_______________________[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Two Trips, Two Taiwans
_______________________[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
The Shape of Things to Come: Two indicators
This week gave us two glimpses of the future. The first is financial, reported by Reuters:Two private investors will take an around 20 percent stake in Taiwan's Chinatrust Financial (2891.TW), buying into the bank's T$42 billion ($1.3 billion) private share placement, banking sources said.Why is this deal between PRC financial elites and well-connected US lobbyists happening?
The investors are Peter Kwok, former chairman of China's Citic Resources Holdings (1205.HK), and Ed Rogers, chairman of U.S. political lobbying firm BGR Holdings and a one-time aide to former President George H. Bush.
Chinatrust is Taiwan's top credit card issuer. Part of the money from the placement would be used to fund its plan to buy a 30 percent stake of AIG's Taiwan Nan Shan Life unit from China Strategic (0235.HK).If you Google around, you'll dig up some fascinating information on Peter Kwok, his father Robert, Li Ka-shing, CITIC, arms trafficking, and a whole lot of other stuff, most of it on right-wing websites. I won't repeat it here.
The second item is a report from Kyodo News on the inevitable confluence of interests between PRC expansionists and activists in Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands, known in these parts as the Diaoyutai.
With political and financial patronage drying up at home, Taiwan-based activists are working on an international alliance to claim the Senkaku Islands for China.The report is long. Kyodo notes:
The uninhabited islands, which lie between Taiwan and Japan's Okinawa Prefecture and are known in Taiwan and China as the Diaoyutai, are the focus of a territorial dispute between Beijing, Taipei and Tokyo.
For governments, the larger issues have been territorial control and exploiting purported oil and natural gas reserves.
For Taiwanese fishermen, however, the dispute has led to exclusion from what they claim to be ancestral fishing grounds and ongoing confrontations with Japanese patrols.
A Taiwanese activist group, the Chinese Diaoyutai Defense Association, has responded to the impasse by merging a claim of Chinese sovereignty over the islands with advocacy for the fishing industry.
Drawn from the membership of a loose, decades-old coalition known as the Alliance for the Defense of Diaoyutai, the group was registered in 2008 after its application was rejected by the government of then President Chen Shui-bian the year before.
More seriously for the association, ennui among the general public and the disappearance of local sources of funding have forced activists to turn to businesspeople in China to fund their activism.The activists themselves are non-mainstream, but the news report notes that they are connected to more mainstream groups. The group claims that they have been sacrificed by the Ma Administration for good relations with Japan. Kyodo also says:
Huang declined to name companies, locations or businesses for fear they would suffer retribution from the Chinese authorities, but he allowed his group had approached them "reluctantly."
Skeptical observers who sense more ideology than pragmatism in this agenda may feel vindicated by deepening ties between this group and Diaoyutai activists in China, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as overseas Chinese groups in the Americas and Europe.
On March 27, in a statement released by the pro-unification Chinatide Association, the Chinese Diaoyutai Defense Association was named as a member of the ''Cross-Strait Peaceful Development Forum,'' a new gathering of organizations including leftist groups, Greater China nationalists, Chinese immigrant advocates and publishing companies that support unification.The Senkakus had belonged to Japan since 1895 with nary a peep from any Chinese government, and were handed back to Japan in 1971 by the US, along with Okinawa. Neither the ROC nor the PRC made any claim to them until the announcement by Japanese scientists in 1968 that the continental shelf around them may contain oil. Then suddenly Beijing announced they were Chinese territory. The US considers them part of Japanese territory and a few years ago conducted joint exercises with the Japanese military in the area. The US is bound to defend Japan by treaty. And people think that they can settle tensions in this area by quietly handing over Taiwan to China....
Award-winning Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-hsien was one of the keynote speakers at the founding ceremony for the forum, whose goals include abolition of the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. law that authorizes military assistance for Taiwan, and ending U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
Although the links between the CCP and the KMT are well known, the future could well see more pragmatic moves by pro-China activists in Taiwan to secure funding and political cover from Beijing.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
Remarks on Moving Forward with a U.S.-Taiwan Free and Fair Trade Agreement
FAPA sent this around. The US-Taiwan FTA, in various forms, has been on the back, back, back burner for quite some time. It would have been great if the US had offered Taiwan one a while back, it might be good if we got one once Ma forces the ECFA agreement on Taiwan. Perhaps the US might consider formalizing an FTA offer contingent upon ECFA. It would be a good test of Chinese intentions. On to the remarks, which are quite strong. Andrews made some good ones....+++++++++++++++++
Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Remarks on “Moving Forward with a U.S.-Taiwan Free and Fair Trade Agreement”
Rayburn HOB Room B354
Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at 12:00 noon
Members of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, Friends of Taiwan, Supporters of Fair and Free Trade, Members of the Taiwanese American Community:
While American trade interests in Asia stagnate, the Chinese dragon is extending its claws ever further out into the Pacific.
