Young people in Taiwan
demonstrate against the Cross-Strait Service
Trade Agreement, which
many Taiwanese feel has been forced on the
public by a central government
all too eager to please Beijing. About
100,000 protesters marched
on the Presidential Office against the deal.
President Ying-jeou Manages to Disappoint Both Washington and Beijing (The
Liberty Times, Taiwan)
"It is clear that China has more pull with President Ma
than the United States does. ... At this critical turning point, the question
of whether Taiwan and China enter into far reaching economic integration has
created a vast gulf between generations. This long-standing point of contention
has now erupted and cannot be contained. The outpouring has been so great, it
has attracted global attention, with both the U.S. and China feeling obliged to
involve themselves. ... Taiwan must safeguard the people's right to be masters
of their own country, and guarantee that its citizens are never stripped of the
right to free expression."
Wang Cho-chiun, Taiwan's leading law enforcement official, apologizes to students for the harsh treatment meeted out by police when 200 students siezed the Legislative Yuan on March 18.
When
it comes to the continued security and survival of Taiwan, the United States
and China are the two most significant countries. The U.S. is an important
ally, while China is a major threat. The governments of both countries have
announced they are paying close attention to the demonstrations that have been
triggered by the Cross-Strait
Service Trade Agreement.
The
administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has used
violence to suppress a peaceful sit-down protest, but the impact of the protests
on the government isn't clear. That is something the public should know more
about.
Ma's
attitude last Wednesday at the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
Central Standing Committee meeting offers us a clue. Amazingly, Ma, the man at
the center of storm, continues say that his administration’s handling of the Service
Trade Agreement has been transparent. Refusing to admit to an error of judgment,
he continues to defend himself against criticism.
This
is significant for two reasons.
First,
it is clear that the government has not adopted a diplomacy of “equidistance” that
would benefit Taiwan, and instead, again, has shown a tendency to distance
itself from the United States, leaning more toward China. Second, it is
important to understand that this is likely to disappoint both Washington and
Beijing, since no constructive resolution to the political stalemate is on the
horizon.
Such
is the state of the current impasse. Students continue to occupy the Legislative
Yuan, and party talks overseen by the speaker have broken down again. This time
the stumbling blocks are the three conditions set by the KMT’s
caucus whip, handed down by the party center. Meanwhile, a meeting planned between
the president and the students has run aground, with Ma showing no interest in hearing
dissenting opinions.
[Editor's
Note: The Democratic Progressive Party, the main opposition party that favors outright independence, has sided with
the students in rejecting the trade agreement, which was signed in June 2013, and
would open up as many as 80 service industries such as banking and e-commerce. Bloomberg]
The government argues that a failure to pass the trade deal would jeopardize Taiwan
trade liberalization, weaken efforts to join regional trade blocs like the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, and would affect economic growth as well as the employment
prospects of the students].
The
issue of the excessive and illegal use of force by police, and the Ma
administration’s persistent obstinacy and confusion, has not only hurt the
nation’s image, it has weakened public trust in the government. This may be
difficult to restore. These problems all have the same origin: Thanks to Ma
Ying-jeou, every conflict-resolving mechanism has ground
to a halt.
Why
is this nation in the position it's in? Let's look at how other countries have reacted
to Taiwan's student movement. China's general approach differs greatly from
that of the United States.
On
March 24, U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Marie Harf said: “We certainly support Taiwan's vibrant
democracy, which allows for this kind of robust political dialogue on a range
of issues. The agreement on cross-strait trade in services that I think you’re
referencing is an issue for Taiwan to decide. We hope that the discussion can
be conducted peacefully and civilly. We have welcomed steps taken by both sides
of the Taiwan Strait ... to reduce tensions and improve relations. .... We’d
encourage them to continue this constructive dialogue. And again, the specific,
I think, agreement you’re referring to is really an issue for them to decide.”
On
March 26, Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光), spokesman of China’s
Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) highlighted several issues. First was that
unification would be "good" for both sides, separatism would be "bad,"
and that no "compatriots" on either side of the Taiwan Strait want to
see a disruption in cross-strait economic cooperation. Then he sought to allay concerns
that a large number of Chinese workers would flood into Taiwan by saying, "I
heard rumors that by investing 48,000 yuan ($7,730), Mainland
people could move to Taiwan, and I wondered how that could be possible." And
third, he said that finding a cause for opposition to the deal “was a problem
that could only be found within Taiwan.”
This
shows that being attached to a Chinese government agency concerned with
reaching an agreement is not the same as being part of Beijing's propaganda
machine. China's government mouthpieces demand that the agreement be accepted
unchanged, or not at all, while official organizations keen on an agreement, in
order to weaken resistance, take a softer approach.
That
dissonance in approach shows that for China, the benefits of the deal outweigh
the drawbacks, and that Beijing wants ratification. The TAO’s
statement that the "problem lies within Taiwan" strongly suggests dissatisfaction
and frustration with President Ma.
One
party, [the United States,] says Taiwan should "engage on robust political
dialogue" to make a decision on the trade agreement, and expresses hope
that President Ma will open up a dialogue and address the issue peacefully and
civilly, rather than through the use of violence against unarmed protesters. The
other party, [China,] has made clear that it will accept no “disruption,” which
of course means it doesn't want to see the agreement renegotiated or withdrawn,
but finalized and signed.
These
two opposing forces pulling at Ma are why one day he says he'll meet with the
students, and the next he says there has been no lack of transparency in the
handling of the agreement. These conflicting signals demonstrate that he
doesn't know how to cope with the predicament he finds himself in. What's more,
it is clear that China has more pull with President Ma than the United States
does.
Because
President Ma has brought on public protest against the trade agreement, The
Taiwan legislature is now in a state of pandemonium, yet as conditions for forcing
through the trade deal no longer exist, the issue has to be resolved through
the legislature. Yet since the lines of communication between the KMT and opposition parties have been severed, that's going
to take time.
Moreover,
based on false information, the KMT Central Standing
Committee continues to ignore student demands, which only serves to lengthen
the dispute and delay a return to normal within the legislature. China may want
the trade agreement passed without a single change, but it has found to its
dismay that it has relied on the wrong person to carry out its wishes.
At
this critical turning point, the question of whether Taiwan and China enter
into far reaching economic integration has created a vast gulf between
generations. This long-standing point of contention has now erupted and cannot
be contained. The outpouring has been so great, it has attracted global
attention, with both the United States and China feeling obliged to involve themselves.
This is part of an evolving pattern that shows how communities are globally
connected. Whether Taiwan does or does not obtain international recognition,
that isn't going to change.
Business Weekrecently
compared President Ma to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, saying that both are closely tied to a powerful
neighbor. That may be the Western point of view, but it would be more
appropriate to say that the Ma administration is isolated on all sides. That is
why, as a member of the global community, Taiwan must safeguard the people's
right to be masters of their own country, and guarantee that its citizens are never
stripped of the right to free expression. The people must never give up their
destiny, nor allow others to trample on them.
