How the Republic of China Can Become an Asset to China

How the Republic of China Can Become an Asset to China
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China)
A Translation
March 5, 2014

Summary: We seek to survive. But we have made too many erroneous assumptions. The Republic of China is not Taiwan. Taiwan is not the Republic of China. The Republic of China is 103 years old. Its sovereignty includes the whole of China. People still cherish the goal of national reunification and the dream of a strong and prosperous China. Sun Yat-sen dreamed of founding a nation. Only such a Republic of China can deal with the Mainland on equal terms and with equal dignity. Only such a Republic of China can sit down with Beijing to discuss the future of the Chinese nation, and realize the Chinese Dream.

Full text below:

Leaders from the ROC have recently visited the Chinese mainland, twice. Honorary KMT Chairman Lien Chan told CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping that, "The Republic of China is an asset, not a liability." This newspaper has published a series of editorials repeating that same fact. The existence and prosperity of the Republic of China is an asset for China, for both the Mainland and Taiwan. This is something we encourage and anticipate. But it has a precondition. The Republic of China must survive. The ruling and opposition parties must set aside their differences. The ruling party must have the courage to do the right thing. The opposition party must be willing to change its course. The public must be rational in its decisions. Otherwise, everything will remain as it was. Internecine political battles will persist. The two sides of the strait will remain becalmed in deep water. Taiwan will be left behind by regional integration. It will truly become the "orphan of Asia."

Many people on Taiwan feel powerless. They sense that time is not on our side. They believe Taiwan's best days are over. They suspect it is becoming another Philippines. They see no light at the end of the tunnel. Think back to the outbreak of civil war in 1946. Three years later, the KMT government was forced to hand control of the nation to others. The exiled Nationalist government on Taiwan had to learn from bitter experience the lesson of good governance. The Two Chiangs promoted land reform, economic reform, and the gradual introduction of democracy. They laid the foundation for Taiwan's modernization. But this minor miracle, during which people struggled side by side, shoulder to shoulder, was much too short-lived.

Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian practiced political separatism while paying lip service to political reform. People became adept at infighting, but terrified of outsiders. Their vision became myopic. Ideology reigned supreme. People lost their sense of direction. The economy lost its momentum. Taiwan pointlessly squander 20 years. Anyone who dared to invoke the Two Chiang era was pilloried. They were condemned as reactionaries. They were subjected to public witch trials and labeled Communists. Ma Ying-jeou, who attempted to set the record straight, was one such victim.

The DPP has long painted others as "Reds." Only their position is acceptable. Others are not allowed to have ideas. They refuse to recognize the Republic of China, while simultaneously engaging in backdoor listing. They fly the ROC banner while opposing the ROC. The ruling KMT lost its bully pulpit. But most surprisingly, it dared not champion the Three People's Principles and its long-cherished goal of national reunification. Instead it promoted a policy of "no reunification, no independence, no use of force." They were equally myopic. They concerned themselves only  with near term election success. They saw maintaining the status quo as the supreme value. They sought only safety. They blanked out any personal responsibility for the Chinese nation as a whole.

Lien Chan said, "The Republic of China is an asset." Not a single KMT politician or party official echoed his sentiment. So-called Kuomintang elders paid pro forma lip service to the concept of "two sides, one China" and "one nation, two regions" during visits to the Mainland. But they never promote these enlightened concepts upon returning to Taiwan. No wonder outside observers characterize Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties as "one chaotic party" and "one crummy party." This may be self-deprecating. But it reflects public opinion.

Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew said that Taiwan independence is a thing of the past. Reunification of the two sides is inevitable. John Mearsheimer is a famous scholar of international relations and a chaired professor at the University of Chicago. In the March issue of the the National Interest, Mearsheimer published an article entitled, "Say Goodbye to Taiwan." He pointed out how the Chinese mainland's economic and military power is growing. A decade or two from now, America will no longer be able to protect Taiwan. Taiwan will have no choice but to move toward reunification. Many allies agree. Taiwan has been unfairly treated by the international community. But Taiwan's future will not include a "Republic of Taiwan." This is dictated by objective factors in the international environment. But the main factor is cross-strait relations. They cannot be severed. The CCP regime continues to grow and thrive. It is becoming stronger and more powerful. Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties need to ask themselves how many cards Taiwan holds? Fifteen years from now, politically and economically, in international diplomacy, in strategy and tactics, how strong a hand will Taiwan still hold?

If the ruling and opposition parties on Taiwan persist in political and ideological infighting, it will lead only to a dead end. They will no longer be able to remain outside China's future. The ruling administration must regain the initiative. It must insist that "We too are China's masters!" They must ensure China's economic future. The public must understand the situation. It must accomodate or exploit Mainland China's economic growth. This is the inevitable path it must go down.

Under the circumstances, everyone must share Taiwan's past experience with the Mainland. They must share their experience with economic growth. They must shared the traditional Chinese culture that has been preserved on Taiwan. They must share the civic virtues embodied by the Taiwan public. They must inject new elements into the development process. Even the negative examples learned during Taiwan's democratization process can help future Mainland reform. We on Taiwan must have the courage to display our weaknesses as well as our strengths. That is the right way. We must not compete with the Mainland over our own weaknesses.

