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The inauguration yesterday of Ma Ying-jeou as president of Taiwan
will vastly improve relations between Beijing and Taipei and raise
them to a high level of cooperation never seen before. After eight
years, the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party has again become the
leading political and ideological force on the island. The
pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been
rejected by the people.
It is something for the Filipinos to rejoice
about. Our government cannot officially send messages of
congratulations to Mr. Ma because formally the only China our
Republic has state to state relations with is the People’s
Republic of China (PRC). We have no diplomatic relations with
Taiwan’s Republic of China (ROC), which is the present
non-communist generation’s embodiment of the Republic of China
that the Father of Modern China Dr. Sun Yat Sen (and the Kuomintang)
founded. But we do have bilateral relations with Taiwan through the
Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the Taipei Economic
and Cultural Office (TECO).
In his inaugural speech, President Ma proclaimed
his policy—which has also been the main leg of his and the
Kuomintang Party’s platform since 1992—of resuming dialogues and
achieving greater cooperation and a modus vivendi with Beijing.
This “way of letting life go on despite some
points of disagreement” between democratic Taiwan and the
Communist-ruled mainland would be under the “One-China”
principle. But Mr. Ma and the Kuomintang Party’s meaning for
“One China” is different from that of Beijing’s and the
Chinese Communist Party’s. China-watchers, however, see that
Beijing is increasingly willing to accept Ma’s “One China,
Respective Interpretations” concept because this interpretation
excludes the policy of seeking the creation of a new and independent
state of Taiwan.
To President Ma the One China is the Republic of
China that Dr. Sun Yat Sen founded. This ROC just happens to have
its seat of government in Taiwan after it was pushed out by the
victorious communists who founded the People’s Republic of China
in 1949. To the governing leaders of Beijing, the One China is the
PRC. But these past few years, Beijing has shown indications it
means by One China that both Taiwan as it is now and the mainland
belong to One China.
Peace agreement
Mr. Ma is willing to set aside discussing what
“One China” really means. What he wants is to dialogue about a
peace agreement—which Beijing no longer takes exception to. The
Communist leaders used to say that a province cannot have a peace
agreement with its own mother country and what Taiwan should do is
come back to the fold. But very many things have changed in China,
Taiwan, Asia and the world since the time the Communist Party and
the Nationalist Party were actively at war.
President Ma also wants an economic agreement
with the mainland. Two-way Taiwan-China trade is already vast—last
year it hit a record of $102 billion. China is Taiwan’s No. 1
export market and largest trading partner. Taiwan companies are
heavy investors in China. And of course Taiwan imports billions of
dollars of China products.
Direct transport links between Taiwan and China
have not been restored since these were cut in 1949. Taiwan people
who want to visit the mainland must go via Hong Kong, Manila or some
other transit point. Chinese tourists do go to Taiwan but in limited
numbers. The economies of both Taiwan and the mainland would reap
billions from unrestricted two-way tourism. President Ma wants
weekend charter flights across the Formosa or Taiwan Strait by July
4. This is a major item on the agenda of the meeting next week
between the Kuomintang Party’s Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung and Chinese
President Hu Jintao. Earlier, President Ma’s running mate, Vice
President Vincent Siew, had visited China and also met President Hu.
All of this augurs well for peace and the
permanent end of tensions between China and Taiwan.
Beijing—bent on pursuing its economic
advancement program—has long been eager to see the end of the
confrontational mode of its relations with Taiwan under former
President Chen Shui-bian whom Mr. Ma defeated.
Xinhua and mainland China newspapers’ stories
about Mr. Ma and his fellow Kuomintang Party leaders have been
benign and respectful. At this writing (on Tuesday evening) no
Xinhua commentary about President Ma’s inauguration has come out.
But the latest news about him as “Taiwan’s incoming leader”
was laudatory. It was about his effort to mobilize Taiwan
authorities and civil organizations to provide disaster relief goods
and send disaster-relief staff to aid China’s earthquake victims.
New auspicious era
These developments are very good for the United
States, which would unnecessarily be drawn into any armed
confrontation between the mainland and Taiwan.
They are also very good for the Philippines,
because we Filipinos are fast friends and active trading partners of
both PRC and Taiwan. We have thousands of OFWs in both places.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s inauguration has
started a new auspicious era for China and its Taiwan province. The
entire region—and the world—will enjoy benefits from this
development.
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