Beware of China's deceptive games

Lung-chu Chen

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has repeatedly expressed his sincerity in restoring dialogue with China both before and after his inauguration. Meanwhile, China has made no direct response but insisted that both sides can restart dialogue only if Taiwan accepts the "one China" (一個中國) principle first.

China used to blur the content of the "one China" principle in order to be more flexible on its cross-strait policy. But in recent years, Beijing officials have changed their attitude and have followed the definition of "one China" strictly: "There's only one China in the world; Taiwan is an inseparable part of China; the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of China." In other words, Taiwan belongs to China, which apparently runs counter to reality and is not acceptable to the Taiwan government and its people.

What are the similarities and differences between "one China with respective interpretations" (一個中國、各自表述) and "one China with each side having its own interpretation" (各自表述一個中國), proposed by the Taiwan government? It's just like playing a pointless word game that has no significant meaning at all. In fact, there are now a variety of explanations for the consensus reached by both sides in 1992, which means no consensus was reached at all. Does "one China" mean "one split China" or "one unified China"? Is it in the past tense, present tense, or future tense? Nobody has absolutely correct answers for the questions.

The more word games we play, the more confused the Taiwanese people are. This happens to give China a great opportunity "to fish in troubled waters" (混水摸魚) and to swallow up Taiwan, in speech or in writing. This is exactly China's trick to annex Taiwan by creating conflicts inside Taiwan, sowing discord among the people, and defeating Taiwan step by step. If Beijing can conquer Taiwan without incurring any costs, then why not go for it?

The recent China fever (中國熱) in Taiwan is clear proof that exposes Beijing's trick. When Taiwan legislators, officials, and representatives from religious or business groups are visiting China continually and "worshipping at the Beijing temple," trying to win over a better deal from China without the slightest concern for Taiwan's dignity or its national security, why should Chinese officials be nice in their response to President Chen's suggestions? Why does China need to make concessions on the "one China" principle? How can Taiwan possibly have any consensus on its China policy under these bizarre circumstances? Taiwan is a democratic country that embraces freedom of speech and party politics, and might easily fail to differentiate between enemies and ourselves. On the other hand, China is a communist country that controls all opinion and the media tightly. As a result, Taiwan really needs to be on the alert to prevent it from becoming an unprotected land from which China can advocate its unification policies at will.

To escape from the trap of "one China," we have to stop all the confusing word games and return to the fact that Taiwan and China are two different states located on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The People's Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu (台澎金馬) for one single day since it was established in 1949. Therefore, PRC and Taiwan (ROC) are indeed two different states with a special relationship.

China's "one country, two systems" (一國兩制) has already proven to have no market in Taiwan. During the Taiwan presidential election earlier this year, less than one percent of the electorate supported "one country, two systems." Other suggestions such as "independence" (獨立), "unification" (統一), "confederation" (邦聯), "federal union" (聯邦), "China Commonwealth" (中華國協), and "Taiwan as a permanently neutral state" (台灣永久中立) are all possible directions for building future relations for Taiwan and China.

Nevertheless, all the concepts should be carried out under the following three major principles:

1. To settle the dispute in the Taiwan Strait peacefully. This is the demand of modern international law and mainstream values of the global village. Thus, China must immediately give up threatening the use of military force to threaten Taiwan.

2. Start peace talks on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

3. Allow Taiwan's future to be decided by the 23 million people who live on this island. Hand in hand, with a geographical proximity, a shared language and ethnicity, and playing complementary roles for each other, Taiwan and China can bring prosperity and peace to each other. It's not only good for Taiwan and China themselves, but also good for promoting Asian and world peace.

Chen Lung-chu is the Chairman of the Chen Lung-chu New Century Foundation.