From Hainan to Beijing via Lhasa

From Hainan to Beijing via Lhasa
United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
May 2, 2008

Hu Jintao and Vincent Siew became the focus of international attention at the Boao Forum. It's a long way from Hainan Island, the southernmost point of mainland China, to the capital city of Beijing. As we visualize the pomp and circumstance of the Olympic opening ceremonies in August, we can't help marveling at the mainland's surprising economic strength, and its determination to put on a show befitting the rise of a great nation. The road from Hainan to Beijing was supposed to be a straight line, a limited access superhighway.

But this road towards greatness is not unimpeded. It is impeded, among other things, by the Tibet issue.

The most significant obstacle on the road to the Beijing Olympics is the Tibet issue. The Tibet issue has taken the mainland authorities by surprise. The Tibet issue has been around for a long time. Three feet of ice is never the result of an overnight freeze. The current riots reflect long term tensions between Han and Tibetan Chinese. With the benefit of intense international media coverage, the protesters, by dogging the Olympic flame, have started a wildfire. As the Torch relay reached Paris, London, San Francisco and other cities around the world, the protesters managed to extinguish the flame, force the runners to board buses, hide in warehouses, take detours, and even cancel torch hand-offs. The contrast with traditional Olympic torch runs, with thousands lining the streets, is mind-boggling. And this is probably only the prelude to the protest activities. Boycott threats from the European Parliament and the US Congress are getting louder. The mainland authorities and International Olympic Committee are deeply concerned about all sorts of embarrassing incidents.

The Olympic torch relay protests have provoked a nationalist backlash. The mainland public is calling for a "counter-boycott" against foreign retailers such as France's Carrefours, America's KFC and McDonald's. Such nationalistic boycotts come across as less high-minded than the Dalai Lama's calls for the people of the world not to boycott the Olympics, and his statement that Tibet wants autonomy not independence. Recently, mainland officials announced that they would continue consulting with the Dalai Lama. This may be because they perceive the Dalai Lama to be more moderate than the protesters.

The mainland authorities' "Road to Greatness" will not be smooth, because it is still missing a necessary step. It has not "internationalized" its thinking. This is similar to Taiwan's onetime self-pitying "Orphan of Asia" mindset. The result was self-indulgent pathos and a Closed Door policy. The more eager mainland authorities are to demonstrate to the world that they are a great nation, the more unbearable other nations' refusal to treat them as a great nation will be. The more arrogant their response, the more they will reveal that they are not sufficiently "civilized." Mainland China now has significant "hard power." But its domestic handling of demands for democracy remain crude. It always blames "a handful of militant troublemakers." Obviously it does not understand the international appeal of demands for human rights, democracy, freedom of religion, and autonomy for minorities. According to universal standards, if one is unable to cross this threshold, then one is still a great nation.

If one wishes to become a great nation, "democracy" is a necessary stepping stone. The Taiwan region is a beneficiary of this experience with democracy. For the past eight years, the public on Taiwan has bemoaned the results of past election results. But if we think longer term, this was a necessary experience, a baptism of fire, an inevitable part of the democratic process. The Taiwan region's system of democracy is envied by Hong Kongers who would like "Hong Kongers to rule Hong Kong." It is also a key force in the peaceful evolution of mainland China.

The Boao Forum is a regional economic forum. But the outcome and follow-up developments of the Hu Hsiao Summit became the focus of international attention. This shows that regardless of the mainland region's ' economic strength, or the Taiwan region's concerns about sovereignty, cross-strait relations are not a family matter that can be settled behind closed doors. In this era of globalization, if one wishes to play a role on the international stage, one must abide by universal values and international rules. The Taiwan region's experiences with democracy in 2000 and 2004 have finally been rewarded in 2008. The mainland authorities' road to greatness won't necessarily be a limited access freeway directly linking Hainan to Beijing. It may be a toll road that detours through Lhasa. The toll that mainland authorities will have to pay is the study of democracy.