The China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement went into effect at the beginning of the year.
While the White House and Democratic Leadership in Congress allow the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement to languish without formal Congressional action, Beijing sings its siren song to seduce Seoul and Tokyo into joining a China-centered trade agreement.
In June, the perhaps inaccurately named Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and Mainland China is set to be signed, despite concerns over growing Chinese economic influence on the island.
Like the Trojan horse which allowed the Greek invaders to penetrate the inner walls of Troy, the ECFA may prove to be one gift horse that the people of Taiwan would rather not look in the mouth.
The ECFA may well prove to be a political tool that masquerades as a trade instrument to achieve China's ultimate goal of absorbing Taiwan.
Strategic, political and cultural influences are all closely tied to economics.
Washington cannot cede supremacy in economic influence over the Pacific to Beijing.
A U.S.-Taiwan FTA will boost U.S. exports to Taiwan, expand the U.S. market share in Asia, and strengthen bilateral ties.
Taiwan, currently the 10th largest trading partner of the U.S. and 6th largest destination of U.S. agriculture products, is a desirable market for U.S. goods and services.
Studies by the U.S. International Trade Commission show that U.S. exports to Taiwan would grow at a rate of approximately 16% per year if a US-Taiwan FTA were enacted.
Taiwan, a democracy that supports a free market, the rule of law and human rights, provides a transparent, free and stable environment for U.S. investment and business opportunities in Asia.
It is a sad fact that most countries refrain from an FTA with Taiwan out of fear of China's reprisals.
The Taiwanese workforce and economy are increasingly left out and negatively impacted due to this isolation.
A U.S.-Taiwan FTA, however, will help Taiwan break out of its international isolation.
A U.S.-Taiwan FTA can also help halt China's growing economic and political leverage over Taiwan and give Taiwan more confidence in negotiations with China.
Now is the time for the Administration to begin moving forward in pursuing at FTA with our good friend, Taiwan.
Thank you.
Transcript of Congressman Robert Andrews' remarks (D-NJ)
April 28, 2010
Coen, thank you very much for your friendship and mentorship over the years. I so much enjoy our discussions of the issues and many wonderful people that I have had a chance to meet around our great country as a result of this association and our association.
Issues don't make sense without context. And I think the imperative for those of us who care about the great friendship between Taiwan and the United States is to educate Americans about the context of that relationship.
The greatest asset of the United States is not our mighty military although it is mighty indeed. Thank goodness.
It is not our economy. It's a bit ragged these days but it still stands as the most entrepreneurial and powerful economy in the world.
The greatest asset of the United States is our value system, and the esteem with which it is held around the world.
There is no more graphic image, no more poignant image of that point than the paper mache statue of the Statue of Liberty in Tiananmen Square twenty years ago. This is not an image that has been limited to those fighting for freedom in Asia, and the same is true in the Middle East, in Africa, in Europe and around the globe.
The context of the United States is that people around the world believe that we stand for something that is universal and desirable. The right to speak one's mind, the right to worship or not worship as one sees fit, the right to make decisions within your family, your personal affairs as you see fit, democratic rights under government, civil liberty, freedom and human rights. This is what defines us as a people. And each of those characteristics is characteristic of Taiwan.
Imperfectly in some instances, as we are imperfect but these are the core values of the people of Taiwan, and it is because the people of Taiwan hold these values that they are imperiled.
They are imperiled by an aggressive and bellicose neighbor which periodically rattles its sabers literally and figuratively towards their system; whether it's the Anti-Secession Law a few years ago or military operations a few months ago.
When the People's Republic of China rattles its sabers against Taiwan, it's not simply testing Taiwan, it's testing the United States of America! It is testing whether we truly adhere to the values we profess.
I know people in this room, including my friend and colleague from New Jersey Congressman Scott Garrett, believe strongly and passionately in the independence and the freedom of the people of Taiwan.
But even if one puts aside that very crucial value, there is another value at stake – and that is the American value and the American perception of whether we truly mean what we say and practice what we preach.
THAT is what is being tested when the rest of the world looks at the relationship between the United States and Taiwan.
I think there are three steps the United States should take to validate the point that we revere and respect human rights and freedom even when it's inconvenient, even when it's risky, even when it's not the easiest course.
