Taiwanese-Americans Voice Strong Opposition To “One Country, Two Areas”
As an organization of Taiwanese-Americans we express our strong opposition to a statement by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung, who suggested in a meeting with PRC president Hu Jin-tao on March 22nd 2012 that relations between Taiwan and the PRC would be dealt with under the “one country, two areas” heading. It was later confirmed that this proposal was authorized by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou.
The concept of “one country, two areas” puts Taiwan on a slippery slope towards the “one country, two systems” concept of the PRC. This severely undermines Taiwan’s sovereignty and freedom to choose its own future. We, together with our friends and relatives in Taiwan, have worked hard for a free and democratic Taiwan, and do not want to see those achievements swept away by an authoritarian China.
“One country, two areas” also stands in stark contrast with reality: to the international community, “China” is synonymous with the People’s Republic of China. If the Ma government now agrees that Taiwan is an area under “one country” then it is implicitly saying that Taiwan is part of the PRC.
We firmly believe that Taiwan is a free and democratic country unto itself – an independent and autonomous nation with its own democratically elected government. Wu’s actions in Beijing dangerously undermine Taiwan’s already-shrinking international space.
The subsequent defense by the Ma government that “one country, two areas” is consistent with the “ROC constitution” is simply outlandish. Under that formulation the People’s Republic of China is considered an “area” of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s anachronistic “Republic of China.” No one believes that, least of all the government in Beijing.
The Ma government’s new formulation is also inconsistent with the views held by the vast majority of Taiwanese: A poll in early April 2012 by TVBS in Taiwan showed that only 19% of those polled agree with the “one country two areas” concept. Scholars and policy makers have long emphasized that the “one country, two systems” formula that is applied to Hong Kong is a complete non-starter when it comes to Taiwan.
As citizens who deeply value democracy, we also believe that the way the idea was raised was a basic violation of democratic principles. This occurred in a party-to-party forum between the CCP-KMT, two parties that are known for their disregard of democracy. Such a mechanism lacks any transparency, accountability or legislative oversight, and is thus contrary to the basic values for which we stand.
The future of Taiwan should be determined by the Taiwanese people themselves through democratic mechanisms, and not negotiated away over their heads in shady backroom deals.
Mark Kao PhD
President, Formosan Association for Public Affairs
台美人強烈反對「一國兩區」論述
前任國民黨主席吳伯雄於2012年3月22日與中華人民共和國國家主席胡錦濤會晤時，提出台灣與中國往來將根據「一國兩區」的前提處理。身為台美人組織，我們對此一說法表達強烈的抗議。吳伯雄的提議稍後經確認，是由台灣總統馬英九所授權。
一國兩區的概念使台灣逐步落入中國「一國兩制」的概念之中。這嚴重地損害台灣選擇其未來的主權與自由。長久以來，我們以及在台灣的親友們努力打拼，追求一個民主自由的台灣，我們不願看到努力的成果被獨裁的中國一掃而光。
「一國兩區」同時也背離現實: 對於國際社會來說，中國等同於中華人民共和國。如果馬政府現在承認台灣是「一國」之下的一個區域，就等於暗喻台灣是中華人民共和國的一部分。
我們堅信台灣毫無疑義的是一個民主自由及擁有民選政府的獨立自治國家。我們相信吳伯雄在北京的言行對台灣已日漸萎縮的國際空間將造成危險的傷害。
對於吳的說法，馬政府辯稱，「一國兩區」與中華民國憲法相符，此說更是離譜。根據此一論述，中華人民共和國即是中國國民黨時空錯亂的「中華民國」之下的一個 「區域」。除了馬總統之外沒人相信這樣的說法，北京就更不用說了。
馬政府的新論述也不符合台灣的多數民意: TVBS在2012年4月初所作的民調顯示，僅有19%的受訪者同意「一國兩區」的概念。而學者及立法委員長久以來皆強調在香港實施的「一國兩制」，對台灣來說完全不適用。
身為重視民主的公民，我們也認為提出該論述的方式，基本上違背了民主的原則。此一論述在中國共產黨及國民黨的黨對黨對話中被提出，而這兩個黨一向以對民主的漠視聞名於世。這樣的機制欠缺了透明性、可靠性或是國會的監督，也因此違反了我們相信的基本原則。
台灣的未來應由台灣人民以民主機制來決定，而不是經由居上位者以密室協商的方式決定。
FAPA會長
高龍榮