China Consul's Letter to Canadian Paper

My thanks to the reader who left this link to Willy Lam's fascinating piece in the Asia Times on the financial problems of China, and its regional-center tensions. I've heard it said that if China "lets Taiwan go" then other regions will want to go their merry way as well. Managing an empire from Beijing is no easy task.

Taiwan Journal has academic David Lorenzo's call for China to reciprocate Ma Ying-jeou's gestures of goodwill with a few concessions. He writes:

In these statements, as in the past, the position of the mainland government is that it looks after Taiwan's affairs. This of course is absurd, for as a government it does not represent people on Taiwan, is unable to provide them with services, nor has it in any way gauging their interests and concerns. This has been amply demonstrated, most notably with regard to the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in 2004 wherein the mainland government not only
did nothing tangible to help people on Taiwan deal with the sickness, but it also blocked Taiwan's access to critical help and supplies that otherwise would have been available to it through the WHO and other international organizations.

It is therefore crucial to recognize that in its overriding desire to portray cross-strait relations only in the context of "internal Chinese affairs," the mainland has painted itself into an ideological and conceptual corner. If it continues to insist that Taiwan unquestionably must be considered part of the mainland, administered and represented by the mainland government, then the concept of Taiwan participating separately from the mainland in specialized international agencies makes no sense, no matter how many negotiations and mutual agreements take place. In other words, so long as it continues to follow this formal policy, it cannot deliver on its promises to reconsider and facilitate Taiwan's participation in the international community.

The question then becomes Hu's seriousness in making that promise and his stated concern for the feelings and well-being of the people of Taiwan. The ROC government has moved in its position on these and other matters. It has shown itself to be flexible, pragmatic and willing to negotiate. Hu's statements in May indicated a willingness to follow suit. It is now time for him and his government to make good his promises.

China should make nice? Don't think so. The depth of China's stupidity and obtuseness is shown by the China Consul in Canada's response to a Canadian paper's call for Taiwan to join the UN. The Consul wrote in response:

Taiwan has been an integral part of China's territory since antiquity. Around 1,000 years ago, the then central government established administration on the island. Ever since, dynasties and governments of China have maintained effective control of Taiwan until the late 19th century, when the Qing government was overpowered by Japan and was forced to cede Taiwan as reparation of war. In 1943, the state heads of China, the USA and the UK held a summit in Cairo, Egypt to discuss the war against Japan and postwar policies to Japan, and the Cairo Declaration jointly signed stated that all the Chinese territories seized by Japan, including Taiwan, shall be restored to China. Later on, in 1945, the Potsdam Proclamation jointly signed by China, the USA, UK and Soviet Union, reaffirmed that "the terms of the Cairo declaration shall be carried out." In this way, China's sovereignty over Taiwan was confirmed in the form of international law. As Japan was defeated and surrendered unconditionally in August, 1945, Taiwan was brought back to China. After three years of civil war, the Kuomintang Regime fled to Taiwan and the People's Republic of China was established on mainland China in 1949. At present, more than 160 countries in the world recognize the one-China principle and that Taiwan is a part of China.

The historical claims here are completely laughable, but the consul writes them in all seriousness, to a major Canadian newspaper, the Calgary Herald. MOFA people say that Chinese overseas representatives score points with the home office if they take a hard line on Taiwan or perform some obnoxious act such as ripping down a Taiwan flag at a sports event. Articles like this are written to show the boss back home, not impress the local Canadians.

[Taiwan]