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Weekly Report from Taiwan Security Research (Feb. 8, 2009)
For full text, click on the title or visit the TSR web page at taiwansecurity.org
Cross-Strait Issues
Taiwan to Speed Up Talks with
China on Trade Deal
(Reuters,
Feb. 2, 2009) Taiwan plans to speed up talks with
diplomatic rival China this year on a wide-reaching
trade deal amid a worsening global economic crisis,
the Commercial Times said.
Hu’s Plan Will Guide Ties with
Taiwan: MAC
(CNA,
Feb. 2, 2009) The six-point overture on the
peaceful development of cross-strait ties that
Chinese President Hu Jintao spelled out recently can
be seen as a framework for China's policy toward
Taiwan in the year to come, an official said.
MAC Rejects Criticism of Ma’s
Cross-Strait Policies
(Taipei
Times, Feb. 3, 2009) The Mainland Affairs Council
dismissed criticism of President Ma Ying-jeou’s cross-strait policies,
saying the administration was firmly upholding
national sovereignty and the public’s right to
decide the nation’s future.
Closer China Ties Fortify
Sovereignty: Ma
(CNA,
Feb. 4, 2009) President Ma Ying-jeou
said that the normalization of bilateral relations
between Taiwan and China has contributed to the
consolidation of Taiwan's sovereignty and enabled the
country to make significant gains in foreign
relations and national defense.
Pres. Office Denies That First
Lady Will Visit China
(China Post, Feb. 5, 2009) The
Presidential Office denied that first lady
Christine Chow had any plan to visit China.
Taiwan to Launch Regular
Flights with China
(DPA,
Feb. 7, 2009) Taiwan plans to launch regular
flights with China in the first half of 2009, an
official said.
U.S. Policy and U.S.-China Engagement
Clinton
May Visit PRC, Discuss Taiwan
(Taipei Times, Feb. 2, 2009) US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to visit Japan and China on her first foreign trip in her new position,
with a senior congressional source saying Clinton
would be certain to discuss Taiwan with the Chinese leadership.
Clinton Packs
Full Asia Agenda for First Trip as Secretary of State By Glenn Kessler (Washington Post, Feb. 6, 2009) Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton will travel to Asia on her first voyage as chief diplomat, in
order to place a renewed focus on an area with half the world's
population and gross domestic product.
Obama to
Test US-China Ties
(AFP, Feb. 2, 2009) The United States
and China are set for new tensions under Barack
Obama amid extra pressure caused by the
economic crisis, but will likely work together to iron out their
differences, analysts say.
China
Policy Change? By Dan Blumenthal
(Washington Times, Feb. 3, 2009) As our first president who
came of age after the Cold War, Mr. Obama has
an opportunity to dispose of the Cold War baggage that still guides our
China policy.
Experts
in U.S. and China See a Chance for Cooperation Against Climate Change By Edward Wong and Andrew C. Revkin (New York Times, Feb. 5, 2009) An increasing
number of officials and scholars from both countries say climate
change is likely to become another focal point in the
dialogue between China and the United States.
PLA and Military Balance
China
Increases Submarine Patrols—Report
(AFP, Feb. 3, 2009) China nearly
doubled the number of patrols by its fleet of attack submarines last
year, surpassing Russia but still far behind the United States, the
Federation of American Scientists reported.
China
Spreads Its Peacekeepers By Bates Gill and Chin-Hao Huang
(Asia Times, Feb. 4, 2009) The
Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has increased its participation
in a broadening array of multilateral security arrangements in recent
years.
China’s
2008 Defense White Paper: The View from Taiwan By Cheng-yi
Lin (China Brief, Jamestown Foundation, Feb. 5, 2009) The White Paper
explicitly said that China’s military capabilities will continue to
grow even as the Taiwan issue thaws, verifying that a Chinese national
security strategy looking beyond Taiwan is taking shape.
Backgrounder:
China’s Military Power By Jayshree Bajoria
(New York Times, Feb. 5, 2009)
Looking decades ahead, U.S. military planners clearly see the potential
for China to develop as a "peer competitor."
Taiwan's Domestic Issues and Foreign Relations
Chen’s
Former Aide Admits to Forgery
(Taipei Times, Feb. 5, 2009) A former
aide of detained former president Chen Shui-bian
pleaded guilty in court to some of the charges against her in cases of
alleged corruption and money laundering involving the former first
family.
DPP to
Take Dual-Track Development Strategy: Chair
(China Post, Feb. 8, 2009) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen of the opposition Democratic Progressive
Party said that a consensus has emerged within party members that the
DPP will take a dual-track strategy toward its future development,
namely social movement and parliament orientation.
MOFA
Reaffirms Sovereignty Over Spratlys
(CNA, Feb. 5, 2009) The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs issued a statement reiterating the Republic of China's
historical claim to islands and reefs in the South China Sea, including the Spratlys.
Ma to
Place New Emphasis on ‘Flexible Diplomacy’
(China Post, Feb. 6, 2009) President
Ma Ying-jeou yesterday announced a shifting
of emphasis from “high politics” to “low politics” as part of a new
direction for his administration's “flexible diplomacy.”
MOFA Says
It Has ‘No Concrete Plans’ for WHA
(Taipei Times, Feb. 6, 2009) With less than four months to
go before the World Health Assembly convenes, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has not decided how to promote the nation’s bid for observer
status, a ministry official said.
Taiwan
Calls for EU Support for WHO Status
(CNA, Feb. 8, 2009) Taiwan's representative to the European Union and Belgium called on the group to support Taiwan's bid to take part in the World Health
Organization and allow the country to contribute its part to the
international community.
China's Rise and Domestic Issues
Chinese
TV Airs Protester Throwing Shoe at Premier
(Washington Post, Feb. 4, 2009)
Chinese state broadcaster aired the full news footage of a protester
throwing a shoe at Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a speech in Britain,
an unusual step given the state-controlled media's routine censorship
of incidents embarrassing to China.
China’s
Official Data Mask Severity of Slump
(AP, Feb. 6, 2009) The government
says the economy grew by 6.8 percent in the final quarter of 2008,
but that is based on an outdated system that measures growth against
the same period a year earlier.
Regional Issues
India
Denies Chinese Sub Reports
(BBC, Feb. 5, 2009) Indian naval
officials have denied media reports that Chinese warships forced an
Indian submarine to surface in a stand-off in waters off Somalia.
Is
Protectionism Unavoidable? By Jeffery E. Garten
(YaleGlobal,
Feb. 6, 2009) The US failing to pass a $900 billion stimulus
package could be more problematic than approving a package with
some “buy American” provisions. Likewise, encouraging China to relax its currency rates is not worth the
risk of social unrest.
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