And those three steps involve trade, involve our reactions to the political and economic negotiations between Taiwan and the PRC, and for the way we treat Taiwan in the global framework.
First, with respect to trade, I think for both economic and strategic reasons, the time has arrived for a Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Taiwan.
I'll be introducing a resolution in the weeks ahead that will call upon the administration to actively pursue such an agreement and present it in the U.S. Congress under the Fast Track type of rule.
The economic value is obvious. Even those of us who have frankly opposed such agreements with other countries, and I have, have opposed such agreement on grounds that we should not trade down, we should not reduce our environmental, or legal or labor standards down to another level.
That argument, which is a hotly debated argument in these halls, is relevant to the relationship between the United States and Taiwan.
Taiwan has the 20th largest economy in the world, the per capita GDP is approaching or near $30,000 per person per year, the economy of Taiwan is vibrant, modern, and advanced, and in every respect, there will be true mutual benefit for such a relationship.
But the strategic advantage is even more self-evident, in my view. It is an affirmation of an important sense that the United States regards the people of Taiwan, functionally as a free, sovereign and independent people. You don't make free trade agreements with someone else's state or territory. You make free trade agreements with sovereign people. That is a hugely important symbol – which leads to my second point.
The so–called "Economic Framework" that's being discussed between the PRC and Taiwan, in my view, is more of a "Cage" than a "Framework."
I think it reflects a negotiation from the point of a disadvantage.
Now I believe any duly elected government has the autonomy to negotiate any agreement it sees fit for its people, but that presupposes a negotiation that is free of coercion and is conducted in a truly bilateral, equivalent context. And that is most assuredly not the case.
Because, I think, of the absence of United States support for Taiwan, the PRC is really reading the situation as an invitation to engage in a more coercive discussion with Taiwan than a bilateral free one.
It would be ironic if you link these two points. If there was a so-called "Trade Agreement" signed between Taiwan and the PRC before there was a free trade agreement signed between the United States and Taiwan.
I think these issues are quite related. I think that active pursuit of a free trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan would set a better context for whatever negotiation that is going to proceed between Taiwan and the PRC. It would be an affirmation of our view that Taiwan is sovereign and independent, which leads to my final view.
Taiwan is functioning as a sovereign, independent state. There's no question about that. The rest of the world uses that way in economic terms, legal terms. And I think the time has come to end that fiction that politically and in terms of international law that that is not the case.
It is a provocative position. There is no question about that. But I think rather than simply asserting the obvious point that the World Health Organization should include the voice of the people of Taiwan, asserting the point that there should be military exchanges between the United States and Taiwan, asserting another point of this nature, I think that our policy should move in a bolder and more truthful direction of acknowledging Taiwan as sovereign and independent.
I know that is provocative. I know that's provocative. It's meant to be. Because we are confronted here with a longer struggle, between a government based in Beijing that I hope will evolve into a peaceful trading partner of the United States and a true asset to the world economy.
I hope that this is an evolution that will take place in the PRC. But for us to ASSUME that there would be an evolution would be a dramatic mistake. If the economy of the PRC grows over the next twenty years at the rate which it has grown the last twenty years; and the government of the PRC devotes to military expenditures the same share of GDP it presently devotes, the truthful share it devotes, not the share it reports, then in 20 years, the Chinese military structure will be twice the size as that of the U.S. Plane for plane, ship for ship, missile for missile.
And there will be five times as many citizens of age to bear arms in China than as there are in the United States. This is not the future that I aspire to, not the one that I predict, but it's the one that I think we have to prepare for. And I think the best preparation is not to compromise or coward on matters of principle, it is to assert matters of principle.
And the issues regarding Taiwan are matters of principle, not simply for the security and freedom of the people of that country but for the advocacy of promises made by the people of our country.
Yes, this is provocative. But I believe we should provoke a discussion, a non-violent discussion, but provoke the discussion of differences NOW, rather than wait for the day when the person with whom we are going to have this discussion is growing stronger and powerful and perhaps irreversibly bellicose in its relationship with the United States.
The great moments of our history have been the ones when we advocated with principle, even when it was risky or inconvenient. And I think this is one of those moments.
I believe in the pursuit of the free trade agreement, frankly, the creation of a new diplomatic concept for any negotiation between Taiwan and the PRC, and actions which assert our functional reality that Taiwan is a free and independent, sovereign state or the right course of Taiwan, frankly more importantly, the right course for the United States of America.
Thank you.
