Written by Britt Towery   

May 3 Taiwan and China move closer together

Capitalism brings Taiwan and China closer (550 words)

In the mid-1950s when Jody and I moved to Taiwan (arrived at Keelung May 3) to do missionary work, the sign boards on buildings and streets reminded everyone of the evils of the Chinese Communist regime on Mainland China, a mere 99 miles across the Taiwan Straits.

In 1948-49, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Party fled the Mainland as Mao Zedong’s Communist Party won their decades-old civil war. The Chinese Civil War has never been resolved, both governments claim to be the “real” China.
Taiwan and China had virtually no relations until tiny cracks began to appear as the 21st century dawned. It became evident there was money to be made for both sides if they played their cards right. China had advocated reunification even threatening to use force if peaceful means failed.

That tension was very evident in the 1950s as Chiang and Mao fought a propaganda battle through the press and radio. Both sides tried unsuccessfully to block radio programs. There could be no official contact. Then in 2008, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and his counterparts in Beijing finally set aside political issues to establish economic ties. Money can do amazing things with one’s convictions and differences.

So many things were fought over: spelling of Chinese characters in romanized languages; who could represent China in the Olympics, under which flag? The last was solved and Taiwan international sports teams labeled as “China Taipei.” Actually the 12-star Taiwan flag and the 5-star China flag are not country flags but political party flags. They have become accepted as national flags, but are only left-over political emblems.

While the two sides still do not recognize each other diplomatically, they have begun setting-up all kinds of representative offices to deal with sticky questions of immunity, diplomacy, staying in line with international standards, espionage and not looking like what the actually are: ‘de facto consulates.’

Today, with hundreds of Taiwan factories and one million Taiwanese living in China, Professor Li Peng of Xiamen University in China writes: “Cross-Strait ties are getting closer and closer, so it’s good to keep up with the current momentum, for the public, these offices will be a good way to protect their legal rights. I think the wishes of people on both sides have been given priority.”

Last year, 2.58 million mainland Chinese visited Taiwan, making accidents and small disputes increasingly common. Two-way trade also reached $121.6 billion in 2012, with China as Taiwan’s top trading partner.

Image-conscious Beijing, which frowns on political dissent, realizes it’s Taiwan office could be the target of protests by anti-China groups that are allowed freedom of speech in democratic Taiwan.

The island’s main opposition party, which advocates a more cautious relationship with China given old hostilities, worries that the new offices would be used to enforce Beijing’s goal of uniting both sides under a single flag even as many Taiwanese prefer self-rule.

The “love of money” may not be so bad if it can help avoid war. The United States still has a treaty to come to the aid of Taiwan if the Chinese Communist decide to invade the island. Also we have a treaty with South Korea and Israel along the same line. Any common sense person of any political bent does not want to see these treaties ever enforced. Let’s encourage more capitalism.

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