THE RISING EAST
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By Richard Halloran
The irony, not to say cynical politics, surrounding the visits to China by two opposition leaders from Taiwan is inescapable.
Irony first: In the last presidential election in Taiwan, the earlier visitor, Lien Chan, was the candidate of the Nationalist Party, perhaps better known as the Kuomintang. He was roundly defeated by Chen Shui-bian, the Democratic Progressive Party's nominee, who was elected to a second term. The later visitor, James Soong, is chairman of the People First Party, a splinter off the Kuomintang.
One after the other, Lien and Soong paraded through China like provincial governors of old, visiting historic sites and ancestral homes before arriving in Beijing where they performed symbolic kowtows before the Dragon Throne, this time bearing the trappings of the Chinese Communist Party.
Ng Han Guan • Associated Press
The Chinese, who are masters at political and diplomatic charm, having taken in sophisticates such as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Bill Clinton, went all out to seduce Lien and Soong. They were feted and applauded at every turn, Lien telling reporters that "we have been warmly received by the central committee of the Communist Party."
Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, sat next to James Soong, chairman of Taiwan's People First Party, during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Soong met with Hu at the culmination of what he has termed a nine-day "bridge-building" trip.
The Chinese even offered Lien two pandas to take home.
While the government-controlled press in China acclaimed the visits as a "historic moment bringing springtime" and polls in Taiwan were generally favorable, not everyone in Taipei was happy. Protesters asserted that Lien and Soong were traitors who had sold out to Beijing. President Chen accused Soong of breaking an agreement calling for self-determination for Taiwan.
The president, seeking a counter, invited Chinese President Hu Jintao to visit Taiwan "to see for himself whether Taiwan is a sovereign, independent country and what our 23 million people have in mind." Press agencies said Chen spoke to Taiwanese reporters while visiting the island nation of Kiribati in the Pacific.
The Chinese rejected the offer.
Given the history of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party over the last 80 years, the Kuomintang's about-face was startling. Under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the Kuomintang fought bitterly with Chairman Mao Zedong's Communist Party in the 1920's and 30's, grudgingly joined forces with the Communists against Japanese invaders in the 1940's, and resumed their struggle even before the last shot was fired in World War II.
In 1949, Mao drove Chiang and the Kuomintang from the mainland to the island of Taiwan, but that only intensified the rivalry. Chiang's rule was a harsh dictatorship in which consorting with the Communist Party was punishable by death. The Kuomintang claimed to be the legitimate government of China and Chiang's mantra was "return to the mainland."
The Kuomintang's rule eased under Chiang's son, Chiang Ching-kuo, and even more under President Lee Teng-hui, a native-born Taiwanese. At the same time, an independence movement took hold among the Taiwanese, which provided support to the Kuomintang's opponents, notably Chen Shui-bian. He beat Lien twice to wrest the presidency from the Kuomintang.
Another piece of irony: The Kuomintang, which controls Taiwan's legislature, has blocked the purchase of $18 billion worth of arms and military equipment from the United States for four years — despite the United States having been committed by treaty to preventing China from invading Taiwan during 30 years of the Kuomintang's rule.
Although President Jimmy Carter switched U.S. diplomatic relations to Beijing from Taipei in 1979, the United States continued a strong commitment to the island's security under the Taiwan Relations Act. The failure to follow through on the arms sale has caused some Americans, including some in Congress, to question Taiwan's zeal for providing for its own defense.
Cynical politics: Lien and Soong have played a "China card" in a blatant attempt to undermine President Chen's authority and political standing. The Kuomintang, having played the spoiler on several domestic issues since Chen took office in 2000, is clearly looking forward to winning back the presidency in 2008 when Chen cannot succeed himself.
This maneuver, however, may not provide the Kuomintang the political lift it seeks. The Chinese have said that President Chen must amend certain provisions of Taiwan's constitution and accept their version of the "one China policy" before they will negotiate, a demand that Taiwanese voters may contend is interference in Taiwan's internal politics.
Several commentators in America and Europe have praised Lien and Soong for their approach to the Chinese. In some nations, however, their freelancing in foreign policy and undermining the elected president of their country might be seen as disloyalty that called for severe political punishment.
Richard Halloran is a Honolulu-based journalist and former New York Times correspondent in Asia. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.
