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Sep 30, 2010

Tsai Ing-wen's Apple Daily interview

There's much less buzz about it in the bloglosphere than I expected! First, an article about the interview and later related remarks:

On Friday last week, she suggested in an interview with the Chinese-language Apple Daily that the DPP would most likely continue Ma’s cross-strait policies and that any changes would have to be supported by public consensus and legislative approval.

In a previous meeting with the international press in May, she also insisted the DPP had learned from its eight years in office and would work on a more predictable China policy. She has said that stable cross-strait relations would form a key component of the DPP’s 10-year policy guidelines....

While she acknowledged that, compared with the Ma administration, there was a general expectation the DPP needed to be firmer on sovereignty and national security-related issues in the face of growing Chinese pressure, she said the issues could be overcome through greater cross-strait interaction.

However, she maintained increasing cross-strait exchanges would not be conducted at the expense of Taiwan’s ties with the rest of the world.

“This is distinct from the KMT government approach, which embraces China as a [corridor] to the world,” she said.

The Presidential Office has responded by saying DPP cross-strait policy is opportunistic, inconsistent and disingenuous; after all, they say, if the DPP intends to keep the ECFA and other policies in place, why are they attacking the KMT policy? China's Taiwan Affairs Office has shrugged, claiming they don't know if this is simply election language or a sincere change of course.

I have to agree with the criticism of Tsai's remarks, although I sense she's responding to the tendency of the ever-important moderate voter; I also note she wasn't terribly specific. But if the only difference she wants to highlight between DPP and KMT policy is that last paragraph in the quote above, I have to say that's not much of a distinction. Mostly rhetorical.

My question for Tsai would be: would the DPP continue to negotiate with China under the "one China" framework currently in place?

If the answer is yes, isn't the battle for Taiwan's independence essentially over? If the answer is no, will the DPP stand a chance at the polls in 2012?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I consider myself pro-Taiwan, but honestly, who still assumes that formal independence is a possibility?

David said...

I interpret what Tsai said as meaning that the DPP won't make any changes to agreements made by the Ma government without going through proper democratic process. i.e. either a vote in the legislature or a referendum. Furthermore I think she is suggesting that the entire ECFA or other agreements would not be negated. Rather parts of those agreements may be renegotiated via the process mentioned above.

I think it is a sensible position based on the reality the DPP faces if it wants to first win the election and then be able to govern effectively in the face of a potentially hostile China. If the DPP were to go to the election with rejection of ECFA as a key policy they would potentially lose a lot of support from big business and have no chance of winning.

Taiwan Echo said...

"after all, they say, if the DPP intends to keep the ECFA and other policies in place, why are they attacking the KMT policy?"

Most of the comments I've seen so far concluded along the line that Tsai is now supporting the ECFA. I think that interpretation is wrong.

What Tsai said, specifically, is

"不至於對ECFA的存廢進行公投"
"Won't go so far to carry out a referendum to keep or abolish the ECFA"


What it means to me is that she wants to let things take their own course, but not interfering them with the gov power.

Indeed, when the DPP gets the power, they will be in a better position to push reviews on every single items of ECFA in order to modify or eliminate harmful ones on a one-by-one basis. It won't make sense to conduct a referendum to decide the existence of entire ECFA pack.

So I agree with you that there's not much difference. But it does make the spotlight.

My question for Tsai would be: would the DPP continue to negotiate with China under the "one China" framework currently in place?

If the answer is yes, isn't the battle for Taiwan's independence essentially over? If the answer is no, will the DPP stand a chance at the polls in 2012?


mmmhhh ... wondering why you would ask the last question. Based on what I observe, a candidate supporting "one china" will have no chance to win in Taiwan's elections.