Apr 27, 2010

Taipei’s Sovereignty at Great Risk - More Than Ever Before.


Sample Image Ex Defence Minister of the Republic of China warns that Taiwan is at risk of assimilation unless the world are prepared to better understand and protect Taiwan's identity and history.

 

 

 Below is an article published by The Examiner:

 Michael Tsai, former Republic of China in-exile Defense Minister, warns that Taiwan is a great risk of assimilation by the People's Republic of China under the administration of Ma Ying-jeou.  Tsai feels that the danger to Taiwan is greater now than even during the Cold War days following World War II.

Tsai, a respected scholar and founder of Taiwan Defense Affairs and the Institute for Taiwan Defense and Strategic Studies, has incurred the wrath of Ma Ying-jeou and is currently under investigation for allegedly sharing classified information with the former director of Taiwan's Security Council.

Tsai granted Examiner an exclusive interview in Taipei where he warned that Taiwan is in peril from China under Ma Ying-jeou.

'We appreciate you coming to Taiwan to find your way to understand what is going on here and as a citizen of Taiwan very much appreciate that.'

'We don’t believe the past events are understood and we have questions that are part of the education process, maybe you can bring these questions back to the United States and educate more and more people in the perspective what would be best in America’s interest to protect Taiwan. Maybe you can restore some kind of debate in the U.S. Congress.'

"To me the human rights issues, my personal perspective, are long past. I was overseas for study when Taiwan was under martial law. Taiwan was under martial law for 36 years. Because of that situation and the present environment that overcame our hometown therefore I continued to stay overseas until 1993 so the human rights issues to me are long past. The issue at this moment is our sovereignty problem, Taiwan’ssovereignty."

"Let me explain to you, it sounds like a joke but it actually happened. People in the United States ask their friends where are you from? We would say Taiwan and they would say, “Oh, Thailand.” They think Taiwan is Thailand, what can we do?"

"The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China, were in the old days of U.S. government in the 1960’s referred to as Red China and Taiwan as Free China. But we were neither free nor China."

"With the incumbent administration under Ma, it seems to me we are losing, step-by-step in a real fast pace. The sovereignty problem is done. If the ECFA is successfully signed in the next couple of months and if Mr. Ma is reelected for the second term maybe we will lose everything. We are losing our text so to speak."

"So at this point the question to you is what specifically is the United States interest in terms of Taiwan? Keeping Taiwan in the democratic camp or sending Taiwan into Communist control?"

"In the early 1950’s and 1960’s there were the two camps. The United States was the champion of democracy in the whole world. Imagine a democratic country falling into the hands of a Communist-controlled government. Is that a shame for the United States government?"

"Before I was able to return, I used to contact AIT chairman in Washington. One of them, Richard Bush, told me that once Taiwan becomes a democracy everything will be fine, everything will be alright. But now we are enjoying a vibrant democracy here but unfortunately in 2008 the people made the wrong choice, they choose Mr. Ma."

"Taiwan is in such a unique position. In other countries like Japan or the United States you have the competition between two political parties. Either way there could be some foreign policy change or domestic policy change, but you would never expect your country is going to wipeout, you would lose your country. But here one party from China--if we missed the election by choosing the wrong party, then there is the possibility of losing our country. Who can help us?"

"So maybe we have to go back to the origin of the problem. After the second World War General Douglas MacArthur, if my memory serves me correctly, was the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army and was tasked by the United States government to take care of the situation here in Taiwan. Within in a short time Taiwan became Chinese."

"I was born to a Japanese government. Taiwan was controlled by Japan for 50 years. At the time I was born I was a Japanese. After the end of the second World War suddenly I became Chinese without my own consent. I went to study in the United States and became an American. When I came back I had to renounce my citizenship because I was elected to become a member of the congress here. So from Japanese I become Chinese, then becoming American, coming back I renounced my American citizenship and yet I am 100% Taiwanese."