* * * *
QUESTION (part of it inaudible): How practical and credible is it to conclude a free trade agreement between Taiwan and the U.S. when you cannot get TIFA talks to move forward? And the free trade agreements with Columbia and South Korea have been languishing in this Congress for two years now.
Andrews: I think it is very practical and credible for these reasons. The other trade agreements that you mentioned do fall into the normal dichotomy of views on these which I am a part of, that look at the environmental standards, labor standards, and relative size of GDP. And for those of us who believe that trading down is a mistake. Those reasons are quite salient.
They are irrelevant in the case of Taiwan. For those like myself who would like an opportunity to assert my understanding of the principles of free trade and value of them, I think it is a perfect opportunity. Putting aside the strategic issue of Taiwan, for those of us who say "Yes, we should have free trade with countries that have equivalent economies, environmental and legal standards, this is the case, this is the one we ought to do. So I think it has practical values in that respect."
Question (part of it inaudible): What about the beef problems?
Andrews: I think those are "Means" problems, not "End" problems. They are important but I think they are issues of means, rather than ends.
Question: So far we haven't seen much negotiation done by the U.S. government. There seems to be reluctance from the administration to go forward.
Andrews: I think there is some reluctance on this question because they believe this is indelicate with respect to relations with the PRC. I think we should be indelicate; we should be obstreperous, or volatile in our behavior. But I think we should be indelicate. I think the policy of downgrading human rights concerns is a mistake. I don't think they should be the only object of our foreign policy but I think that, when we overlook those concerns because what we believe is economic convenience or necessity, I think, that is a mistake. The purpose of my resolution is to try to get Congress, as many Members of Congress as we can on record to assert the economic and strategic and moral value of asserting this agreement.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
Events -- Willy Lam Talk (11th), Meet up (14th)
中研院社會所**演講公告
*
講 題： A Closer Look at China's Elite Politics and Foreign Power Projection 【In English】
主講人：Willy Lam (林和立) 教授 (日本教養國際大學 Akita International University, Japan)
主持人：蕭新煌 所長 (中央研究院社會學研究所)
時 間：99年5月11日（星期二）下午2時30分 - 下午4時30分
地 點：中研院人文館南棟社會所802會議室
*～～～～～～～～～～～*
*演講簡介：
*The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has started preparations for transition of power from the the Fourth to the Fifth Generation, which will take place at the 18^th Party Congress of 2012. Will the younger corps of leaders be able to tackle growing contradictions within the socio-political fabric – and uphold the CCP’s “perennial ruling-party status” – in the absence of genuine reforms? Have corruption and bureaucratic malaise precipitated a crisis of governance? Can the Fifth- and Sixth-Generation leadership inject new ideas to arrest the decline in the party’s legitimacy and efficacy? For how long can the party rely on its control and security apparatus to bolster its somewhat tattered mandate of heaven? Or is it just that the party-state apparatus has become too big to fail?
Partly due to the fact that nationalism has become the most effective agent of cohesiveness in China, the CCP leadership has been projecting both hard and soft power to strengthen the country’s worldwide clout. What are the traits of China’s quasi-superpower diplomacy? Are the People’s Liberation Army generals getting more say over foreign and security policies? Will the PRC’s growing economic and military prowess feed the “China threat” theory? Will the increasingly adverse competition with the United States in areas including resources, trade – and outer space – affect regional and world stability? These and other questions will be discussed at the lecture and Q&A session.
*講者簡介：
* *
*With more than 30 years of experience in writing and researching about China, Willy LAM 林和立is a recognized authority on areas including the Chinese Communist Party, elite politics, foreign policy, the People’s Liberation Army, as well as the country’s economic and political reform. Dr Lam has worked in senior editorial positions in international media including Asiaweek newsmagazine, /South China Morning Post/, and the Asia-Pacific Headquarters of CNN.
Since early 2005, Dr Lam has been a Professor of China Studies at Akita International University, Japan (www.aiu.ac.jp
*Dr Lam’s views on China are frequently sought by global media including CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, ABC, AFP, Bloomberg, Voice of America, and other major publications and electronic media. He holds degrees from the University of Hong Kong (BA); University of Minnesota (MA); and Wuhan University (PhD in political economy). Dr Lam has published six books on China, including /Chinese Politics in the Hu Jintao Era /(M.E. Sharpe, 2006). **
*～～～～～～～～～～～*
*中研院社會所敬邀*
--
李晏榛 Yen-chen Lee
中央研究院社會學研究所 學術合作秘書
Secretary for Academic Cooperation, Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica
地址：11528台北市南港區研究院路二段128號
Address: 128, Sec. 2, Academia Rd, Taipei, TAIWAN
TEL: (02)2652-5078
FAX: (02)2652-5070
Email:yenchen@gate.sinica.edu.tw
http://www.ios.sinica.edu.tw
(2) Meet up -- Jerome sends around advance notice of the very interesting guest
Second, advance notice about the next Breakfast Club meeting. It will be on Saturday May 14th, 10 am and the topic will be "Who needs WHO? an informal review of what WHO (World Health Organization) is and does."
