Time for engagement in the civil society if Taiwan shall avoid unification with China

By Michael Danielsen, Chairman, Taiwan Corner

Economic cooperation between Taiwan and China is in the interest of Taiwan. Loss of sovereignty is not. The last 8 years of DPP government proves that it is possible to have both because during these eight years, the economic cooperation between Taiwan and China expanded more than ever.

Apparently, President Ma and the KMT government have a short memory, not capable of realizing it or are not interested. Against obvious evidence, they continue to claim that Taiwan has to accept the One China policy in order to obtain an agreement with China. They may see the historical opportunity in signing an agreement that clearly states that Taiwan and China are one country. This will be a historical moment because Taiwan will then have entered a Hong-Kong kind of agreement. With the current speed of the event, this may happen this year.

It appears that Taiwan wants unification

It should therefore be of no surprise to the Taiwanese and Taiwan’s diplomacy, that there has been attempts to water down a resolution to support the TRA (the Taiwan Relations act, see Wikipedia), though unsuccessful, and that the Chairman Raymond Burghardt of the American Institute in Taiwan (USA’s representation in Taiwan) recently said that it is “not a concern that moving beyond economic issues into the political and military realm is threatening to us” (see Taipei Times).

This appears to match the policies of Taiwan’s government. President Ma is elected by the Taiwanese and he has repeatedly argued for a One China consisting of China and Taiwan. This policy was also clear before the Presidential election (but no one listen though, voters were mostly interested in short sighted issues such as economical promises and scandals, not the future status of Taiwan). It can therefore not surprise that the USA and the rest of the world believe they are giving Taiwan and the Taiwanese what they asked for, unification with China.

As consequence of the government’s policy and most countries One China policy, Taiwan has lost its international appeal. In the current situation, it is hard for international organizations to argue for Taiwan’s case when Taiwan appears to go for unification. Why bother.

It also adds to the international community’s perception that unification is accepted in Taiwan when Taiwan’s government is handing out statistics that clearly indicate that Taiwanese look positively at the current negotiations between Taiwan and China. This colorful poll book shows that more than 70% support solving cross-strait problems through institutionalized talks, continue talks between government officials, and continue talks about cross-strait problems. My guess is that most people agree with that no matter political background. The opinion poll also shows that 60% says that President Ma has not sold out Taiwan’s interests. Yes that is true since Ma has not yet signed any agreement regarding sovereignty. The idea of this opinion poll is to show a rather positive reaction from the Taiwanese in regards to basic economic issues.

Taiwanese do not want unification

How does all this fit with the fact that the vast majority of Taiwanese disapproves of this current political direction toward unification? As it is with statistics, the results depend heavily on the questions asked.

There is one statistic that has been remarkably static for the last 18 years, and that is the poll from Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council showing that 70-80% of the Taiwanese do not accept to be a part of China. The latest one shows 80%. This clearly indicates the deep feeling of the Taiwanese people. On the top of that other polls clearly shows that Taiwanese are becoming more Taiwanese and those who consider themselves as Chinese is down to 5-6%.

Regarding the current cross-strait negotiations, other polls display a clear skeptical picture. One poll shows that 80% of the Taiwanese are opposed to signing an economic agreement with China under the One China condition, and two-thirds answered that the government should hold a referendum on signing the economic agreement. The latter is rejected by the KMT government. What may appear surprising is that 50% of the respondents were unaware of the proposed economic agreement between Taiwan and China (see Taipei Times).

Engage in the society

Taiwanese are not interested in being a part of China. If the Taiwanese want to avoid this scenario, it is time to engage even more in the society, and thus read and understand the current policies and its implications. Openness toward constructive and enlighten dialogs is the way forward. It is time to wake up and realize that a historical moment may approach.