Taiwan: Condi Rice Says Taiwanese Referendum to join UN is "Provocative"
Well, I suppose this is no surprise.
Taiwan is gearing up for a national referendum on trying to join the UN with the name "Taiwan." Condi Rice has proceeded to blast the idea as "provocative."
Maybe. To Beijing. But Beijing thinks everything Taiwan does is "provocative." The only thing that wouldn't be provocative would be if Taipei one day decided to kowtow to Beijing and ask, "Please oh please, won't you annex us and destroy our democratic sovereignty?" Taiwan is provocative to Beijing by its very existence as a de facto independent nation. Besides, Beijing has projected onto Taiwan all kinds of issues about its own identity and power; it's become a propaganda circus.
The entire UN membership business is, year after year, a depressing display of how a tiny, successful, democratic nation (and one that is constantly under threat from an undemocratic and belligerent behemoth) remains a global pariah -- and how complicated "international affairs" actually are. Look, Taiwan can't even use its own name in international settings, for crying out loud. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, as Shakespeare said, but I still think the enforced labeling of "Chinese Taipei" is both insulting and deceptive, not to mention positively Orwellian in its twisting of reality.
So here we are again, with Taiwan rejected yet again by the UN. Now the island nation wants to hold a referendum about re-applying for membership under the name of "Taiwan." It's a free country -- it can hold an internal referendum if it wants to, and Taiwan doesn't need Condi Rice to tell it that no matter what it does to consider its own status and identity, Beijing will react badly. But is Taiwan supposed to tiptoe around on eggshells forever, hoping not to provoke Ge-Ge across the straits? But Ge-Ge already IS provoked or there wouldn't be nearly 1000 missiles on mainland soil, all aimed at Taiwan. How's that for "provocative"?
Condi Rice and the State Department can dump on Taiwan all they want. I've in recent days and months become really disappointed with that entire lot. Anyway, back to the issue at hand as we're now criticizing a democratic nation for wanting to do a democratic thing -- hold a referendum on a matter of some importance. (Heck, look at the people in the UK howling for their chance to hold a referendum of their own -- i.e., on the new EU Constitution/Treaty/whatever.) Besides, people, the Taiwanese referendum itself is NOT THE POINT. You're missing the BIG PICTURE.
And what is the Big Picture? China. And what to do about it. Rice and company scolding Taipei is not actually going to defuse the long-standing determination of Beijing to obliterate Taiwan as an independent state.
Look, realistically speaking, the UN will never let Taiwan join -- no matter what name the island writes on its application papers. The next time Taiwan tries, it might as well play for laughs and call itself the "Most Honorable Republic of Ramenistan" or "Democratic Dimsumania" or something like that for all the good it'll do. The efforts to join the UN are, I think, one attempt among many by the nation's leadership to get some international attention on its plight. While that's going on, Beijing continues, as it has for years, to add to those 1000 missiles on the coastline and to work through all channels possible to squash Taiwan in any way possible.
I give you this quote from another Taiwan-watcher in September:
The specifics of Taiwan's referendum are irrelevant to China's threats of war. Chances are, partisan squabbling over the referendum's wording and the supermajority threshold that Taiwan's constitution places on referenda will prevent the referendum itself from passing. And referendum or no, Taiwan's application for U.N. membership has little hope of ever being approved. And just to make sure, in 2005, China embarked on a multi-year diplomatic campaign to remove Taiwan from every international forum it can find, including the U.N. and all its specialized and associated agencies. Still, American officials are irritated by Taiwan's referendum. They see it as a cynical political move by some Taipei leaders seeking domestic electoral advantage. Of course, politics cannot but be some part of the equation. Policy and politics intersect in the U.S. political system—especially during election time. Why would it not be the case in Taiwan, a sister democracy approaching two momentous national elections? But this is about more than just about politicians jockeying for position. Surely, Beijing's single-minded determination to stamp out all international reference to the democratic government in Taipei in an effort to bolster its own legitimacy is no more extraordinary than democratic Taiwan's desperate struggle to shore up its eroding international personality. So, as President Bush and his advisors fret about Taiwan's democratic processes, they might also consider that China's war threats are far more inimical to U.S. interests than Taiwan's referendum. |