Ma Ying-Jeou: the other Security Risk

I thought I'd highlight this for a moment because it shows the other problem that Ma and the Chinese Nationalists have. This is from the WaPo article I discussed yesterday -- Meanwhile...on the other side of the Lake, Japan....:

Not everyone in Taiwan shares that sentiment, particularly members of the opposition Nationalist Party, which favors closer ties with China. Earlier this year, the party took offense when Japanese and Taiwanese groups jointly erected a monument in a Taipei suburb honoring thousands of aboriginal Taiwanese who died fighting for the Japanese Imperial Army in Southeast Asia. A few weeks later, most of the monument was ordered dismantled by local Nationalist Party officials.

Ma Ying-jeou, the Nationalist Party chief who opinion polls indicate is the favorite to win Taiwan's 2008 presidential election, described the incident as a good example of the emotions that could be unleashed if the embrace of Japan goes too far.

Taiwanese who revel in the Japanese colonial years "are still brainwashed," Ma said. "It was not a just war, and Taiwan could have done better" without the citizens who now recall that period with fondness.

Everyone knows that Taiwan's security requires cooperation with the US. But there doesn't seem to be much clear-headed realization that Taiwan's security is going to require cooperation with Japan as well. Yet the Chinese Natonalists hate the Japanese. How can a Japan-hating, China-loving, pro-annexation politician operate a security alliance that is aimed at China and has Taiwan at its heart?

People who think Ma is going to be good for Taiwan are dreaming.

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