November 18, 2008
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi
Abstract:
If current developments are any indicator, the long road to economic integration on either side of the Taiwan Straits has commenced. In a first of its kind, a sixty member delegation led by Chen Yunlin, Chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) visited Taiwan from November 3-7, 2008 to hold talks with his counterpart Chiang Pin-kung, Chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). ARATS and SEF are two non-governmental organisations authorised by China and Taiwan in the early 1990s to examine the entire gamut of cross-Strait relations. ARATS takes its brief from the Taiwan Office of the State Council in Beijing, while the SEF is guided by the Mainland Affairs Council, a cabinet level agency that deliberates policies towards the mainland in Taipei. Before his current designation as Chairman of ARATS, Chen Yunlin was heading the powerful Taiwan Office at the State Council.
Four agreements were signed during the course of the contentious visit – on direct flights, direct sea transport, the postal services and food safety. With June 22, 2009 set as a date for starting direct passenger flights between the two sides, the air transport agreement, while falling short of an ‘open skies policy’, increases the number of chartered direct flights from 38 to 108 each week. Hong Kong and Macau will continue as transit points for passenger flights. By this agreement Taiwan hopes to attract tourists from the mainland on a regular basis. The agreement on food safety was necessitated by the ‘melamine incident’ in China that has led to a worldwide recall of dairy products and pet food produced on the mainland. The ‘melamine incident’ has made distributors and bakeries suffer huge losses in lost sales in Taiwan and there are proposals calling for the mainland to compensate for the losses incurred.
According to the China Post published from Taipei, the Chairman of the SEF, Chiang pin-Kung portrayed the agreements as “getting the distance between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait ever closer not only substantially but also in form.” ARATS and SEF also agreed to have a systematic dialogue process every six months. Three agreements – on direct flights to the mainland, direct sea transport and direct mail, are expected to go into effect within six weeks after they are ratified by the Legislative Yuan in Taipei....
November 10, 2008
Congressional Research Service
Abstract:
U.S.-Taiwan relations have undergone important changes, sparked in part by the
increasing complexity of Taiwan’s democratic political environment and the
continued insistence of Beijing that the separately ruled Taiwan is a part of the
People’s Republic of China (PRC). Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, elected on
March 22, 2008, in a surprisingly broad electoral victory, has moved quickly to repair
Taiwan’s relations with the PRC. Since President Ma assumed office on May 20,
2008, Taiwan-PRC talks have resumed for the first time since 1998. The first set of
talks resulted in establishment of regular direct weekend charter flights. Taiwan also
has made other concessions, such as lifting long-standing caps on Taiwan investment
in the PRC and giving a lower profile to Taiwan’s bids for participation in U.N.
specialized agencies. Opponents of the government’s plans have said that President
Ma’s moves to improve cross-strait relations have been too rapid, too unilateral, and
have compromised Taiwan’s sovereignty and placed its economic security in
jeopardy.
President Ma also has sought to address any annoyances in Taiwan-U.S.
relations arising from the former Chen Administration. Throughout his tenure from
2000-2008, President Chen Shui-bian, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP), pursued the position that Taiwan already “is an independent, sovereign
country.” This position was highly objectionable to Beijing and problematic for many
aspects of U.S. policy, which is based on vague “one-China” policy formulations.
Term-limited, Chen was required to step down in May 2008. Since then he has been
fighting a growing financial scandal that erupted during his presidency involving
allegations of money-laundering and corruption by his administration and members
of his family.
In addition to its U.N. bid, the Taiwan government also is seeking to raise its
international profile in other ways involving the United States. Taiwan is seeking to
be removed from the U.S. Special 301 “Watch List” (its inclusion connotes problems
with intellectual property rights, or IPR) by making significant IPR improvements.
It also is seeking to qualify for the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which
eliminates some visa requirements for qualified countries. The Taiwan government
also continues to place a high priority on obtaining a U.S.-Taiwan Free Trade
Agreement (FTA); U.S.-Taiwan trade discussions to date have been held under a
1994 Trade and Investment Framework (TIFA)....
September 22, 2008
Center for Strategic and International Studies // International Security Program
Abstract:
The 2008 Taiwan presidential election has brought with it the hope of a new era in cross-strait relations. The 2000 election and especially the 2004 reelection of Chen Shui-bian as Taiwan's president dramatically changed the cross-strait geopolitical landscape and put cross-strait dialogue, particularly on confidence-building measures (CBMs) on the back burner. With the change in government in Taipei in 2008, the opportunity for a new era in cross-strait relations once again presents itself. The now-ruling Kuomingtang (KMT) party has attached a high priority to improving cross-strait relations under President Ma Ying-jeou's "three nos" policy of "no independence, no unification, and no use of force." The tacit acceptance by both sides of the "1992 consensus," under which both sides essentially agreed to a "one-China, different interpretations" policy, provides a new opportunity in cross-strait relations if Taiwan and China show the political wisdom, courage, and maturity to step across this threshold together. It was in anticipation of this prospective new era that China specialist Bonnie Glaser from the Center for Strategic and International Studies led a team of experts in April 2008 to both Taipei and Beijing to examine the prospects for cross-strait CBMs. Glaser and trip rapporteur Brad Glosserman from Pacific Forum CSIS have prepared this highly useful report summarizing key observations and insights obtained during the team's visit as they captured the changing atmosphere....
September 16, 2008
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The West's tepid response to Russia's recent invasion of Georgia sends a dangerous message to Asian democracies who have long depended upon support from the United States to protect them from regional menaces. Lack of pronounced U.S. support for its Georgian ally may lead China and other autocratic powers in Asia to infer that the American defense of global liberalization is mere rhetoric. When autocracy sneezes, Asia catches cold. Russia's naked power grab in the Caucasus will have global repercussions, nowhere more so than in Asia. While Europe now contemplates a return to long-term tension on Russia's southwestern borders, Moscow's act of war will have lasting effects far from the Black Sea, namely the threat to democratic trends in Asia, and the bolstering of China's global position.
The struggle for freedom in Asia has changed millions of lives, and yet is an unfinished battle. Asia's young democracies, from Mongolia to Taiwan, are no doubt chilled by Georgia's plight. The naked use of force against a sovereign, democratic state by a gargantuan rival sends a message hard to miss. Whatever the pretext, be it natural resources, separatist movements, or old territorial disputes, the reassertion of might over right threatens the political gains of the past decades that have helped Asia become the most vibrant region on earth. Anti-liberal forces at home in these smaller nations will take comfort from the reversion to a machtpolitik world, while other national elites may well be willing to compromise their freedoms to maintain their economic privileges....
September 12, 2008
WorldPublicOpinion.org
Abstract:
A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 17 nations finds that majorities in only nine of them believe that al Qaeda was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. In no country does a majority agree on another possible perpetrator, but in most countries significant minorities cite the US government itself and, in a few countries, Israel. These responses were given spontaneously to an open-ended question that did not offer response options. On average, 46 percent say that al Qaeda was behind the attacks while 15 percent say the US government, seven percent Israel, and seven percent some other perpetrator. One in four say they do not know. WPO_911_Sep08_graph.jpgGiven the extraordinary impact the 9/11 attacks have had on world affairs, it is remarkable that seven years later there is no international consensus about who was behind them," comments Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org....
Northeast Asia 
