Taiwan Leader Stresses Support for Hong Kong Protests
By
KEITH BRADSHER and AUSTIN RAMZYOCT. 31, 2014
Photo
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President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan at the presidential palace in Taipei on Friday. Credit Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times
TAIPEI, Taiwan — President Ma Ying-jeou of
Taiwan risked antagonizing Beijing on Friday by voicing support for protesters in
Hong Kong and for greater democracy in mainland
China even as he sought further free-trade agreements with the mainland.
“If mainland
China can practice democracy in
Hong Kong, or if mainland China itself can become more democratic, then we can shorten the psychological distance between people from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Mr. Ma said in an interview at the presidential palace here.
The president’s public pronouncements on the Hong Kong protests — he also expressed support for them in a televised speech on
Taiwan’s National Day, Oct. 10 — show a greater willingness lately to speak out on a delicate issue for the Chinese leadership. But Mr. Ma was quick to point out that he had issued an annual statement to mourn the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, and that China had not made those statements an obstacle to improving relations.
“I think our support of Hong Kong’s democracy will not be at the expense of cross-strait relations,” he said.
Mr. Ma drew a distinction between his support for the protests in Hong Kong and his condemnation of student protests in Taipei last spring that indefinitely delayed one of his free-trade agreements with the mainland.
He suggested that the protests in Taiwan, involving the temporary seizing of the legislature and the main government office building, had been more violent than the demonstrations in Hong Kong, where the authorities contend that protesters had kicked police officers and poked them with umbrellas.“There is absolutely no contradiction, as I support democracy but oppose violence,” Mr. Ma said.
Mr. Ma repeatedly signaled the delicate balancing act he must strike as the leader of a longtime American ally that has more trade with mainland China than anywhere else, and which has long been viewed by Beijing as a province that must be eventually brought under its control.
In recent weeks, China’s president, Xi Jinping, has taken a somewhat tougher stance toward Taiwan, suggesting it adopt a relationship to China similar to Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” model. Mr. Ma on Friday roundly rejected that idea.
Mr. Ma expressed a desire for Taiwan to play a more visible role in preserving peace in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, even while chafing at the fact that the mainland authorities had not invited him to the coming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Beijing.
“The mainland side is a bit overly concerned, so it’s a pity that a meeting at APEC cannot take place,” he said.
Taiwan has diplomatic relations with only 22 countries — mostly small ones in the Caribbean, Central America, Africa and the Pacific, plus the Vatican. The lack of diplomatic relations has made it harder for Taiwan to negotiate trade pacts.
As Taiwan has pursued closer cross-strait ties under Mr. Ma, some in the United States and among Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party have questioned whether it is investing enough in its defense against the potential threat from China.
Hsiao Bi-khim, the opposition whip in Taiwan’s legislature, said Thursday that a new defense budget approved the day before called for such a slight increase next year that military spending as a share of Taiwan’s economic output would decline.
“When you look at their defensive expenditures over the last 20 years, I personally am not very impressed with the fact that they take the military threat from the mainland very seriously,” said Bernard D. Cole, a professor at the National War College in Washington.
Mr. Ma reiterated Taiwan’s recent desire to begin building new submarines to bolster its current fleet of four aging vessels, including one that is 70 years old. He said that Taiwan would like to acquire submarine technology from the United States, but it has not submitted a formal request.
The United States, which is obligated to help Taiwan procure weapons for its defense under the Taiwan Relations Act, agreed in 2001 to help the island acquire diesel-powered submarines. But the United States has long since stopped making such submarines, and Chinese pressure on other possible providers has forced Taiwan to consider building its own.
Asked which of two visions of free trade in Asia he preferred — the American-led Trans-Pacific Partnership or the Chinese-backed Free Trade Agreement of the Asia Pacific — Mr. Ma briefly switched from Chinese to English to say with emphasis, “Both, we want both.”
After switching back to Chinese, he went on to praise the value of the American plan and also the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a Southeast Asian plan, without saying anything further about the Chinese proposal.
Mr. Ma criticized the United States’ insistence that negotiations for a bilateral investment agreement not begin until Taiwan allows imports of American pork containing ractopamine, an additive that Taiwan, the European Union and mainland China ban. The additive, which helps produce leaner meat, is widely used by hog producers in the United States, a top pork exporter.
In a written reply to questions, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said only, “We continue to urge Taiwan to adopt international standards for use of ractopamine in pork, since the meat is safe for human consumption.”
Hong Kong activists mull taking protest to Beijing
- POSTED: 31 Oct 2014 12:32
- UPDATED: 31 Oct 2014 16:06
Protesters are apparently considering whether to attempt to crash the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing, where Chinese President Xi Jinping will host world leaders.
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People walk through the pro-democracy protester camp site in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong on Oct 29, 2014. (Photo: AFP/Nicolas Asfouri)
HONG KONG: Democracy protesters in Hong Kong are considering travelling to Beijing to directly petition Communist authorities as the Chinese capital hosts US President Barack Obama and other world leaders at an upcoming summit. The protesters have held continuous street rallies for a month, demanding free leadership elections for the semi-autonomous city in 2017.
Beijing has refused to back down on its insistence made on Aug 31 that candidates in the vote must be vetted by a loyalist committee, a decision critics said is designed to ensure the election of a pro-Beijing stooge.
Alex Chow, head of Hong Kong's main student union which has been at the vanguard of the protests, said demonstrators were considering upping the ante by attempting to travel to Beijing and press authorities for direct talks. "We should tell the world and the government that the decision made on Aug 31 must be rescinded," Chow told demonstrators at the main protest site late Thursday, urging them to think about "directly approaching Beijing".
Protesters are apparently considering whether to attempt to crash the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing on Nov 10 to 11, when Chinese President Xi Jinping will host leaders from the United States, Russia and Japan among others. But it is not clear whether student leaders, who have become well known through their speeches and media appearances, would be allowed to travel to the capital.
Hong Kong citizens may travel freely into China as long as they have travel permits issued by mainland authorities, but border officials can deny their entry - a tactic that has been used to keep critics of Beijing out in the past. "If we can't go through customs then Beijing is sending a message that they do not care about Hong Kongers' views about the NPC (National People's Congress) decision and the direction of constitutional development," Chow said.
Demonstrators remain encamped on three of Hong Kong's major thoroughfares, but are under pressure to keep up the momentum in their campaign. The crowds, which numbered in their tens of thousands at the beginning of the month, have sharply dwindled. Hong Kong's authorities appear to be pursuing a strategy of attempting to tire them out, rather than clearing them by force.
