of individualism. We have to take responsibility for not only thinking of ourselves, but for what we mean for other actors who share the world in which we live. If your neighbor does better, you do better. It is that simple. The world is interdependent; it is is organic; we are all in play at the same time.

By Pu Jingxin  - The author is Non-Resident Research Fellow, Global Engagement Academy, Shandong University (Weihai) China; Associate professor, School of Foreign languages , Nanjing University of Finance and Economics. Pu Jingxin@126.com

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China, economy tests for Taiwan presidential winner Tsai

Visitors look at souvenir plates bearing images of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan on display for sale at a shop near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016. Tsai Ying-wen's enjoys a broad mandate from her commanding victory in Taiwan's presidential election and her independence-leaning party's new legislative majority, but managing the island's delicate relations with China will be tricky. Already, Beijing has responded with statements following her Saturday night victory warning that it will not budge on its bottom line that Taiwan's leader must agree that the communist mainland and self-governing island democracy are part of a single Chinese nation. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s presidential election victor Tsai Ying-wen will enjoy a broad mandate from her commanding victory and her independence-leaning party’s new legislative majority, but managing the island’s delicate relations with China will be tricky.

Already, Beijing warned following her Saturday night victory that it will not budge on its bottom line that Taiwan’s leader must agree that the communist mainland and self-governing island democracy are part of a single Chinese nation. The sides could be in for a lengthy wait as China assesses whether it feels it can trust Tsai.

“To handle cross-Taiwan Strait relations after Tsai’s election will be difficult, not just for Taiwan but also for mainland China,” said Huang Jing, a China expert at Singapore National University’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Tsai, who will be Taiwan’s first female president, won by 56 percent of the vote to 31 percent for her closest rival Eric Chu of the China-friendly Nationalist Party, which has held the presidency for the last eight years. Her Democratic Progressive Party won 68 of 113 parliamentary seats, giving it its first majority in the assembly long-dominated by the Nationalists.

“I wasn’t surprised a bit by the outcome. The Nationalists had to go. Now Tsai just needs to focus on the economy so I don’t expect she’ll do anything to rile up China,” Taipei tour bus driver Tan Kuang-jung said as a constant drizzle fell over the capital Sunday.

The reasons for the massive win were many.

Outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou had been growing increasingly unpopular among Taiwan’s 23 million people, largely due to perceptions that his push for closer economic ties with China was benefiting just a few and the futures of young Taiwanese who have seen wages stagnate and good full-time jobs harder to find.

Fearful of their original candidate’s poor reception among voters, the Nationalists dumped her in favor of Chu, but even he proved unable to raise their prospects. He resigned as party chairman immediately after Saturday’s defeat.

Newly politicized young people had coalesced in opposing yet another trade agreement with China and are believed to have voted heavily for the DPP.

A further backlash against the party’s pro-China stance was prompted by a viral video of 16-year-old Taiwanese entertainer Chou Tzu-yu bowing in apology for waiving the Taiwanese flag on television. Her apology was triggered by her South Korean management company’s fears that China would cancel appearances and endorsement deals.

“What happened surrounding Chou Tzu-yu, that whole controversy, made it almost a given (Tsai) would get over the 50 percent mark,” said Raymond Wu, managing director of Taipei-based political risk consultancy e-telligence.

“It’s an indication that someone would continue to bully Taiwan, at all different levels, even a 16-year-old who’s trying to make a name for herself in the entertainment field. This is something most Taiwanese find unacceptable,” Chou said.

The size of the win could also put additional pressure on Tsai and the DPP, said Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution who closely follows Taiwanese politics.

“When you do as well, as decisively as the DPP has done, there are no excuses” for failure, Diamond said.

While China had largely refrained on commenting about the election beforehand, its Taiwan Affairs Office responded swiftly to the result with a statement reiterating that it would deal only with those who agree that the “two sides of the strait belong to one China.”

That was followed by another statement from the Foreign Ministry stating that “China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division. The result of the election in Taiwan will not change the basic fact and the consensus of the international community.”

“On such a major issue as safeguarding state sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Chinese government has rock-solid determination and never tolerates any separatist activities aiming at ‘Taiwan independence,’” said the statement, quoting ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

Taiwan was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945, and split from the mainland amid the Chinese civil war in 1949, when leader Chiang Kai-shek moved his Nationalist government to the island.

Reflecting public opinion on Taiwan and mindful of U.S. and other countries’ concerns about cross-strait tensions, Tsai has pledged to maintain the status-quo of de-facto independence without taking steps that might provoke China. In her remarks Saturday, she referred to Taiwan by its formal name, the Republic of China.

