Sovereign rights, not China, key to future

Lung-chu Chen

Since Taiwan entered the WTO, the pressure to maintain its competitiveness in a globalizing economy has been increasing from every direction. However, the inefficiency of the legislative body, the domestic political environment -- where the opposition holds a majority in the legislature -- and the opposition parties' policy of opposing President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for opposition's sake have not only affected the government's administrative efficiency, but have also slowed the pace of the nation's industrial transformation.

In order to revitalize Taiwan's economy, Taiwan must undergo an industrial transformation. To achieve this transformation, economic decline, slow income growth, high unemployment rates and other problems must be overcome.

Unfortunately, pro-China media outlets still take every opportunity to create a false impression. They consistently glorify China and advocate the idea that investment in China is the same as seizing a business opportunity. The argument that investing in China is the only way to develop Taiwan's economy and that this is where the nation's future lies is a specious argument, but it has already had a negative impact on Taiwanese society and its economy.

On April 14 and 15, the Chinese authorities joined Taiwanese opposition politicians and businesspeople for a two-day economic and trade forum in Beijing. After the forum, China announced 15 proposals in four areas -- agriculture, education, tourism and healthcare -- as part of its Taiwan policy. They claimed that these policies were aimed at promoting economic and trade cooperation and eliminating cross-strait trade barriers, but in reality, Beijing wants to push Taiwan further into its "united-front" trap and force the nation to become part of China's economic sphere.

The idea of holding this forum highlighted China's ploy of using its economic strength to suppress Taiwan. China's move of giving Taiwanese people small economic benefits bypasses the WTO and also avoids any equal negotiations with Taiwan's government, in order to weaken the power of the Taiwanese government and denigrate the nation's sovereignty.

China has used economic benefits as bait to tempt China-based Taiwanese businesspeople to speak for China and help it bypass Taiwan's government through economic means. China hopes that these people will use the slogan of "pursuing economic revitalization" as a pretext to force the Taiwanese government to further deregulate its China policies. In this way, China would be able to legitimately attract Taiwanese capital and technology, thereby gradually making Taiwan's economy fall apart and further aggravating domestic confrontation in Taiwan.

Sovereignty and independence are the foundations of sustainable development in Taiwan, and taking the political initiative protects Taiwan's national interest. It is unacceptable for any political party, non-governmental organization, or businessperson to pursue their own interests at the expense of these two principles.

The glorious future of China's market is a development myth. If Taiwan's dependence on trade with China is further deepened, it will only hamper the upgrading of Taiwan's economic system and this would have a negative impact on the nation's globalization efforts. If this were to occur, China could then easily achieve its goal of annexing Taiwan ahead of time simply by exerting its economic influence. We must wake up and give this thorough consideration.

Chen Lung-chu is chairman of the New Century Foundation and director of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance.