The stability of Asia – Pacific region hangs in a gentle balance. The world at large, and especially the US, have known for a long time that China has ambitions of expansion, and any military manoeuvrings in that region give cause for concern. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia Michael Schiffer is of the opinion that the scale and speed of China’s military growth was such that it could potentially lead to the destabilisation of the region by contributing to the regional tensions that already exist.

Taiwan fear that China will try and reclaim their sovereignty. If that happens Japan also fear that China will enter their waters. With this in mind the report calls for a stronger tie between the US and Chinese military. This is a tricky position for the US government to negotiate because the American’s have long been for Taiwanese Independence. In fact, in 2010, Beijing cut military ties with the US because the US had given arms to Taiwan.

China declares that the US have grossly exaggerated its military capability and its designs on expansion. State run TV in China pointed out that America spend more than any other country in the world on its military defenses and stated that China too has the right to a competent and modernised army.

This American u-turn seems to fall in line with US Vice-President Joe Bidden’s visit to China. However, in building a stronger allegiance with the Asian super power, the United States is turning it’s back on the longstanding commitment to Taiwan’s autonomy. Some observers have deemed this to be a foolish move by the US government. Taiwan existing as a separate state is important as it separates China from Japanese waters. It has long been known that China wishes to expand in that direction.

Should China attempt to expand in this region the political, economic and global implications would be unpredictable. China competes with the United States in terms of fire power and the risk of a second cold war with both sides threatening to engage in nuclear attacks would be very great indeed. The global economic stability would falter and the chances of a new global conflict would increase. Given this nightmare view of events, the US decision to weaken it’s position on Taiwanese independence seems very risky. A free Taiwan seems to be the only thing holding back the Chinese tide.

Seediq Bale produc r Jimmy Huang was quick to confirm that the movie is a “pure Taiwan-made film and not a film made by Taiwan and China.” The movie in question is Taiwan’s biggest budget production of all time costing around $24.3m and the subject matter, the 1930 Wushe Incident where the people rose up against the colonial Japanese forces, may have made the film makers particularly sensitive to the issue of Taiwanese Independence from China.

The issue of Taiwan’s independence is a very sensitive political issue. China’s communist government does regard the pacific island as part of their territory but Taiwan disputes this. The film festival has a history of listing Taiwanese productions as “Taiwan, China” as it did so in 2007 with Ang Lee’s Lust. It may be that the film organisers are wary of the political issue or it could also be that the inclusion of China in the film listing is because the movie’s executive producer John Woo is from Hong Kong.

Either way Taiwanese movie companies have long been sensitive to this issue. 2010 saw the cancellation of a Taipai week at the Shanghai film festival because film makers were opposed to their movies being listed as “Taiwan, China” instead of being from Taiwan
as a separate territory.

One of the problems addressed through this deal by Taiwanese authorities is the shortage of students in the island’s educational institutions, sparked by dwindling birth rates which may result in the closing of more than one in three Taiwanese colleges by 2021 – if nothing is done about it that is. At the same time, the plan includes a provision that would only allow Taiwanese universities to admit no more than two percent of their available places to Chinese students.

Vice versa, Taiwanese students have atttended mainland Chinese universities for years, mainly attracted by their low tuition fees, about 7,000 Taiwanese are currently enrolled in higher education in China.

For mainland Chinese, this will be an almost adventurous opportunity since very few are familiar with the ROC because of the PRC’s strict travel bans. Only in the last three years haven they been lifted to a certain degree. The decision last year to open the island’s universities in 2011 was controversial enough to start debates in the Taiwanese legislature and parlament has yet to support the measure.

News anchor Qiming asked some key questions that were, judging from the social media reaction to his statements, shared by other Chinese citizens. He was referring to the crash in Wenzhou province between two trains that left around 190 injured and 39 dead. The crash provoked widespread concern in China and the Communist party’s attempts to dampen the public scrutiny has provoked protest.

Shortly after the accident, the propaganda bureau’s “guidance” for journalists was that they should neither look into the causes behind the crash nor “question” the official version of the story. The official version of the accident’s story blamed lightning as the cause. Along these lines, wreckage and other evidence were buried and compensation claims denied initially.

Increasingly, the Communist Party views its legitimacy as arising from or depending on its ability to produce jobs, growth, and modernity. The high-speed rail system is one jewel of this series of claims. Any news that puts a black mark on the party’s ability weakens party credibility.

Qiu Qiming’s statement was hardly a lone episode of outrage, over 26 million tweets and blog posts were made questioning the crash’s events. Although most didn’t criticize the community party, there was a sense that a line had been crossed by the Party’s handling of the crash. Even the party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily declared that China’s high GPD figures cannot be generated by “blood-smeared” means. It appears another faction of the Party has taken over regarding this matter and insurance claims are not being paid and the hunt for the people behind the accident has started in earnest. The Party seeks to appear to be on the people’s side as quickly as possible.