However, unlike Ma, she has refused to endorse Beijing’s “one China principle” — although she hasn’t publicly repudiated it either — and told supporters Saturday night that she would work to strengthen Taiwan’s status abroad.

Deprived of formal diplomatic relations with the world’s major nations, Taiwan relies on its stable of 22 allies, mostly small, poor states in the Pacific, Africa and Central America and the Caribbean. Chinese pressure has barred Taiwan from the United Nations and Beijing strictly limits the island’s participation in other groups or requires it to participate only under the name Chinese Taipei.

Depending on how it interprets Tsai’s actions, Beijing could ratchet up the pressure by luring away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies or further shutting it out of international organizations. It could also seek to exact economic costs, possibly by limiting Chinese tourism to the island or reducing Taiwanese imports.

Far less likely is that it would resort to military intimidation despite its threat to invade if Taiwan opts for a formal declaration of independence. Although such tough talk plays well with the Chinese public, past attempts have backfired by generating even more support for pro-independence politicians.

Most probably, Beijing will observe what Tsai does and says before she takes office in May.

“I think the tough will get tougher and the soft will get softer. Certainly they’re going to see from now till inauguration what Tsai says and who she puts in key offices,” Wu said. - AP

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Taiwan chooses Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman, Tsai Ing-wen, not independence

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Tsai Ing-wen won by a landslide in Taiwan’s “presidential” elections on Saturday, and the DPP...

Taiwan chooses Democratic Progressive Party Chaiwoman, Tsai Ing-wen, not independence

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Tsai Ing-wen won by a landslide in Taiwan’s “presidential” elections on Saturday, and the DPP she leads captured the majority of seats in the Legislative Yuan, with the Kuomintang once again becoming an opposition party.

Since KMT’s defeat in Taiwan’s nine-in-one local elections in 2014, it’s expected that the DPP will assume power again. To win the election, Tsai made prudent remarks and took an ambiguous attitude toward cross-Straits policies in the past year. She kept stressing maintaining the status quo of cross-Straits ties.

By circumventing the sensitive cross-Straits issue, Tsai had clearly drawn a lesson from her defeat four years ago. When “Taiwan’s path” was discussed in the “presidential” campaign this time around, the focus was not whether the island should seek “independence,” but how to boost the island's economy, address social inequality, and guarantee the future of younger generations.

The vote is not a gauge of cross-Straits relations. The DPP’s victory doesn’t mean the majority of Taiwanese support Taiwan independence. Tsai and her party are aware of this, so in her victory speech, she was evasive about the current issues between Taiwan and the mainland, only scrupulously stating that she will be engaged in a “consistent, predictable and sustainable cross-Straits relations.”

The past eight years have seen greater progress for cross-Straits relations. Such progress, which is hard to be reversed, will provide some restraint on the DPP’s mainland policy. Besides, the mainland has an asymmetrical edge over Taiwan in political, military and economic terms. The mainland firmly holds the initiative in cross-Straits relations, making Taiwan independence a completely impossible scenario.

The KMT’s eight-year administration has made contributions to the current stage of cross-Straits relations, a performance that merits recognition both in Taiwan and the mainland. After this power shift, the DPP should assume the responsibility of serving the best interests of Taiwanese society, avoiding creating trouble for cross-Straits relations like it did as an opposition party. If the DPP abandons the progress made by its predecessor in the past eight years, it will jeopardize its future as a ruling party. The lesson of Chen Shui-bian should be a long-lasting lesson.

The mainland should be more prudent toward the power shift in Taiwan. No matter which party takes power, the mainland should maintain a policy calling for peaceful development between the mainland and Taiwan, while it cannot waver in opposing any form of pro-independence movement in Taiwan.

Tsai hasn’t publicly accepted the “1992 consensus,” which casts a cloud over cross-Straits official communications after she assumes office. The mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Saturday said that Beijing upholds the 1992 consensus and hasn’t shown any change toward Taiwan.

Regardless of its relationship with the mainland, it’s impossible for the DPP to reverse Taiwan’s stagnant economy. No matter what kind of political philosophy Tsai espouses, she has to face up to the reality. She should know she has limited options.

