Singapore's r/s with China/Taiwan
Most of you from Singapore who have been reading the papers will prolly know more about the continued controversy over DPM Lee's visit to Taiwan. Let me add a little background to it courtesy of an article in the Far East Economic Review and conversations with my dad. Opinions are mine.
Thin History
Let's take it back a long time, when SEA was still struggling against communists elements. Singapore did not exchange ambassadors with China at that time because of its neighbours' fears that Singapore would become a "Third China". Apparently, Singapore was the last country in Asean to establish an embassy in China.
However, by that time, the SAF was already using training grounds in Taiwan. For the same reason as above, we did not move training to China. Anyway, an understanding was reached between Singapore and China at the exchange of Embassies sometime in the 1970's. Singapore would recognize that there is one China while China would not protest Singapore's political VIPs' visits to Taiwan so long as they were kept low profile and the visits were done in unofficial capacities. If it were today, China would certainly not have agreed to that term, but at that time, Taiwan's leaders were still mainland Chinese who had fled there and they believed just as strongly as China's leaders that there was only one China. Fast forward to today, and Lee Teng Hui and Chen Shui Bian were born in Taiwan and have no affinity to China.
The situation is thus very different. Especially since Chen Shui Bian has been very aggressive in pushing against China's limits. DPM Lee may well have been within Singapore's right to visit Taiwan but with China so riled with Chen Shui Bian, it hit a raw nerve. Sure, SM Lee has visited Taiwan after these two have come to power but his stature is a lot different. They all know him well.
Opinion
For Singapore to then say that we are a sovereign country and should not have our foreign policy dictated to us by others is, frankly, quite a weak argument (i'm very tempted to speak my mind in more descriptive words but heck). And worse still, provocative! China has is on the verge of being confronted by Taiwan with similar statements and here we are emboldening them. Besides, who are we? We are a little dot on the map where if you looked into any world Atlas, the dot for Singapore's capital city on the map hides the island.
We are so small, we can't afford to be principled. What we need to be is pragmatic, which has been what we have been all the time. We've been bowing to American wishes and policy for so long, why do we not follow the same thing with China? We are so dependent on foreign trade, we should never offend our biggest trading partners, especially one that holds so much potential to growth and which is so vital to our country's wellbeing.
However, as gloomy as it looks, i reckon a lot of it is rhetoric. China must know that Singapore's position on one China has not and will not change but can't let it slide so easily because then others might be inclined to visit Taiwan. I reckon we should be blaming the friggin Taiwanese leadership and media for making such a big deal out of it. The real challenge next time will be which side Singapore will take when the contest for the Pacific rim between China and the US is fully entered into. Talk about having a foot in each boat. Hope we don't end up being in neither boat and in the water instead.
Thin History
Let's take it back a long time, when SEA was still struggling against communists elements. Singapore did not exchange ambassadors with China at that time because of its neighbours' fears that Singapore would become a "Third China". Apparently, Singapore was the last country in Asean to establish an embassy in China.
However, by that time, the SAF was already using training grounds in Taiwan. For the same reason as above, we did not move training to China. Anyway, an understanding was reached between Singapore and China at the exchange of Embassies sometime in the 1970's. Singapore would recognize that there is one China while China would not protest Singapore's political VIPs' visits to Taiwan so long as they were kept low profile and the visits were done in unofficial capacities. If it were today, China would certainly not have agreed to that term, but at that time, Taiwan's leaders were still mainland Chinese who had fled there and they believed just as strongly as China's leaders that there was only one China. Fast forward to today, and Lee Teng Hui and Chen Shui Bian were born in Taiwan and have no affinity to China.
The situation is thus very different. Especially since Chen Shui Bian has been very aggressive in pushing against China's limits. DPM Lee may well have been within Singapore's right to visit Taiwan but with China so riled with Chen Shui Bian, it hit a raw nerve. Sure, SM Lee has visited Taiwan after these two have come to power but his stature is a lot different. They all know him well.
Opinion
For Singapore to then say that we are a sovereign country and should not have our foreign policy dictated to us by others is, frankly, quite a weak argument (i'm very tempted to speak my mind in more descriptive words but heck). And worse still, provocative! China has is on the verge of being confronted by Taiwan with similar statements and here we are emboldening them. Besides, who are we? We are a little dot on the map where if you looked into any world Atlas, the dot for Singapore's capital city on the map hides the island.
We are so small, we can't afford to be principled. What we need to be is pragmatic, which has been what we have been all the time. We've been bowing to American wishes and policy for so long, why do we not follow the same thing with China? We are so dependent on foreign trade, we should never offend our biggest trading partners, especially one that holds so much potential to growth and which is so vital to our country's wellbeing.
However, as gloomy as it looks, i reckon a lot of it is rhetoric. China must know that Singapore's position on one China has not and will not change but can't let it slide so easily because then others might be inclined to visit Taiwan. I reckon we should be blaming the friggin Taiwanese leadership and media for making such a big deal out of it. The real challenge next time will be which side Singapore will take when the contest for the Pacific rim between China and the US is fully entered into. Talk about having a foot in each boat. Hope we don't end up being in neither boat and in the water instead.
posted by cokecat at 7:17 am
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