從海南經西藏到北京
【聯合報╱社論】
2008.05.02 01:31 am

胡錦濤和蕭萬長的博鰲會一度成為國際矚目焦點，從中國南端的海南遙望首都北京，想像八月間奧運開幕的盛況，中國厚植經濟實力的成果驚人，試圖在世人面前上演一齣「大國崛起」的企圖心展現無遺。從海南到北京的築夢之路，眼看著直達車蓄勢待發……。

然而，這條「邁向大國之路」，卻不是通行無阻，因為其中橫亙著西藏問題。

西藏問題現在成為干擾北京奧運的最重大因素，此一情勢為中共所始料未及。西藏問題存在已久，冰凍三尺非一日之寒，日前的騷動和鎮壓事件反映了漢藏之間的長期緊張關係；在國際媒體密集報導下，乘著奧運聖火而延燒全球，形成燎原的效果。聖火傳遞在巴黎、倫敦、舊金山等全球各大都市出現的景況：聖火熄滅，搭上巴士，躲進倉庫，繞道失蹤，取消街道傳遞……，都是奧運史上向來萬人夾道歡迎聖火所難以思議的對比。而這些尚且可能只是杯葛北京奧運的「前菜」而已，如今從歐盟議會到美國國會議員陸續表態，抵制北京奧運的聲浪日漸高漲，迎面而來還可能出現什麼樣的難堪，令中共當局和國際奧會都焦慮不已。

奧運聖火傳遞受杯葛的事件，在中國境內激起民族主義的情緒反應。大陸民眾開始號召「反抵制」，打算對中國境內的「外商」，如法系的家樂福、美系的肯德基和麥當勞等廠商，進行消費者抵制。這類民族主義色彩的思維和行動，如果對比達賴喇嘛軟性號召世人「不要抵制奧運」、「西藏要自治，不是要獨立」的平和理性姿態，兩者訴求之間所顯現「普世化」價值的程度高下，與效果得失，已是有目共睹。最近，中共宣布將與達賴特使「繼續接觸磋商」，不知是否亦因感知達賴的立場其實較諸西藏民間溫和理性。

中國的「邁向大國之路」無法平坦順暢，就因為還差了這一步「國際化」的思維。這有點像早期台灣自艾自憐於「亞細亞孤兒」的身世，結果循此悲情反而更走上鎖國之路。中國越是急於向世人證明自己的大國身姿，越是承受不起任何一絲旁人「還不把你當大國看待」的眼光；越是蠻橫回應，反而正暴露自己的「文明」程度還未升級到大國水準。中國如今已具有「船堅炮利」的強國實力，但對內處理人民的民主要求仍然相當粗糙，對外總是向世人咎責於「一小撮激進分子鬧事」，顯然不理解人權、民主、宗教自由和少數民族自治等議題在國際間的感染力。在普世化價值的理解和實踐方面，如果差這一步跨不過去，「大國」的門面仍然妝點不起來。

要想躋身大國，「民主」成了必要的敲門磚。相當程度上，台灣正是這種民主經驗的受益者，也是最佳示範。台灣人民在過去八年曾怨嘆受制於選舉結果，但如果拉長時間場景再思考，這一場經歷其實堪稱民主洗禮的必然過程。台灣的民主制度不但讓至今未能全然如願「港人治港」的香港欽羨不已，也是激勵中國大陸邁向和平演變的重要參照力量。

胡蕭會讓原本屬於區域經濟領域的博鰲論壇備受矚目，且會議成果和後續發展皆成為國際政治焦點。可見不論中國本身的經濟實力展現，或台灣本身的主權意識考量，都並非兩岸各自關起門來自顧自的「家務事」而已。在此全球化資源流通的時代，要想在國際舞台上扮演一個有份量的角色，就要遵守普世價值和國際規則行事。台灣的民主之路乃經歷二○○○年、二○○四年，才終於走到二○○八年的今天。大陸的晉身強國之路也未必一路通行從海南直達北京，繞道西藏的代價恐為學習民主的必繳學費！