|
Peaceful rising?
By Rep.
Trent Franks
WorldNetDaily.com
Saturday,
April 22, 2006
When Chairman
Hu Jintao visited Washington this week, I hope President Bush
used his East Texas charm for some straight talk on what
Congress and the American people think about China's quest for
global power, its poor human-rights record and ill-conceived
ambition to end democracy on Taiwan.
Trying to
intimidate the island democracy of Taiwan with its hundreds of
missiles undermines China's credibility as an emerging power
claiming as its slogan "peaceful rising." Certainly, China wants
and deserves respect, but the late Chairman Mao Tse-tung's maxim
that "power comes from the barrel of a gun" is obsolete in the
contemporary world of membership in the World Trade
Organization, the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and
the United Nations.
China cannot
host the 2008 Olympics and threaten war across the Taiwan Strait
at the same time. Using the threat of war to reclaim Taiwan as a
part of China may stir the sparks of nationalism among China's
younger generation, but President Hu should weigh the risks to
China's own stability. We in the Congress are very much aware of
China's pressing economic and social problems; bullying Taiwan
will only temporarily camouflage these internal problems from
the Chinese people, but it will not resolve them.
China can no
longer be allowed to play by its own rules. Beijing's continuing
persecution of Christians, Tibetans and other groups, such as
the Falun Gong, belies the true nature of the regime. Continued
foot-dragging on currency reforms and intellectual-piracy
enforcement bode ill for China with Congress. If Hu is to
benefit from his visit to America, he will recognize that
Americans believe in fair play and detest subterfuge.
China's
treatment of Taiwan falls into the category of deception when it
fails to even acknowledge the democratically elected president
of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian, and treats the defeated opposition
presidential candidate, former Kuomintang (KMT) Party Chairman
Lien Chan, as the legitimate leader of the island. This
interference by China in Taiwan's domestic political process is
dangerous because it polarizes Taiwan's politics and is pretext
to the emergence of the Democratic People's Party's own extreme
elements. China's aggressive Taiwan policy prevents a national
consensus from forming, in either country, and from developing
harmoniously. Subverting Taiwan's internal politics can hardly
be deemed a policy of "peaceful rising."
The current
Chinese leadership's strategy apparently is to negotiate
secretly with Lien Chan and the KMT in preparation for the 2008
presidential election. China timed Lien Chan's recent visit to
China just before Chairman Hu's visit to the United States in
order to further undermine President Chen.
It is in the
United States' national interest for Hu to follow a more
constructive policy toward Taiwan. The Chinese Communist regime
should talk directly with Chen and make real progress on
cross-strait coexistence and the so-called three links to
improve trade, personal travel and transportation. Such a
positive initiative would invite American goodwill and improve
China's image in Congress. But, instead, Beijing's military
build-up and political double-dealings with the KMT give little
hope that United States and Chinese interests share much overlap
on Taiwan.
Taiwan is a key
issue that could turn from a roadblock into an ambush, or even
open confrontation between the United States and China. The
stakes are high. However, the Chinese leadership must understand
that Americans are affronted by the Chinese government's
military bullying, unfair trade practices and abuses of human
rights. The Chinese people should be America's ally, but the
Chinese Communist Party and its Ministry of State Security are
corrupt and do not merit America's trust. Much more than the
politburo's hollow lip service to the rule of law and the
occasional token freeing of dissidents and journalists is
required. Americans have a deep reservoir of good will and
respect for the Chinese people and their economic and cultural
accomplishments, but Beijing cannot be the Asian bully and have
a full bilateral relationship of mutual respect with the United
States at the same time. I hope that Chairman Hu will come to
see this after his visit.
Pressing
Americans to abandon the democratically elected government of
Taiwan through subterfuge tactics will only backfire on Beijing.
The right to self-determination and respect for the dignity of
individual freedoms are the cornerstones of fair play. I hope
President Bush looked into Chairman Hu's eyes and made that
clear to him.
Trent Franks is the congressman from the 2nd District of
Arizona. He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the
House Armed Services Committee and vice chairman of the
Constitution Subcommittee.
|
