Out in Oklahoma, an opinion piece comments on the election in 'the Asian nation most like our own.'
In a recent interview, Joseph Wu, director of Taiwan's Washington office, told me popular support for the murkily defined status quo in PRC relations exceeds 80 percent.
Americans must be attentive to Taiwan's needs, and here's why. Taiwan is the world's leading per capita consumer of American agricultural products. As Wu said, Taiwan has "been a consistent supporter of the U.S. in security concerns. ... Taiwan is the number three supporter of construction, reconstruction and aid in Afghanistan. In container security we are the best U.S. ally."
AP reports that vice-president elect Vincent Siew will meet with Chinese leaders and perhaps Hu himself at an upcoming forum:
Vincent Siew will not discuss any sensitive political issues if he meets Chinese President Hu Jintao at the three-day Boao Forum, which opens Saturday in Hainan province, his spokesman Wang Yu-chi said.
"Mr. Siew will meet some officials there, but a meeting with Hu has yet to be confirmed," Wang said.
But Taiwan's United Daily News quoted unidentified Chinese officials as saying authorities had agreed to the meeting so Hu could use the occasion to discuss matters of common interest with Taiwan's incoming government.
Although this article still offers the "China and Taiwan split in 1949" nonsense, it does contain one statement that is absolutely wonderful:
Beijing refused to deal with outgoing President Chen Shui-bian for the past eight years because he rejected China's insistence on unification with Taiwan.
Not many statements on affairs here are so absolutely clear. Note also the use of the term "unification" and not the historically erroneous "RE-unification." Tom Plate, who has an opinion piece on the election in the Japan Times, totally misses this in an abusive and unconsidered set of comments:
With this stunning result, you could almost hear a collective sign of relief sweep across Asia. The triumphant KMT was led by the debonair Ma Ying-jeou. For months he had been expected to win the presidential race. But the resurgent troubles in Tibet had forecasters wondering whether the party that was so committed to negotiation with Beijing would be able to maintain plausibility with Taiwan voters when the world's TV cameras were suggesting that Beijing didn't seem to be in favor of negotiating with anyone right now...."the party that was so committed to negotiation with Beijing." The DPP was also committed to negotiation with Beijing -- it is just that as AP correctly notes, and Plate ignores, Beijing blew off the DPP completely. Oh yeah, history, wonderful stuff. It is one thing to note that the KMT and certain pro-KMT observers in the US cast the election as "a call for sanity, civility, and stability" but it is quite another to reproduce KMT talking points as analysis. Pathetic. Plate's commentary also shows how Ma himself benefits from a nifty little foreign media personality cult, whose latest manifestation is here: Ma is debonair. Supporting democracy is, well, you know, just so working class......
Taiwan answered the clubs of Tibet with votes for change — for dramatic movement away from confrontation. With the thundering certainty that only a decisive ballot box result can offer, the vote heard around Asia was a call for sanity, civility and stability.
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I found this latest article with Ma's statements to the CNA very interesting, indeed.
In an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) on Friday, Ma said that the nation had in the past seen China as a threat and ignored the opportunities it presented.
"In the past"? Last time I checked, China's missile count against Taiwan was increasing significantly. So, China is no longer a threat is it?
Ma told CNA that increasing non-political exchanges across the Taiwan Strait would inevitably transfer democratic values to China, and that the results would benefit Taiwan’s national security.
First of all, there's nothing "inevitable" about that. Is Taiwan the only country that is democratic? Were there not non-political exchanges going on in other democratic countries with China for awhile now? And this prognosis that Ma envisions would be somewhat believable if it wasn't for...uh...the Chinese military growing by leaps and bounds.
This was a more effective way to increase security than simply increasing defense spending, he said.
Not if the other country's military is getting significantly larger and larger and now has it's own legal directive obliging it to attack your country at it's own whim.
Ma said the nation’s democracy was on display for the Chinese during the presidential election. After passionate campaigns by both candidates, the loser gracefully conceded defeat and the winner humbly accepted victory, he said, adding that this “had shaken China like nothing else could.”
ROTFLMAO! Yeah. It really shook China alright. Their man got in and is now probably making plans to keep their man in a few more times.
In response to a CNA question about whether the nation should try to “export” democracy to China, Ma said this was not necessary, as the Internet and satellite television meant that many Chinese can see the merits of Taiwan’s democracy for themselves.
Is he talking about the Chinese outside of China? Because, the last I heard, the "internet", "satellite" and "television" are still being very much controlled by this government that has been "shaken".
This drivel by PandaMa is so blatantly farcical that, again, I wonder why there is not more checks and balances with his PR advisor. But then I remember the last 7+ years of the Bush administration and the pro-corporate media's complicity in the whole affair. PandaMa still has the overwhelming pan-blue media at his beck and call. We are going to see propaganda the likes of which Karl Rove would blush at in the next few years and beyond.
And for those who think Ma Ying-Jeou is a "moderate", please read the above quotes again. I dare you to tell me that Ma (Harvard educated) Ying-Jeou actually believes this crap. And if you come to your senses and realize that this possibly could be wishful thinking -- then ask yourself, "Why is selling you this bridge?"
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BTW, on the "...loser gracefully accepting defeat..." part:
Extend this logic to the 2004 election. And when Ma opens the "Chen shot himself in the stomach to be elected"-gate again, I would advise the DPP leader to ask President-elect Ma why he wishes to negate the effects of "shaking China up".
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