Rigid Opposition to the Mainland Will Lead Only to Self-Destruction

Rigid Opposition to the Mainland Will Lead Only to Self-Destruction
United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC) 
A Translation 
August 10, 2016

Executive Summary: Five suspects from Taiwan have been acquitted in the Kenyan telecommunications fraud case. Officials abroad labored three days and three nights. They were unable to overcome Beijing's great power diplomacy. They could only watch as the Mainland plane wafted them away. Beijing ignored the court ruling and hustled the suspects away. Its action, though high-handed, revealed one thing. The DPP government's rigid and arrogant cross-Strait posture is out of touch with reality, and will inevitably lead to shattering humiliation.

Full Text Below:

Five suspects from Taiwan have been acquitted in the Kenyan telecommunications fraud case. Officials abroad labored three days and three nights. They were unable to overcome Beijing's great power diplomacy. They could only watch as the Mainland plane wafted them away. Beijing ignored the court ruling and hustled the suspects away. Its action, though high-handed, revealed one thing. The DPP government's rigid and arrogant cross-Strait posture is out of touch with reality, and will inevitably lead to shattering humiliation.

Imagine the DPP's reaction had the Ma administration failed to return the suspects to Taiwan. What would the DPP be saying? Would it be accusing the Ma administration of "diplomatic incompetence", "ignoring human rights," and "forfeiting sovereignty and humiliating the nation"? Would these and other charges be filling the air? In April Kenya extradited several suspects to the Mainland. The Democratic Progressive Party blasted the Ma government just this way. By contrast, when the DPP government is forced to confront its own failures, it utters pro forma expressions such as "deep regret" and "solemn protest". The president calls on government agencies to negotiate in accordance with the "Cross-Strait Crime Fighting and Mutual Assistance Agreement". When President Tsai asks Beijing to repatriate suspects to Taiwan, is she really unaware that the solution to the problem is in her hands?

The "Cross-Strait Crime Fighting and Mutual Assistance Agreement" still exists. But it is no longer honored or enforced. One reason of course, as Tsai Ing-wen knows perfectly well, is that the agreement is predicated upon mutual recognition of the 1992 Consensus. President Tsai refuses to recognize the 1992 Consensus. Therefore any agreements or understandings based on the 1992 Consensus have been shelved. Beijing seized the suspects in Kenya. This shows that it no longer adheres to the crime-fighting agreement. For Taiwan however, it has more dire implications. It shows that we are powerless to confront the Mainland on the diplomatic front. Kenya ignored the court decision and extradited the suspects to the Mainland. They forced them to board the chartered airliner destined for the Mainland. The situation is clear for all to see.

Ma Ying-jeou was ridiculed by the DPP as "weak". But his strategy of "diplomatic truce" reflected the pragmatism and flexibility required of weaker powers. Suppose the KMT were still in power. Five suspects in the Kenyan case might have been repatriated to Taiwan according to the "Cross-Strait Crime Fighting and Mutual Assistance Agreement". With goodwill across the Strait, repatriation might not have been a problem. But the DPP is now the ruling party. Now all it can do is express moral indignation amd denounce the other side. Such political theater may have value. But for a nation's ruling party, it merely reveals its impotence. At times like this, sanctimonious proclamations about human rights count for nothing.

Besides, scam artists from Taiwan are notorious the world over. They are a disgrace to everyone on Taiwan. The government refuses to crack down on them, and eliminate them in one fell swoop. It acts only when other governments break up these rings and begin extraditing suspects. Then it springs into action and demands repatriation to Taiwan. This does not help. It merely lets people see what we really care about. People have been victimized by these scam artists for years. They detest them. The government invokes "justice and human rights" to persuade others to repatriate them, only to give them a slap on the wrist. Such practices show that our alleged concern for justice and human rights is merely another scam from Taiwan.

This year several overseas scam cases have been prosecuted. Malaysia repatriated several suspects to Taiwan. Other suspects in Kenya, Cambodia, and Malaysia victimized Mainlanders. They were extradited to the Mainland for trial. Many on Taiwan cheered. If having the other side punish the scam artists was what it took to wipe the smirks off their faces, then so be it. In July, Greek police uncovered a 20 man syndicate from Taiwan. Three weeks later, nothing more has been heard. The government sees only what it wants to see. What it does not want to see, remains invisible. But the moment the Mainland seeks extradition, our diplomatic personnel will spring into action and fight tooth and nail over jurisdiction.

The government's attempt to grab suspects in the Kenyan case failed. The two sides are once again at diplomatic loggerheads. The situation calls for pragmatic reflection. President Tsai cannot bring herself to utter the words "1992 Consensus". Perhaps she considers her motives noble. But political, economic, and diplomatic problems continue to bedevil her administration, at the cost of peoples' dignity and trust. Not all of the blame belongs to President Tsai. But Tsai Ing-wen's quest for “national dignity" must include wisdom and the acknowledgement of reality. Otherwise, her administration will continue to butt its head against the wall.

