A Foreign Policy rooted in Defeat

A Foreign Policy rooted in Defeat
China Times editorial
translated by Bevin Chu
May 17, 2007

The ruling party's attempt to join the WHO under the name of "Taiwan" has encountered unprecedented setbacks amounting to a national humiliation. This is not the first time the ruling party has humiliated itself in the international community. Every September the ruling party attempts to join the United Nations in the name of "Taiwan." Every time Chen Shui-bian embarks on a state visit to an ally, he practices "transit diplomacy." Every action is calculated to exploit international humiliations for domestic political gain at the polls, to spin Chinese Communist Party countermeasures as outrageous humiliations, and the Democratic Progressive Party as the champion of Taiwan's dignity. This has been the ruling party's standard operating procedure for the past seven years.

If one had to sum up their strategy in one or two sentences, it would be "domestically, electoral triumph; abroad, international humiliation." That the DPP is adept at electioneering is not in question. But why does it deliberately seek international humiliation? Jin Yong, famed author of traditional Chinese knight-errant "wu xia" novels, wrote about a master swordsman named Du Gu. So skilled that no one was his match, Du Gu sought to be defeated at least once, and adopted the ironic nickname, "He who seeks Defeat." The DPP's policy of deliberately courting international humiliation turns the story of Du Gu on its head. Confusing cause and effect, the DPP aspires to become Du Gu by obsessively seeking defeat.

For the past several years, the DPP and Taiwan independence fundamentalists have been using each other. They have used the ruling government's lapdog media and pirate radio stations to demand the "upholding of Taiwan's dignity," the "Rectification of Names," and the "authoring of a new constitution." Adopting a bull in a china shop attitude, and giving no thought to international repercussions, they have encouraged the ruling regime to butt heads with ROC allies. Anyone who dares to raise rational objections is promptly denounced as "pro reunification" and pigeonholed as someone who "doesn't love Taiwan." The ruling regime has given its blessing to this sort of shrill demagoguery. This sort of intemperate bluster and headlong blundering is the hallmark of the Taiwan independence hardliner.

When the ruling regime engages in heedless brinksmanship, our international allies abandon us, and we become international orphans. Take this year's WHA for example. The ruling regime invested vast sums mobilizing, strategizing, and lobbying. In the end, even the US, Japan, and the European Union cast nay votes. Even "allies" bought and paid for, switched their votes. All that the ruling regime's senseless bravado achieved was to test the patience of larger European nations and the US, and to encourage them to work hand in glove with Beijing to teach the ruling DPP a lesson. Over time, the Taiwan authorities have been demoted to the status of Asian-Pacific region trouble-maker. Not only can it not gain admission to the UN and the WHO, its role in APEC and the WTO are threatened, making it look more and more like the Orphan of Asia.

Because cross-Straits relations remain volatile, businesses refuse to invest, growth in domestic consumption slows, and the economy shrinks. The negative consequences show up in economic statistics again and again. To cover up its incompetence in the marketplace, the ruling regime compensates with victories in the political arena, by provoking confrontations between pro reunification and pro independence forces, and by inciting communal strife. Every time the ruling regime is humiliated on the international stage, the DPP transforms that humiliation into domestic political capital, into "Chinese Communist affronts to Taiwan's dignity" and heated controversies over "Taiwanese national identity." Take the attempt to gain membership in the WHO for example. The ruling regime knew perfectly well that its chances of joining the WHO were zero, yet it deliberately courted defeat in order to create pathos in the face of international persecution. They knew perfectly well they could not win, yet deliberately and relentlessly courted defeat. In short, the ruling DPP policy is hardline Taiwan independence. Its relationship with its allies is self-imposed isolation. Its goal in seeking membership in international organizations is to deliberately court defeat in order to elicit sympathy for its status as a downtrodden "victim," and to parlay that victimization into domestic political capital on election day. That is the significance of the four characters, "Du Gu seeks Defeat."

The problem is, this kind of "Dugu seeks Defeat" foreign policy not only infuriates allies, it harms Taiwan's economic development. The significance of whether the ruling regime can join organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank in the name of "Taiwan" is half symbolic and half substantive. This is true even of the WHO. Probably the only time its members will feel a difference is during the outbreak of a global infectious disease. But organizations such as ASEAN, regional trade organizations, and Free Trade Agreements between the ROC and South Korea, Japan, the US, and Europe, are organizations to which the ROC must aggressively seek participation or membership, and whose substance far outweighs symbolism. This newspaper has repeatedly pointed out that once ASEAN Plus Three takes shape in 2010, and ASEAN members sign free trade agreements with the EU, the US, and others, the ROC will be left in the cold. It will rapidly lose the comparative advantages of bilateral and multilateral trade, and this constitutes a major crisis of economic marginalization. As everyone knows, whether the ROC is able to participate in or be a signatory to these regional trade agreements may hinge on US influence. If our "Du Gu seeks Defeat" policy antagonizes Uncle Sam, this will inevitably be disadvantageous to Taiwan's economic future. This is not "loving Taiwan." This is "harming Taiwan."

