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More adventurism in Taiwan

The decision by President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan to do away with the National Unification Council that sets guidelines for the island's eventual reunification with the People's Republic of China is plain brinksmanship and a threat to peace in the region. The Council came into existence in 1990 and its guidelines commit Taiwan to uniting with China, but specify no time frame. Thus far, China has not pushed Taiwan on the issue. While Beijing is clear that Taiwan is a province of the PRC, and every country in the world accepts the One China principle, the island has been allowed to go its own way on condition that its leaders will not alter the status quo and make a push for official independence. This nuanced position has done a lot to preserve the peace and stability of the region. But Mr. Chen seems determined to upset the delicate balance of China-Taiwan relations. He ran his 2004 re-election campaign on separatist rhetoric, considerably heightening tensions between the island and the mainland. He toned down the pitch after winning a second term, even promising not to abolish the NUC or its guidelines. With his announcement on February 27 that the NUC shall "cease to function" and that the guidelines shall "cease to apply," he has broken that promise recklessly, provoking Beijing to condemn the move as a "dangerous sign of the escalation of Taiwan's secessionist activities."

In scrapping the NUC, the Taiwanese leader appears to have been reacting to an internal political situation even though he has cited China's year-old Anti-Secession Act as the cause for his decision. This law authorises the use of "non-peaceful methods" if Taiwan were to make a decisive bid for independence. However, while setting out the One China principle as non-negotiable, it favours peaceful reunification for which it sets no date. It allows plenty of room for manoeuvre through the "one country, two systems" formula. Mr. Chen's Democratic Progressive Party was routed in the December 2005 local elections. Invoking the threat of independence once again may have helped his ratings for now but this surge is unlikely to last. For all his splittist rhetoric, Mr. Chen won a second term on the slimmest of margins. The DPP ran a similar campaign for the legislative election of December 2004 and lost, confirming what pollsters have been saying repeatedly — the people of Taiwan do not want irresponsible leaders who advocate a collision course with Beijing. Mr. Chen's adventurism does not enjoy international support either. His decision to dismantle the NUC has drawn widespread criticism. The United States, Taiwan's key ally, has made it clear it does not want a change in the status quo. With two more years to go in his second and final term, Mr. Chen should think of contributing to lasting peace in the region rather than leave behind a legacy of hostility with the Government and people of China.

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