Newspaper Article
The Bombs in Belgrade Echo Over the Taiwan Straits

Do not be misled! The Chinese government is not marshaling a campaign against NATO's attack on its Embassy in Belgrade. Beijing is engaged in a specially choreographed "spontaneous" demonstration as a prelude of things to come. President Jiang Tse-min is telegraphing a message to Washington D.C. That any attack on China, including the military support of Taiwan against Chinese military pressure, will result in massive uprisings against Americans residing on Chinese soil.

It is incredible to me that no one has pointed out Beijing's manipulation of its people for diplomatic purposes. For example, in 1992, the Emperor of Japan was planning to visit China. Emperor Akihito, son of the wartime Emperor Hirohito, was seeking to build up a better relationship to China. Prior to his arrival, the Chinese government announced a social worker from central China to draft up a petition of over a million people. They demanded an apology from Japan, reparations, and the return of a disputed island to the Chinese motherland. Curiously enough, the petition, which received great TV publicity, was signed by Chinese who had not suffered from or suffered very little from the Japanese invasion of China. During my interviews in the northeast of China, which was the seat of the Japanese colony of Manchuko and the territory where Japan experimented with biological and chemical warfare, the Chinese citizens expressed very little concern about the visit. They were not willing to hold Hirohito's son responsible for the war, and they doubted that any reparation money would be invested in their region. They actually wanted to improve trade relationships with Japan, and hoped that this campaign would not sully their chances for economic growth.

Lo and behold, after much coverage of this nationalistic and patriotic campaign, just a few days before the Emperor's visit, the petition's organizer was sent back to his home in Chungqing, in Central China. The government had achieved its objectives. It had shown Japan that it could rally over a million Chinese to express their anti-Japanese spirit. During the Emperor's visit, there were no demonstrations, no rallies, no negative press. This whole media affair was a warning to Japan.

The current calls for "blood for blood," and "down with American fascism" are not inspired and fueled solely by the war in Yugoslavia. A much more important issue is at stake-the return of Taiwan to China. In 1996, the People's Liberation Army moved over 150,000 troops to the coastline of the Taiwan Straits to launch a mock invasion of the island. Premier Li Peng declared that Taiwan is part of China, and that China's has the right to use force if necessary to recover the Island.

The struggle over Taiwan takes many forms. Recently the country of Macedonia terminated its diplomatic recognition of China in favor of recognizing Taiwan (the Republic of China). Beijing reacted by opposing the continuation of UN security personnel in Macedonia.

It is very clear to China that America's support of Kosovo against Belgrade is a precedent for supporting Taiwan against China. If NATO is willing to bomb Serbia to keep Kosovo autonomous or independent from Belgrade, then what would the United States and its Asian allies do to support the "renegade" province of Taiwan? The answer is clear.

Consequently, the demonstrations against the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade are really a campaign to show what would happen if America supported Taiwan.

Unfortunately, the administration has comforted China by pulling back support of Taiwan. President Clinton has denied Taiwan's request for essential military equipment, including radar tracking systems. New U.S. advisors and government leaders prefer to accommodate China because Beijing offers them many more opportunities for business growth and military cooperation than the small market of Taiwan. Some commentators have focused on the effect of the bombing on the issue of China's entrance into the World Trade Organization. Although this issue is very important to Beijing, it is small in comparison to the nationalistic issue of reclaiming Taiwan.

Currently, among academic advisors, there is a shift away from defending Taiwan's democratic and economic success. Professor Michael Oksenberg, a professor at Stanford University and former National Security Council member, argues that the U.S.-Taiwan relationship has not been "a reciprocal" one, because Taiwan has received "far more from the United states politically and strategically than it has contributed to American interests." [quoted in Living with China. WW. Norton, 1997, pp73-74.]

The Chinese have taken advantage of the bombing to suspend talks with Washington D.C. on human rights and on security issues. This show of anger is nothing more than a precursor of China's actions if and when we choose to support Taiwan against China's plans to retrieve its "renegade" province. Anyone who believes that China's economic progress is linked to either its democratic development or its commitment to a peaceful international order should look closely at the carefully choreographed violence and vulgar projections of nationalism in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Nanjing, Guangzhou, and on China's official media. China's arguments in the Security Council regarding the Serbia's national sovereignty and America's "fascist" attacks are really rehearsals for defending their claims to treat Taiwan any way they want.