The ROC has endured repeated humiliations over the past five years. It finally succeeded in joining the WTO under the name of "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kimmen, and Matsu." Several decades ago, we also joined the International Olympic Committee under the name "Chinese Taipei." According to the "Du Gu seeks Defeat" logic of the DPP, shouldn't it first withdraw from the WTO and the IOC, then apply for readmission under the name of the "Nation of Taiwan?" Only this would qualify as "Rectification of Names." According to the DPP's perverse logic, only this would qualify as "upholding Taiwan's dignity." Only this would demonstrate that "Taiwan is a sovereign nation." In short, the substantive interests of the ROC must never be equated with the partisan electoral interests of the DPP.

Original Chinese below:

中時電子報
中國時報 　2007.05.17
外交政策能夠一意「獨孤求敗」嗎？
中時社論

執政黨這次操作以台灣的名義加入世衛遭到空前挫敗，幾乎是以「喪權辱國」的處境收場。而回顧台灣近年來在國際社會所遭到的羞辱，這已經不是第一次了；每年 九月所推動的台灣加入聯合國運動，陳水扁每回出訪操作的「過境」外交，無一不是「國際招辱轉內銷」，試圖以中共打壓／台灣羞辱／民進黨維護尊嚴的標準公 式，來動員台灣人民的選票。這種操作模式，過去七年好像都是如此。

如果要以一兩句話彙整這種操作策略，那就是「對內選舉至上、對外獨孤求敗」。民進黨對內精於選舉已是社會共識，不需贅言；至於為什麼對外是「獨孤求敗」？ 著名武俠小說家金庸曾在作品中描述了一位絕世劍術高手，複姓獨孤，但一生難逢敵手，欲求一敗而不可得，是故取名「求敗」。但民進黨在外交政策上的所謂「獨 孤求敗」，卻是「求敗」而自陷「獨孤」。

民進黨這幾年來與若干基本教義派互為牽引利用，一方面利用御用媒體及地下電台不斷宣揚尊嚴、正名、制憲的絕對正當性，再以完全不顧國際情勢的莽夫姿態，鼓 勵當局在諸多友邦之間橫衝直撞。只要任何人提出理性的批評，都可能遭到御用媒體以「統派」、「不愛台灣」等語言加以羞辱或質疑；久而久之，這類躁進的瓦釜 之音，居然也得到了當局黃鐘般的肯定。所謂急「獨」，指的正是這種瓦釜喧嘩、莽衝亂撞的不理性狀態。

當台灣不斷在外交的緩衝區與灰色地帶橫衝直撞之際，我們國際上的友人開始日漸減少，實質上是更為「孤」立。以今年世衛案為例，台灣事前耗費資源去動員、布 局、遊說，最後卻連美、日、歐盟都投反對票，甚至連砸大錢買來的友邦也紛紛倒戈。當局如此暴虎馮河般地嗆聲，換來的卻是歐美等大國的不耐，而頻頻與中共聯 手教訓台灣。久而久之，台灣在國際眼中淪為亞太地區麻煩製造者，不但聯合國與世衛進不去，連在ＡＰＥＣ、ＷＴＯ的角色扮演都陸續開始受到擠壓，愈來愈像是 亞細亞的孤兒。

由於兩岸情勢不穩，企業在台投資卻步，國內消費成長遲緩，經濟內需萎靡不振，其惡果已在經濟統計數字上陸續呈現。但執政黨為了掩飾其經濟施政之無能，就只 好在一次次的選舉競逐中，激化統獨對立與族群摩擦。每當台灣在國際上遭受一次挫敗，民進黨就可以在國內將之轉化為中共對台灣尊嚴的羞辱，進而激化認同爭 議，以利其選舉操作。以此次世衛入會案為例，我方明知台灣成功入會之機率為零，卻硬是要塑造國際打壓的悲壯氣氛。這就是明知其必敗，卻樂此不疲的「求 敗」。總之，民進黨當局在政策上急獨、在友邦間孤立、在國際組織上力求壯烈敗北，以營造其國內選舉之資本─這就是「獨孤求敗」四字所刻畫的意義。

問題是，這種「獨孤求敗」的外交政策不僅觸怒友邦，更不利於台灣的經濟發展。像聯合國、世銀這樣的組織，台灣加入與否可能形式意義與實質意義參半。即便是 世界衛生組織，大概也只有在傳染病來襲的時候其會員才會真正感受到差別。但是像東協 (ＡＳＥＡＮ) 等區域貿易組織，或是台灣與韓、日、美歐之間可能的自由貿易區協定，卻是台灣必須要奮力尋求參與或加入的組織，其實質意義遠大於形式意義。本報社論曾一再 指出，一旦二○一○年東協加三成形，而東協諸國又與歐美等加簽自由貿易協定，屆時被排除在外的台灣，將快速喪失雙邊貿易與多邊貿易的比較優勢，形成經濟邊 緣化的重大危機。如所周知，台灣能否加入或簽署這些區域貿易協定，美國的影響力極大。我們獨孤求敗的政策若一再觸怒老美，將來必然會不利於台灣的經濟布 局；這不是愛台灣，而是害台灣。

台灣在五年前忍辱負重，終於以「獨立關稅領域」的名義加入ＷＴＯ。數十年前，我們也以「中華台北」的名義加入國際奧會。如果照民進黨獨孤求敗的邏輯，是不 是該先退出ＷＴＯ與國際奧會，再以「台灣國」名義重新申請加入，如此才算正名、才有尊嚴、才能展現台灣是主權國家？外交上實質的國家利益，終究不能與民進 黨勝選與否的政黨利益，完全畫上等號吧！