Tsai Ing-wen Turns Cross-Strait Relations into Electoral Campaign Weaponry

 Tsai Ing-wen Turns Cross-Strait Relations into Electoral Campaign Weaponry

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

February 24, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

With the approaching 2020 presidential election, President Tsai Ing-wen, whose prestige went into the doldrums after the defeat in the 9-in-1 local elections, quickly switched her cross-Strait policy into "combat mode." Since Tsai Ing-wen came to office, with regard to the mode of coping with cross-Strait relations, she has cut and changed several times. Originally, she was holding "maintaining the cross-Strait status quo" at the swearing-in ceremony, using the "constitutional framework of the Republic of China" as a shield to reject Beijing’s questionnaire. On the eve of her first anniversary in office, Tsai Ing-wen tossed out the new advocacy on interactions in cross-Strait relations as a "new situation, new questionnaire, new mode," questioning Beijing instead. At the beginning of this year, Xi Jinping advocated exploring the "program of one country, two systems for Taiwan”; Tsai Ing-wen, on the other hand, "lambasted China." Thus, cross-Strait official ties thoroughly overturned; cross-Strait relations also continued to show a "spiraling downward" development.

Observing the Tsai government’s recent cross-Strait statements, policies, and legislative program, none is not deployed within the "network of three safeguards," i.e., people's livelihood security, information security, and democratic oversight mechanism. These measures, in fact, are not related to national dignity, not beneficial to cross-Strait relations, nor conducive to Taiwan's security; they only limit the constitutional rights of citizens in a disproportionate manner. In sum, Tsai Ing-wen has directly turned the deployment of cross-Strait relations into a tool of presidential election campaign.

What is intriguing is the role and attitude of the US. In last year's nine-in-one elections the US, in a rare move, publicly intervened in Taiwan's local elections; however, the US extended a helping hand to the DPP in defending against the "Han Kuo-yu vogue" to an extent of nearly no masquerading. The US lost its accuracy last year, putting down bets on the wrong horse; it would be more prudent in 2020, not necessarily sitting idly by.

Of course, what the United States defends is still its own interests. Richard Bush, a former chairman of the America Institute in Taiwan (AIT), made public an open letter to Kuo Pei-hung objecting to the plebiscite proposition on Taiwan independence, clearly stating that inciting cross-Strait confrontation "did not conform with US interests." AIT’s Taipei Office also joined in, emphasizing that it did not support the plebiscite on Taiwan independence. It issued a warning to anyone who wanted, in the presidential election, to manipulate risky plebiscites in order to seek victory, or other impetuous measures that would radicalize cross-Strait relations.

Han Kuo-yu twice, in a raised voice, questioned Tsai Ing-wen whither she would lead the country. Tsai Ing-wen could only stammer, evading response by talking about other things or repeating some old lines. The people don't know whether there is "and then?"; perhaps even should Tsai Ing-wen win the election, she would not know whether Taiwan has or has not "and then?"

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