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Taiwanese News
Summary and Analysis, January 19 2005
A. Talks Between Taiwan and the United States
B. Historical Charter Flights
C. Truth Commission Calls for Taiwanese President to be Recalled
-Talks Between Taiwan and the United States
Officials in the United States State Department and the Pentagon have recently met with important Taiwanese leaders to discuss developments in the Taiwan Straits. Chairman of the opposition People First Party James Soong sat down with top Washington officials while he was on vacation following the failure of his party in the recent legislative elections. While the talks were confidential and unofficial, related officials have indicated that Soong was pressured to cease his opposition to Taiwan’s purchase of an expensive American weapons package and to push for compromise with the ruling party. Soong was also urged to work towards dialogue between China and Taiwan. Soong is one of the most important politicians in Taiwan, and the fact that high-level officials met with him is significant because it shows that the US has not ceased contact with all high-profile Taiwanese officials, albeit these contacts continue in a private capacity.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Assistant National Security Director Stephen Hadley also took time to brief Taiwanese officials on a recent meeting with the mainland Chinese Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, Chen Yunlin. Chen’s goal was to persuade the United States not to resist a new state law being considered by the Communist Party. Although it is clear that this “anti-secessionist law” would somehow legally force the Chinese government to use force to solve the Taiwanese question should Taiwan pursue independence (a counter to the Taiwan Relations Act) its exact contents have not been divulged. Although Armitage and Hadley expressed concern that such a law would only escalate cross-strait tensions, it seems clear that the US will not comment directly on the law until its contents are revealed, most likely when it is passed by the National People’s Congress, a rubber-stamp committee. The US officials discussed these talks with two Taiwanese leaders in Washington, and also told the two politicians that 2005-2006 were critical years in cross-strait relations. Taiwan should engage in quiet-diplomacy with the mainland, but the US would not mediate.
-Historical Charter Flights
For the first time in half of a century, Taiwanese and Chinese passenger planes carrying businessmen will fly across the Taiwan strait without first stopping at Hong Kong or Macao during the Chinese New Year. However, planes will still have to first pass through Hong Kong or Macao’s air space. One million Taiwanese executives work in the mainland, and their demands for a chance to return home to visit their family during the holidays have turned into political pressure that resulted in these flights.
The Taiwanese Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu has suggested turning these flights into a tradition, and even possibly expanding the charter flights to other common holidays. However, China has yet to react to this announcement, and future charter flights will depend on the success of the ones currently planned.
Taiwan did not allow cross-strait flights for five decades because of security concerns, and those concerns still linger. When asked why Songshan Airport in Taiwan and Chingchuankang Airport in Taichung were not opened to Chinese flights, security issues were cited. However, even these considerations are slowly disappearing. Ministry of Joint Strategy Section Chief Lee Chieh-chiu commented that the slow speed of airliners would give the Taiwanese military time to react to a danger, and that those flights would be easily identifiable. Furthermore, Lee said that a “Trojan Plane” of invading Chinese commandos would have no chance of success.
The implications of this agreement are still unclear. The agreement happens in the midst of a buildup of tension in the straits caused by Chinese threats of the use of force and Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian’s steps to more concretely separate Taiwan from the mainland. One implication is that Chen will be able to claim that agreements can take place between Taiwan and China without Taiwan first accepting the “one China principle,” which China has demanded as a condition for talks. It is a step in the right direction, but so far it has had no concrete impact on other issues of cross-strait concern.
-Truth Commission Calls for Taiwanese President to be Recalled
The Truth Investigation Committee, created by opposition parties in the legislature following the disputed presidential election last March, has released a report saying that the assassination attempt on the day of the election was a political farce. Wang Ching-feng, a spokesperson for the commission, said that, “The motive behind the March 19 Shooting is to manipulate the election.” The Committee sent a 150-page report to the legislature suggesting that Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian be removed from office for refusing to cooperate with the investigation and because of the faked assassination attempt.
The government countered by noting that the highest court in Taiwan found the Committee to be unconstitutional because of the broad powers enumerated it by the opposition-led legislature. Therefore, most involved agencies refused to provide the Committee with information regarding the incident. “This indicates that the commission arrived at its assumption without the support of any concrete documents or evidence. Its report is outrageous and completely unacceptable, Chen Wen-chung, a presidential spokesperson, said.
The opposition parties have greeted the announcement with a lukewarm reception. Although they agree with its findings, neither opposition party feels that public opinion would allow them to recall the president. Moreover, parties on both sides of the aisle have recently been trying to work together. Therefore, it does not seem that this finding will have a significant impact on the current political situation.
posted by Joseph @ 6:30 AM
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