The speaker will be Dr. Ferdinand Siem Tjam a Medical Doctor from Suriname with a Masters of Public Health Degree in Planning, Organization and Management of Mental Health Services from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, in Baltimore, Maryland.
From 1983 until retiring in 2003, he was a staff member of the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva. His main occupation was studying, investigating reporting and advising on the development of health systems and services, with special emphasis on the evolution of hospital services as part of Health Systems Development and Public Health Administration, their management, related hospital technologies, and Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Health Services Delivery.
In parallel he studied wound ballistics, aviation, political and military history, and small arms systems. He holds an Airline Transport Licence and is a CFII (Certified flight Instructor Instruments) and served as a forensic expert to the courts in Suriname. During his career he has periodically taught medicine and traumatology (U. of Suriname) firearms ballistics (Suriname Police Inspectors Academy) private and commercial and jungle flying (Suriname), Public Health (Antwerp, Zagreb, Leeds, Paramaribo).
Jerome will confirm venue etc. later this coming week; this is just to give you some advance notice to help you plan.
Since Taiwan's membership would be both good for the World as well as for Taiwan, this should be an interesting presentation.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
2010 Election: Early Harvest
Heard over the grapevine: it will likely to be Frank Hsieh as the DPP candidate for the new Taichung municipality. It is highly improbable that any DPP candidate can defeat Jason Hu, the popular mayor, especially as new projects such as rail line restructing, the metro, and bike paths along the rivers, are going in as the election approaches, stimulating the local economy and creating more money flows into local patronage networks. The DPP's reasoning is that if they put a big name in Taichung, it will attract resources to the party, while forcing the KMT to divert resources to Taichung that could be used in the key races in Shinbei (the City Formerly Known As Taipei County) and Taipei City. It's good strategy, even if victory is unlikely.
But Frank Hsieh?
The referendum on ECFA that the DPP and TSU are pushing will never be permitted to take place, I've heard from well-placed observers. Nevertheless, note that pan-Green pressure has forced the government to retreat to claims that it never opposed the referendum. Further, by keeping the pressure on, the DPP is forcing ECFA to have fewer destructive concessions. I should note that the DPP is also creating conditions whereby when the Party comes back to power, it can repudiate ECFA by claiming that it is an illegitimate treaty created by a cabal of pro-China loons that has no public support.
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Daily Links:
- Taiwan Matters! on how the ISO helps Beijing.
- Steve Crook: lessons learned from the Deafolympics and World Games
- Taiwan-China flight diverted after bomb threat.
- Last week I pointed out the destructive effects of smuggling from China on the nations it trades with and observed that ECFA will lead to massive increases in such items. This week Science Daily with a piece on a researcher who uses pollen to detect smuggled Chinese honey, routed through third countries, that is destroying the US domestic industry.
- Don't Panic, Go Organic at Foreign Policy -- a mag so much more interesting and readable than Foreign Affairs.
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Taiwan executes 4, causes international furor
International complaints, sure, but locally the death penalty has overwhelming support. Nothing, however, casts the arbitrariness and political nature of the death penalty into such sharp relief as the four executions carried out today, in four different prisons:Four people on death row were executed yesterday evening, the Ministry of Justice announced last night.The death penalty, the article says, has not been carried out since 2005 even though it is on the books, and arguably, required. As the Taipei Times noted, this quiet policy had aroused no objections until the previous Minister of Justice had dramatically stated that she would not sign the orders. She was forced to resign after a public outcry. Unfortunately, this put the fate of the 44 individuals on death row in the public spotlight. The Taipei Times concluded:
The ministry made the announcement after the four people were shot with pistols at 7:30pm at four different prisons.
The four had been given death sentences and were executed in accordance with the law, the ministry said.
At a hearing held in Banciao (板橋), Taipei County, on April 21, Tseng said the ministry would review the cases of all 44 inmates now on death row, and exhaust all relief measures before carrying out any executions.They're going to whack all 44 this year.
“Carrying out the death sentences will not drag to the end of this year,” Tseng said at the time.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
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