Olympic torch may stall at Taiwan strait
China's plan to run the Olympic torch through Taiwan, announced in April, met with a quick refusal.
from the June 20, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
China passed a law in 2005 threatening war against Taiwan should the government there declare independence, and Washington has indicated it would come to Taipei's aid in such an eventuality.
With the stakes so high, "Taiwan should become a responsible stakeholder in this part of the world, and should not provoke mainland China," argues Ma Ying-jeou, candidate in next year's presidential elections for the opposition Kuomingtang (KMT) party, which favors eventual reunification with the mainland.
Mr. Ma is promising closer ties with Beijing and holding out the prospect of a peace treaty, ending the technical state of war that has persisted since Chinese Nationalist forces retreated to Taiwan in 1949 in the face of the victorious Communist army.
He advocates sidestepping the contentious issue of sovereignty, which is "a problem we may not be able to solve in our lifetimes." But he argues that "we can manage it in such a way that it does not disrupt more urgent questions" such as economic ties.
Ma thinks this can be done by simply agreeing with Beijing's insistence that there is only one China, but leaving unsaid exactly what that means, without specifying which of the two entities that call themselves "China" is part of the other.
Such creative ambiguity also appears to appeal to Ma's opponent, Frank Hsieh, who is running for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Taking a softer line toward Beijing than the current government, Mr. Hsieh is nonetheless adamant that if Beijing "insists on Taiwan being part of China, we cannot accept that."
But "if China would allow some room for interpretation of 'one China' ... that would be a different story," he adds. "If they can allow different interpretations, OK."
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