Countering the "One China" Offense

Lung-chu Chen

The Chen Shui-bian administration has fully expressed, before and after the inauguration, its good will toward China, but China has been slow in responding in kind. China continues to insist that Taiwan accept "the one China principle" before any talk.

According to China's syllogism, "the one China principle" means the following: There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is part of China; People's Republic of China is the only lawful government of China, therefore, Taiwan belongs to the People's Republic of China. This line of reasoning is contrary to facts, and thus the government and people of Taiwan cannot and will not accept it.

Is there any difference between "One China each according to its own interpretation" and "Each expresses its one China"? I'm afraid there is more play of words than substance. The so-called 1992 consensus, controversial as it is, means there is no consensus.

More play of words will generate more confusion within Taiwan, which will be further exploited by China. Manipulating the word game to confuse and conquer Taiwan (Republic of China) is part of Beijing's strategy.

China seeks to generate enough contradictions within Taiwan, destroy enemies one by one, divide and conquer. For them, if this can be achieved without recourse to soldiers and weapons, so much the better.
Most recently, the exploitation of the so-called China fever is highly instructive. When Taiwan's legislators, government officials, religious or other groups are outbidding one another to "pay homage to Beijing" (some are even willing to be mouth pieces of China), then, why should China respond kindly to the Chen administration? Under the circumstances, how can Taiwan reach a consensus essential for a sound China policy?

In order to keep away from the "one China" trap, the Taiwanese people must abandon the confusing play of words and return to face the reality. What is the reality? Taiwan, China, one side one country!
In charting the future course of Taiwan-China relations, we must adhere to three basic principles: first, the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes, China must repudiate the threat or use of force against Taiwan; second, the principle of equality and mutual benefits; and third, the future of Taiwan must ultimately be decided by the 23 million people of Taiwan.