Tsai should keep in mind that if she revisits Chen’s dangerous path to cross the red line of cross-Straits relations, she will meet a dead end. We hope Tsai can lead the DPP out of the hallucinations of Taiwan independence, and contribute to the peaceful and common development between Taiwan and the mainland. - - Global Times

Tsai should prove sincerity about peace across Taiwan Straits

Now that the Democratic Progressive Party leader Tsai Ing-wen has won Taiwan's "presidential" election, she should waste no time to prove that she is sincere in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. She should work to make people in Taiwan feel safe, instead of creating anxieties with her ambiguous mainland policy.

Tsai has played the card of "maintaining the status quo" during her election campaigns. But she has never made it clear how she would approach the 1992 Consensus.

As the cornerstone of cross-Straits relations, the consensus insists there is only one China, of which both the mainland and Taiwan are a part, though the meaning of "one China" is open to interpretation by both sides.

For a Taiwan leader, whether to accept the consensus or not decides which direction he or she would lead the island in: peace and stability, or conflicts and tension. The issue bears no ambiguity.

Thanks to the consensus, cross-Straits relations have developed smoothly over the past eight years. A slew of agreements have been signed to boost trade and tourism, bringing benefits to people on both sides. The two sides' top leaders met last November, for the first time since 1949.

All this has not come by easily, and should not be taken for granted. It requires efforts from both sides to make sure the momentum will not be interrupted by a leadership change, or derailed by any political missteps and misjudgment. After all, peaceful development of cross-Straits relations conforms to the interests of both Taiwan and the mainland.

Tsai has reportedly expressed wishes that both sides could work together for peace across the Taiwan Straits. If she means what she says, and accepts the 1992 Consensus, prospects for cross-Straits relations will remain promising.

The mainland has kept the door to dialogue open with the DPP so long as it accepts that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. The mainland has also taken a flexible approach when handling relations with the DPP. The channel of communication remains unblocked.

Many differences remain between the mainland and Taiwan, not only in lifestyle and social system, but also in how and when the two sides should be reunited. But under no circumstance should the differences be used as excuses to seek Taiwan independence, which means war, as the mainland's Anti-Secession Law suggests. The bottom line shall never be tested.

Any attempt to steer the island closer to independence will be a fool's errand. - China Daily

Xi-Ma meeting in Singapore is for the next generation, deserves the world’s applause

http://t.cn/RUS0J3X



Chinese mainland authorities announced Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou will meet in Singapore on Saturday to exchanges views on peaceful development across the Straits. The Xi-Ma meeting is a major breakthrough in relations between Taiwan and the mainland. It will exert a positive influence on the island's future policy toward the mainland and lay a firm foundation for the way the world perceives this relationship.



Since the Wang-Koo meeting in 1993, the level of meetings between leaders from the two sides has been getting higher, but no breakthrough has been made yet, mainly because it is difficult to define their identities and titles. Taiwan has hoped to identify its leaders as "president," to which the mainland cannot agree since this is not only a matter of identity, but of the nature of mainland-Taiwan relations.

According to Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, Xi and Ma will meet as the "leaders" of both sides upon negotiations in line with the one-China principle when political differences between the two sides remain.

Xi and Ma will call each other "Mister," which will be a unique phenomenon in top meetings.

This practical arrangement will create space for both sides to seek a solution in future. The Taiwan question can generally go into three directions - maintaining the status quo, stepping into unification, or realizing so-called "Taiwan Independence."

It is unlikely that the cross-Straits relationship will maintain its current exact status quo as it is changing all the time. "Taiwan independence" has been driven by interior extreme forces. Meanwhile, the counter thrusts include the mainland's increasingly powerful clout and the positive mainstream forces from Taiwan itself. The world is also anticipating closer cross-Straits ties. These forces shape the big picture of closer cross-Straits relations.

Xi's political appeal has impressed both sides of the Straits and the whole world. The long anticipated meeting will be finally realized in his first-term. His appeal is essential for taking key steps to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Ma deserves warm applause for his willingness to have the meeting. With seven months left in office, during his term the 1992 Consensus has been well upheld and cross-Straits cooperation prospers. Despite his controversial governance of Taiwan, the positive factors of cross-Straits ties may have a longer influence on Taiwan's future path than Ma's term.

The opposition camp in Taiwan has made immediate objections, hoping to control public opinion. But they should be aware that the historic meeting is supported by the whole world, including the US, and they are displaying jiggery-pokery from a small circle. Such extremism is bound to be stigmatized.

The Xi-Ma meeting has excited Chinese people worldwide. International society is also interested in seeing the two sides taking a pragmatic step forward. Applause will be heard globally for the victory of peace and rationality. - Global Times