Although it was not officially addressed, the issue of China-Taiwan relations was a backdrop to the May 30-June 1 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Chinese, Taiwanese, Singaporean and U.S. delegates at the 7th annual Dialogue expressed both hope and fear that new negotiations by China and Taiwan could end in either detente or disaster.
Lt. Gen. Ma Xiao-tian, PLA deputy chief of the General Staff, led China's delegation with five defense and foreign affairs officials.
14 June 2008: China Post
Beijing is ready to capitalize on the new cross-strait mood since Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou took office three weeks ago. Tomorrow, the first Beijing-hosted bilateral dialogue in a decade will begin.
China's President Hu Jintao has pledged to find ways to improve Taiwan's "international breathing space," starting with its participation in World Health Assembly meetings next year.
Beijing is still struggling to figure out how to deal with a potentially friendly government in Taipei after years of just saying "no" to everything the previous pro-independence DPP-Chen Shui-bian government proposed. It must find ways to woo Taiwan closer to the mainland without further allowing it to enhance its status as a sovereign independent state.
Alleviating Beijing's fears, Ma has announced plans to join WHA under a name that would be acceptable to Beijing -- not "Taiwan," as his predecessor Chen promoted. One possible choice is "Chinese Taipei" that Beijing has agreed for Taiwan to use in the Olympics, APEC, WTO and other organizations.
"I hope the participation issue will be solved properly next year. The two sides have different views on the sovereignty issue. If
we get stuck on this issue, we won't be able to make any progress on other issues. It's wise to shelve the point in dispute and give priority to dealing with urgent issues," Ma told Japanese interviewers last week.
But the steps that Ma and Hu have taken to reach out to each other, in such a fast manner, have caused concern in Washington and Tokyo, both fear it may get out of control and accelerate an unwanted Chinese integration.
Although it was not officially addressed, the issue of China-Taiwan relations was a backdrop to the May 30-June 1 Shangri-La
Dialogue in Singapore.
Chinese, Taiwanese, Singaporean and U.S. delegates at the 7th annual Dialogue expressed both hope and fear that new negotiations by China and Taiwan could end in either detente or disaster.
Lt. Gen. Ma Xiao-tian, PLA deputy chief of the General Staff, led China's delegation with five defense and foreign affairs officials.
acknowledged new engagement talks between Beijing and Taipei after Taiwan elected a new chief of state in March.
Taiwan did not have governmental representation because it is not recognized as a country. However, under the Dialogue's list of "guests," Taiwan delegates included Lin Fu-kuo, Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University; Andrew N.D. Yang, Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies; and Philip Yang, National Taiwan University.
There are unnecessary U.S. fears that Taiwan will open up too quickly to China, particularly with efforts to begin direct flights across the strait and sign economic accords. The worst-case scenario is that the process will result in eventual unification.
Japan is also concerned about Taiwan opening up too fast. Masashi Nishihara, president of Tokyo's Research Institute for Peace and Security, aired his worry about talks of creating a Taiwan-China common market.
Obviously those worries are groundless. President Ma has ruled out promoting Taiwan's reunification, independence and war with the mainland during his tenure.
Go to Shangri-La Dialogue homepage
