Ma Ying-jeou Interview on ABC Radio

China Digital Times pointed me to this interview with Ma Ying-jeou on ABC radio.

HAMISH ROBERTSON: The leader of Taiwan's Opposition has called for a peace agreement with China to defer the independence issue for 30 to 50 years.

The Mayor of Taipei and head of the nationalist KMT Party, Ma Ying-jeou, says Taiwan's Presidential election in 2008 will be a chance to step away from the confrontation policies of the current Taiwanese Government.

Mr Ma, who is expected to be the KMT presidential candidate, says he'll offer to make a new start with China.

But he insists Taiwan will not accept the one country, two systems formula used for Hong Kong.

Instead, he says, a peace deal would give time for China and Taiwan to create an economic common market, and give Taiwan what he describes as "a proper international space".

Correspondents always refer to the KMT as the "Nationalist Party" even though it is the Chinese Nationalist Party. Valuable perspective disappears when that occurs.

GRAEME DOBELL: Is it going to be difficult for you to be elected as President in 2008 if you are seen by some in Taiwan as running as China's candidate?

MA YING-JEOU: Actually, what we're doing now is to find a modus vivendi for Taiwan. In the last six years it's quite clear that the policy of the DPP wouldn't really work. They don't know how to handle the economy, they don't know how to handle Beijing, they don't know how to handle Americans. So I think, by and large, the people in Taiwan hope that there will be a change of government in 2008. And our policy, towards the mainland, is a policy for peace and prosperity. But we also want to preserve Taiwanese dignity and identity.

Dobell did not let Ma control the interview like this Newsweek interview a while back. Here he asks a good question, which Ma quickly blows off. Unfortunately Dobell let him hack on the DPP without demanding a serious response to his question. Note Ma's last statement refers to Taiwanese dignity and identity. Interesting on many levels. It would have been nice if Dobell had asked Ma how he thought the KMT would preserve Taiwanese dignity and identity by annexing the nation to China. Ma also pulls out all stops in answering the last question:

GRAEME DOBELL: Can you overcome China's suspicions though? Can you get China to the negotiating table and get a peace agreement, to take the independence issue off the table for 30 to 50 years?

MA YING-JEOU: This is not something that I created, without their notice or without their knowledge, no. They have known it, and they have agreed, in principle, to have a peace agreement, to have a common market, to discuss international space with us. What I'm trying to do in the five do's, is to extend a little bit further. When I talked about a peace agreement, they didn't talk about a duration. I put 30 to 50 years to it, simply to make it work, okay. And secondly, when I talk about international space, they didn't talk about how I want to go about it. I said we have to work out a modus vivendi to be effective during the duration of the peace accord and then we should go from there, to see what kind of arrangement that would, on one hand, recognise one China. On the other hand, to let Taiwan have the international space it deserves.

Unlike the DPP, Ma has a very good understanding of how to manipulate westerners. Talking vaguely about "international space" and "what Taiwan deserves" and "modus vivendi" are very good ways to hide what an ideologue Ma really is -- notice he still adheres to the one China policy, which reveals that his long-term goal is suppression of Taiwan's international space and local identity. I hope someone calls him on these contradictions and soon.

Also observe that Ma says two things clearly (1) they have already talked to Beijing about this and (2) the 30 to 50 year treaty is strictly for outside consumption:

When I talked about a peace agreement, they didn't talk about a duration. I put 30 to 50 years to it, simply to make it work, okay.

In other words, whatever Ma says, he has no modus vivendi. Beijing wants to annex Taiwan, and it wants to annex it now. It isn't going to wait for some unspecified period in the future.

It is clear that Ma is now working hard to overcome the screw-ups in the States earlier this year, when US conservatives correctly assailed him for being China's man in Taiwan. Ma has a hard row to hoe -- one on hand always making sure Beijing knows his party still serves it, while on the other convincing westerners that he is a moderate, while placating the Deep Blues in his own party who will not tolerate any recognition of Taiwan independence and hate its growing democracy passionately. I expect that Ma will soon commence another round of saying to his own party that he really didn't mean it when he talked about Taiwan's identity and dignity.

Time someone pins down the slippery Mayor Ma.

[Taiwan] [China] [KMT] [DPP] [Ma Ying-jeou]