V.R. Raghavan
The election of Ma Ying-jeou — who belongs to the Kuomintang Party (KMT) — as the future president of Taiwan marks a watershed in north east Asia’s geo-political scenario. Eight years of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rule in this tiny nation state were marked by heightened anxieties on cross-strait stability. The rhetorical flourishes of the outgoing Taiwanese President, Frank Hsieh, on the future status of his country, his foreign tours and his courting of political popularity — through the language of confrontation with China — did little to build stability in an already turbulent region. It had succeeded in antagonising both the US and Chinese leadership, which is testimony to a flawed policy.
Ma Ying-jeou fought the election on a platform of building stable relations with China, increasing people-to-people contact, and reinforcing two-way investment. The KMT, which had been in long hibernation as the opposition, was energised by Ma through a dramatic plan of Three No’s vis-a-vis Beijing. In short, this amounted to No Unification, No Independence, and No Use of Force.
The strategy was built on retaining the status quo on Taiwan’s international position, limited as it is. It was also designed to allay Beijing’s sense of vulnerability on the possibility of a Taiwanese de jure break out from China’s ambit. The No Force strategy was a savvy approach to place the onus of using force on Beijing, since Taiwan was hardly in a position to do so.
On a recent visit to Taipei, this writer was reminded by local experts of the impact of negative and confrontational policies on the economy. Comparisons were often drawn with GDP growth rates of Malaysia and India, and regrets expressed on the time lost and opportunities wasted by the faulty focus on geo-politics. Ma Ying-jeou and his policy think tank had, on the other hand, already begun to look at possible CBMs on which to build a new relationship with Beijing.
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