When asked about his handling of the human rights topic, Baird did not apologize. He insisted that the more effective way to broach this topic is through such non-public meetings. He claimed that this approach is more useful than “sitting at home and griping.” Baird’s approach to China’s human rights record is not new. Lawrence Cannon, his predecessor, also pursued a similar line. Cannon argued that when it comes to the sensitive human rights issue, Canada must work with the Chinese leadership from the inside rather than criticize China from the outside.

These views are a reflection of the impact of Chinese official criticism of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s vocal stance against the Chinese human rights violations. His decision in June 2006 to proclaim the Dalai Lama an honorary citizen of Canada due to his work as a “champion of human dignity” didn’t put Canada on China’s good side. Harper further tweaked China’s ire by not attending the 2008 Beijing Olympic’s opening ceremony. Harper has garnered some criticism from Canada’s influential business community due to these actions since many in this sector are pushing for greater business ties and trade with China.

via US Air Force

Taiwan’s congressional supporters are ramping up the pressure on the Obama administration to approve the sale of new F-16 fighterjet units to the island nation. The pressure notched up a level higher when one pro-sale senator vowed to delay the confirmation of a new deputy secretary of state if there is no movement on the F-16 sale. Taiwan’s congressional allies’ actions have provoked countermaneuvers from mainland Chinese officials. Chinese dignitaries have visited senators, Obama administration officials, former officials, and personnel form other institutions to voice their opposition to the proposed F-16 sale.

All this lobbying and counterlobbying has put the State Department in a tight position. They are looking for a way to address the pro-Taiwan Congressional forces without drawing the ire of China. Last year’s arms deal to Taiwan proves illustrative of the State Department’s diplomatic tightrope walking. Last year, the US sold $6.4 billion dollars worth of Patriot missiles, helicopters, mine sweepers, and communications gear. As a result, China broke off all military cooperation engagements and ties with the US. The current arms sale issue involves two trade proposals – upgrading the Taiwanese air force’s 145 older model F-16s and selling 66 newer and advanced F-16s to Taiwan. There’s a lot to juggle since this is a very lucrative trade deal for the US defense industry, there are internal political dynamics in Taiwan to address, and the diplomatic relationships of not just the US and China but also China and Taiwan are at stake.

joanho via stock.xchng

There is good news if you plan a trip to Hong Kong or Macao in the next months. As of July 15, Taiwan’s de facto embassies in the SAR (special administrative regions) gain new status receive the official name Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Macau, respectively. More than simply a new name for the same old thing, the agreement made between the SAR and the ROC last week recognizes the true status of both offices, and gives our government more possibilities in promoting Taiwan in the regions, especially in areas such as tourism, culture, education, or trade. With the recognition come new opportunities. On a very basic level, it means that ROC officials now have a status that affords them certain rights and privileges afforded to members of the diplomatic corps. Officials already speak of a “new stage” in the relationship between the SAR and the ROC.

For those of you unfamiliar with the history: It has a touch of historic comedy but since 1966 the ROCs office in Hong Kong was simply branded “Chung Hwa Travel Service,” a moniker that has resulted in misunderstandings and confusions which occurred when the office was mistaken for a travel agency. Since very little in Hong Kong is decided without official approval from Beijing, this is also representative of the continuing improvement of affairs between mainland China, the SAR and the ROC. Here is what CNNs Benjamin Gottlieb had to say about the story: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/11/taiwan.hongkong.macau/

Another article from Taiwan Today: http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=171413&ctNode=425

The controversy surrounded the usage of the ST-2 satellite, which is scheduled to go into operation in August. In May Chunghwa had announced that it had rejected NTDs application for a new lease – the old one will expire in early August – because of technical issues connected to the switch from the current ST-1 satellite to the new ST-2. While details on the contract between Chunghwa and NTD have not been made public yet, allegations remain strong that Chunghwa rejected NTDs bid for a new license because the company is planning to expand its Chinese business operations in the near future.

For more, check out the report by the Taipei Times and the official website of NTD TV.

photo © 2006 Tobin | more info (via: Wylio)

KMT, however, blocked the bills with their vast majority in the Legislative Yuan and passed the budget that allocated rougly $485 M. to the construction of the plant in Gongliao district. Protets organized by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) erupted today, demanding a suspension of the construction and a referendum. But the people don’t get to decide in situations when a whole lot of money is at stake – so no referendum. It will be interesting to see whether or not the “anti-nuclear” vote will change the opinion of some politicians once the 2012 election campaign is underway.

The Taiwanese Green Party has not been able to secure any seats in an election yet, but I hear that the Fukushima incidents have propelled green parties across the globe into unknown political territory. They have become electable.

Focus Taiwan has more.