Only by respecting ourselves, can we expect respect from posterity. We seek to survive. But we have made too many erroneous assumptions. The Republic of China is not Taiwan. Taiwan is not the Republic of China. The Republic of China is 103 years old. Its sovereignty includes the whole of China. People still cherish the goal of national reunification and the dream of a strong and prosperous China. Sun Yat-sen dreamed of founding a nation. Only such a Republic of China can deal with the Mainland on equal terms and with equal dignity. Only such a Republic of China can sit down with Beijing to discuss the future of the Chinese nation, and realize the Chinese Dream.

社論－中華民國如何成為「中國的資產」
稍後再讀
中國時報 本報訊 2014年03月05日 04:09

「中華民國」最近兩度叩關中國大陸，國民黨榮譽主席連戰更告訴中共總書記習近平「中華民國是資產，不是負債」，本報連續發表社論，呼應中華民國的存在與繁榮是「包含台灣與大陸在內整體中國」的資產，這是我們的鼓勵和期許，但前提是中華民國要能成長茁壯、朝野要能捐棄成見，執政黨得拿出魄力，反對黨必須改弦易轍，民眾更要理性抉擇，否則一切將停留在現狀，內部繼續政黨惡鬥，兩岸不能在深水區順利前行，台灣將在區域整合趨勢中被拋棄，真正成為亞細亞孤兒。

如今許多人覺得孤臣無力回天，時間完全不在我們這一邊，台灣的好日子已經過完，正在往菲律賓化過程中掙扎，而隧道的盡頭還看不到光亮。回想1946年內戰爆發，3年內國民黨政府把大好江山拱手讓人，避禍來台的國民政府在痛定思痛之餘勵精圖治，兩蔣推動土改、經改以及漸進式的民主發展，奠下了台灣現代化的基礎，但這種少康中興、全民奮鬥的氣象為時很短。

經過李登輝、陳水扁所謂民主改革及分離主義後，大家勇於內鬥，怯於公戰，目光短淺，政治掛帥，逐漸失去方向與動力，平白浪費20多年時光。稍有人敢為過去兩蔣時期、如今的馬英九政府說句比較公允持平的話，輕則遭人侮衊、批為反動保守分子，重則被政治公審，扣上紅帽子。

民進黨素來喜歡給人戴帽子，只准自己有立場，不讓別人有想法，既不接受中華民國，又要借殼上市，打著中華民國旗號反中華民國。令人驚訝的是，執政的國民黨丟了話語權不說，居然連長期追求的三民主義建國理想和國家統一目標也不敢堅持，搞個「不統、不獨、不武」，同樣是短視近利、只顧眼前的選舉成敗，以維持現狀為最高執政原則，完全是一種偏安心態，忘卻了中華民族一分子的責任。

對於連戰提到「中華民國是資產」的說法，國民黨從政同志和黨籍民意代表沒有人呼應，國民黨內所謂大老只會在中國大陸發表兩岸一中、一國兩區談話，從不見他們回到台灣發表這種振聾發聵的主張。難怪外界有謂，台灣的朝野政黨，一個是亂黨，一個是爛黨。雖然有點自貶，倒也反映了一些民意。

新加坡內閣資政李光耀說過，台獨已成過去，兩岸統一將是無法避免的結果；著名的國際政治學者、美國芝加哥大學講座教授米夏摩在美國期刊《國家利益》3月號撰文〈向台灣說再見〉指出，中國大陸在經濟及軍事上日漸強大，十數年或數十年後，美國保不了台灣，台灣無從選擇，只能走向統一。許多國際友人也都承認，台灣確實受到國際社會不公平對待，但台灣未來不太可能成立一個所謂的「台灣共和國」，這是國際客觀環境使然，更主要的因素是兩岸關係根本無法割斷。當中共政權不斷成長、茁壯，實力更強大時，台灣朝野不妨想想，15年後，從政治到經濟，從外交到國際，從戰略到戰術，台灣還剩下多少優勢與利基？

但如果朝野能袪除當前的政治及意識形態鬥爭，知道偏安只有走向死胡同，不再自外於中國的未來；如果政府當局能夠化被動為主動，堅持自己也是中國的主人，誓言經略中原；如果民眾能夠理解，配合或利用中國大陸的發展，將是一條無可避免且可以走出的康莊大道。

在這個基礎上，各界願意把台灣過去的發展經驗、台灣保留的中華文化、台灣民眾的善良特質，提供大陸，做為發展過程中挹注的新元素；甚至把台灣民主化過程的負面教材引為大陸未來改革的借鏡，勇於發揮我們還有的優勢，而非以自己的短處和大陸競爭，這才是正道與王道。

自重而後人重，台灣要為自己找到出路和活路，其中有太多假設和如果。然而中華民國並不等於台灣，台灣也不等於中華民國。中華民國建國103年，是主權及於全中國的中華民國，民眾心中仍然得懷有國家統一、民族富強的中國夢，一如孫中山先生建國的理想，只有這樣的中華民國才能和大陸對等、尊嚴的坐下來商談中華民族的未來，共築中國夢。