“Concubine State” Diplomacy: Tsai Can’t Protect Taiwan's Dignity at the Knees of the US and Japan

 “Concubine State” Diplomacy: Tsai Can’t Protect Taiwan's Dignity at the Knees of the US and Japan

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

October 13, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

At the National Day celebrations, President Tsai Ing-wen talked loquaciously about defending national sovereignty, letting the Republic of China Taiwan feel pride on the international stage. In contrast to the wave of ruptures in diplomatic ties in the South Pacific, as well as the blunder about Shinzo Abe’s congratulatory message, her so-called "preserve the space for the existence of the nation" is not only empty rhetoric, but also a sick joke, pessimistic to the countrymen. In the Tsai government's diplomacy, nearly everything has been reduced to outsourcing to the United States, and kneeling to Japan; even the minimum national dignity has been manipulated by others. With the exception that Joseph Wu still keeps the position of Foreign Minister, what else has Tsai Ing-wen preserved?

In three years, Tsai Ing-wen has lost seven diplomatic partners, to the extent of even breaking diplomatic ties with two countries in a week, and has been barred by international organizations; we did not see any embarrassment on the part of the ruling party as no one has assumed responsibility, and we did not see any review on the path of cross-Strait and foreign policies, besides assigning the blame to the Mainland’s oppression, and even seizing the occasion of diplomatic ruptures to win votes in the general elections. The powers-that-be "make windfall profits out of national disaster"; no wonder our missions in Japan utilized Shinzo Abe's “specter” congratulatory message to brag about their achievements, to the point of presenting a ridiculous scene of harming national dignity.

Tsai Ing-wen is pro-US and Japan, while anti-China; Taiwan-US relations have been upgraded because of external factors and opportunities. However, if diplomacy were to sacrifice cross-Strait peace, and point the rifle to Mainland China, and became a chess piece in exchange for protection, would this be self-preservation or self-mutilation? The US and Japan do not recognize the "Republic of China", using the geographical name "Taiwan" to refer to us, yet officials lead the public in feeling pride in underscoring our sovereignty; when losing face, they use the pretext of  being oppressed by the Mainland to console themselves. The sorrows of the state and the people have surprisingly become Tsai Ing-wen’s tool to swindle votes.

Attachment : none