Tsai selling same old vinegar as wine

Tsai Ing-wen took the opportunity of her speech marking the commencement of her second term in office as another opportunity to paint a false picture of Taiwan’s de facto independence.

In her speech on Wednesday, Tsai said her administration will not accept the use of “one country, two systems” to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-Straits status quo, and declared: “We stand fast by this principle”.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, quickly highlighted that Tsai’s principle was built on sand, saying that Beijing is “willing to create vast space for peaceful reunification”, but it will “definitely not leave any room for separatist activities aimed at ‘Taiwan independence’ in any form”.

A point reinforced by the Defense Ministry, which said in a statement that the People’s Liberation Army had “the will, the confidence and the capability” to defeat any “Taiwan independence” plot.

That reaffirmation of the country’s territorial integrity came after Washington highlighted its intent to keep Tsai on board as a pawn in its maximum-pressure stratagems against China, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sending a message to Tsai praising her for her “courage and vision in leading Taiwan’s vibrant democracy” — in disregard of Washington’s longstanding commitment to no direct official contacts and the fact that prior to the island’s election her administration introduced a law effectively banning anyone from promoting better cross-Straits ties.

The congratulatory letter Tsai received from the American Institute in Taiwan, a de facto arm of the US administration, has driven home how eager Washington is to assure its puppets on the island of its continued backing.

Although Tsai claimed that Taiwan will continue its fight to participate in international organizations, and bolster ties with countries, such as the United States, she cannot hide the embarrassing fact that the video displayed at the end of the ceremony conveying congratulations from countries that have “diplomatic relations” with the island has become much shorter. That during her first term the number of countries having “diplomatic ties” with the island dropped from 22 to 15 speaks volumes of how successful her administration has been in finding others willing to accompany her down the secessionist path.

Tsai has pointed to the rioting in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as proof that the “one country, two systems” framework Beijing has proposed for the island is not feasible.

However, she would do well to look beyond that superficial assessment. She should be aware that the consequences of playing Washington’s games and consider the damage done to the SAR economy by the disturbances, which have affected the livelihood of every resident. This is the result of the hidden hand of Washington stirring up trouble.