Recent Political Developments in Taiwan: Facing Beijing and Washington

In 2012, political developments in Taiwan were somewhat different from what observers predicted at the beginning of the year. The ruling party is now weaker than what it appeared earlier. The United States and mainland China are the two most crucial factors which will determine the future of Taiwan, and at the moment the US’s influence on the political landscape and political orientation in Taiwan is, in general, larger than that of mainland China. This chapter will discuss the major issues in current cross-strait relations and analyse Taiwan’s relations with the United States, China and Japan

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  • Chen Yi-Shen, “The DPP Needs to Grain the US’ Trust”, Taipei Times, 20 February 2012.
  • Winston Dang, “China and US Cannot Co-manage Taiwan”, Taipei Times, 5 February 2012.
  • The Liberty Times Editorial, “Government’s True Nature Exposed”, Taipei Times, 18 March 2012. The controversy over beef products containing ractopamine residues mainly involves US beef, as opposed to that from other sources.
  • “Government Disregarding the Law”, Taipei Times, 22 March 2012. An outspoken writer, historian and former legislator Li Ao criticised Ma on 1 April as “the most pro-US president in Taiwan’s history”, see, Chris Wang, “Ma Involved in Traitorous Acts: Li Ao”, Taipei Times, 2 April 2012.
  • The George W. Bush administration suspended the TIFA negotiation with Taiwan in order to penalise the Chen Shui-bian administration for its refusal to lift the ban on the imports of US beef.
  • The TPP is interpreted by some international observers as an instrument by which the United States intends to bolster its geostrategic interests in the Asia- Pacific region.
  • Central News Agency, “Paul: the United States Must Not Be Impatient in Pushing Taiwan to Import U.S. Beef”, United Evening News, 22 March 2012.
  • “The Benefits of the Cross-Strait ECFA Are Being Offset by the South Koran-U.S. FTA”, China Times, 19 March 2012.
  • In 1999, Lee Teng-hui pronounced his policy toward the China mainland as “special state- to-state relations”. Both Beijing and Washington were shocked and unhappy.
  • “The January 2012 Taiwan Elections and What They Mean”, Brookings Institute, at http:// www.brookings.edu/speeches/2012/0117_taiwan_elections_bush.aspx [last visited 18 December 2012].
  • Huang Kuo-liang, “Lin Wen-cheng: Get Prepared for the Political Negotiation”, United Evening News, 25 March 2012.
  • “DPP Pledges to Improve Ties with China”, China Post, 25 February 2012. 15 Ibid.
  • Lin Shu-hui, “Su Huan-chih Plans to Set Up Foreign Offices for the DPP”, Taipei Times, 25 February 2012.
  • Some people in the Kuomintang believe that the DPP’s persistent refusal to revise its policy toward cross-strait relations will be in the interest of the Kuomintang in view of the intense competition between them for political power within Taiwan. In their view, the DPP’s flexible attitudes in its policy vis-à-vis mainland China will be more of a threat to the majority support of the Kuomintang in Taiwan.
  • “Forum on the Last Mile of the DPP”, China Times, 24 March 2012.
  • “The DPP Should Think How to Escape from Its Predicament in the Cross-strait Relations”, China Times, 24 March 2012.
  • The Kuomintang-CCP annual forum is a regular meeting established by the then Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan and the CCP Secretary General Hu in 2005. Lien’s attendance at the forum was described by the Kuomintang as an “ice-breaking visit”.
  • Mo Yan-chih, “One Country, Two Areas’ Proposed by Wu Poh-hsiung”, Taipei Times, 23 March 2012.
  • Kao Ling-yun, “To Relieve Pingtan Dilemma: Overdone or Underdone?”, United Evening News, 23 March 2012.
  • Chris Wang, “DPP, TSU Pan ‘One Country, Two Areas’”, Taipei Times, 24 March 2012.
  • Mo Yan-Chih, “Netizens Slam ‘One Country, Two Areas’”, Taipei Times, 25 March 2012.
  • Mo Yan-chih and Shih Hsiu-chuan, “No Change to Cross-Strait Policy: Fan Chiang”, Taipei Times, 24 March 2012. Article 11 of the Additional Articles of the ROC Constitution stipulates that the handling of the rights and obligations for the people between the free area and the mainland area as well as other affairs can be subject to the stipulation of other legal acts. The Additional Articles of the constitution were first promulgated in May 1991. Since then, they have been amended a few times.
  • Huang Kuo-liang, “Lin Wen-cheng: To Get Prepared for the Political Negotiation”, United Evening News, 25 March 2012.
  • Hung Zhe-cheng, “Director of the National Security Bureau Tsai Teh-sheng: the Government Now Should Not Touch the Issue, One Country, Two Areas”, United Evening News, 26 March 2012.
  • Wang Ming-yi, “The Concept of ‘One Country, Two Areas’ Has Operability”, China Times, 24 March 2012.
  • AP, “Espionage Threats Linger, Despite Closer China Ties”, Taipei Times, 22 March 2012.
  • William Lowther, “Cornyn Seeks More Clarity Over Taiwan F-16C/D Sale”, Taipei Times, 25 March 2012.
  • Su Yung-yao and Hsu Yi-ping, “Opening to China Dangerous: Sources”, Taipei Times, 23 March 2012. Under Beijing’s modus operandi, its investment in public infrastructure projects would be directed and controlled by the Chinese association.
  • Shih Hsiu-chuan, “Academics Call for Ma to Refocus His Foreign Policy”, Taipei Times, 25 March 2012.
  • Chris Wang, “TSU Says New Party Eyes Unification with Pingtan”, Taipei Times, 21 March 2012.
  • Paul Lin, “After Defeat, DPP Needs to Work on Party Unity”, Taipei Times, 18 March 2012.
  • Li Thian-hok, “Clarification- Letter to the Editor”, Taipei Times, 22 March 2012.
  • Aaron Friedberg, A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia, New York, W.W. Norton and Company, 2011, p. 166 and 168.
  • Wu Chunsi, “Back in Town”, Beijing Review, Vol. 55, No. 2 (12 January 2012), p. 13.
  • Henry A. Kissinger, “The Future of U.S.-Chinese Relations: Conflict is a Choice, Not a Necessity”, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 91, No. 2 (March/April 2012), pp. 45 and 52-53.
  • Ambassador Ikeda made such a statement in his oral presentation at a conference hosted by the Japanese Center of Tamkang University on 24 February 2012. The theme of the conference was “The Developments of Human Rights in Asia”.
  • Masahiro Miyazaki, “My Observations during the Presidential Campaign in Taiwan”, Seiron, March 2012, p. 127.
  • “Plan for 2014 Local Election Could Use Three or Five Ballots”, Taipei Times, 20 March 2012.
  • Zbigniew Brzezinski, “Balancing the East, Upgrading the West: U.S. Grand Strategy in an Age of Upheaval”, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 91, No. 1 (January/February 2012), p. 103. In 2008, Bzezinski made a similar statement. See, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy, New York, Basic Books, 2008, p. 123.
  • Brzezinski, “Balancing the East, Upgrading the West”, p. 103.
PERCEPTIONS: Journal of International Affairs-Cover
  • ISSN: 1300-8641
  • Yayın Aralığı: Yılda 2 Sayı
  • Başlangıç: 1996
  • Yayıncı: T.C Dışişleri Bakanlığı