In cross-Strait coopetition, the key to success is a “small and flexible" posture. Arrogance and rigidity are deadly. During her inaugural address, President Tsai told the DPP that the people expect us to "solve problems". But the government's current attitude reveals just the opposite attitude.

兩岸外交不靈活，只會一直撞牆
2016-08-10 聯合報

肯亞詐騙案台灣有五人被判無罪，但我駐外人員奮戰三天三夜，仍難敵中共的強勢外交，眼睜睜看著人被大陸專機送走。中共不尊重司法判決強行搶人，固然過顯蠻悍；但另一方面，這卻也說明民進黨政府刻板、自大的兩岸政策已與現實脫節，必然自陷於窘態畢露之境。

試想，這次肯亞案如果換作是馬政府無法把人要回來，將受到民進黨什麼樣的譴責？不難想像，諸如「外交無能」、「罔顧人權」、「喪權辱國」等指控必如矢石般飛來；四月間肯亞將一批台嫌遣送大陸，民進黨即如此指控馬政府。而反觀民進黨政府面對自己的挫敗，卻只能說出「深表遺憾」、「嚴正抗議」之類的制式詞令，顯得無計可施。當總統府要求各部門全力交涉，依《兩岸共同打擊犯罪與司法互助協議》要求北京遣返台灣人民時，蔡總統難道不知道：「解鈴」的關鍵就在她自己身上？

《兩岸共同打擊犯罪與司法互助協議》仍然存在，只是不再受到尊重和遵守。其中原因，蔡英文當然心知肚明：這項協議是兩岸共同尊重「九二共識」的前提下所簽，如今蔡總統不願承認九二共識，那麼兩岸據此前提而獲致之各項協議及諒解，均可能遭到擱置。這次中共在肯亞搶人，表明不再遵守共同打擊犯罪協議；但對台灣而言，這其實還有另一層意義：我國在外交戰線上缺乏對抗實力，從肯亞警方不顧法院判決強將台嫌送上大陸專機，已一目了然。

從這個角度看，儘管馬英九一再遭民進黨譏為「軟弱」，但他的「外交休兵」策略其實反映了小國的務實與靈活。假設國民黨仍然執政，肯亞案五嫌依《兩岸共同打擊犯罪協議》遣返台灣，或許不成問題，因為兩岸的政治善意存在。反觀民進黨政府，如今卻只能義憤填膺卻無實益地譴責對岸，這些演出，作為在野的政治戲碼或許有其張力，但作為執政者的國是應對則不免暴露其虛無本質；此時，再唱什麼人權保護的高調，均屬枉然。

再說，台灣詐騙集團足跡遍及全球，丟盡台灣顏面。政府如不積極緝獲台灣的首腦，一舉斬草除根，卻只會在其他國家破獲騙案時作出搶人的姿態，不僅於事無補，也只會讓民眾看破手腳。國人長年深受詐騙集團之害，民眾無不恨之入骨。現在政府卻用「司法人權」之名表演搶人，回國後便立即輕縱嫌犯，這種作法要說表現了什麼尊重正義、維護人權的精神，其實矛盾之至，也可笑之至！

今年以來，幾起國外詐騙集團案的遣送事件，除了馬來西亞案有部分嫌犯被遣回台，其餘在肯亞、柬埔寨、馬來西亞犯案的台嫌，皆因犯罪被害人為大陸民眾，遭中共警方帶往大陸受審。對此，不少台灣民眾甚至撫掌稱快，認為就是要借用對岸的嚴懲，才能消滅犯罪集團的氣焰。七月中，希臘警方一舉破獲了一二○人的台灣詐騙集團，事隔三周，仍未見下文。不難想像，對於不在眼皮底下的事，政府儼然就裝作看不見；或者要等到中共出手之際，我外交人員才現身搶人？

肯亞案搶人失利，除了再度訴諸兩岸外交對峙的悲情，我們其實應該有更務實的反省。蔡總統不願說出「九二共識」四字，容或有其自許的高尚動機；但這個高尚的動機，顯然已對於她執政下的政治、經濟、外交層面不斷造成衝擊，甚至到了以人民的尊嚴和信任為代價的地步。其間責任也許不能全部歸咎蔡總統，但蔡英文在追求台灣「國家尊嚴」的時候，如果沒有預留足夠的智慧和現實因應的能力，最後帶給人民的，恐怕將只是不斷撞牆的挫折。

在兩岸競合中，台灣的致勝之鑰在於保持「小而靈活」的自覺，致命之失則在傲慢而僵硬教條。蔡總統在就職演說中說，人民期待的只有「解決問題」四個字；但政府現在的態度，卻與此背道而馳。