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3 Hong Kong, Taiwan wilt in the
Dragon's glare By Chietigj
Bajpaee
membership rather than
observer status at the WHO has drawn frustration
from the US and Japan, which have traditionally
supported Taiwan's bid for an observer seat at the
health body.
Redefining
identity In the process of being
marginalized on the world stage, both Hong Kong
and Taiwan have begun to question their identity.
Both have continued to grapple with the dilemma of
balancing their international identity with the
need to integrate with mainland
China economically. In an
attempt to remain relevant, both Taiwan and Hong
Kong have been reduced to making largely symbolic
gestures.
In Hong Kong, a string of
marketing slogans have been developed to describe
its place in the world - the "Heart of Asia", the
"City of Life" and "Asia's World City". This has
been complemented by a number of infrastructure
projects to construct a Hong Kong identity, such
as developing the city into a hub for herbal
medicine, information technology (IT), film,
entertainment and culture, as demonstrated by the
now-infamous proposed West Kowloon Cultural
District, Cyberport, and Hong Kong Disneyland.
In Taiwan, the inability to gain
membership to international organizations has
reduced the pan-Green coalition (the DPP and its
political allies) to symbolic acts that project
Taiwan's independence from the mainland, such as
opposing China's route for the Olympic torch, and
changing the names of monuments, airports and
companies. [2]
President Chen also plans
to hold a referendum on the island's UN membership
under the name "Taiwan" in tandem with the
presidential election next March even though the
UN has just rejected Taiwan's application for
membership under that name after 14 previous
rejections under the name of "Republic of China".
Rather than shunning or fearing the mainland
and pursuing superficial gestures that attempt to
demonstrate their autonomy (or independence in the
case of Taiwan) from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
should embrace their unique identities in the
region while integrating with the mainland
economically.
The facts that the central
government has used Hong Kong as a model for
Taiwan's reunification and that Taiwan uses the
SAR as a bridge for investment and trade with the
mainland give Hong Kong a vested interest in
cultivating cross-strait relations.
Hong
Kong has been used as a platform for discussion
between the central government and Taiwanese
authorities in the past, most notably in the
meeting between the mainland-based Association for
Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and the
Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation, which
led to the so-called "1992 Consensus" and two
subsequent rounds of the talks.
Ironically, an improvement in cross-strait
relations might weaken Hong Kong's regional
importance, as direct trade, transport and
people-to-people contacts between Taiwan and the
mainland would erode Hong Kong's status as a
go-between.
Taking advantage of its
strengths as a multicultural, cosmopolitan city
with an open society under the "one country, two
systems" framework, Hong Kong could also
facilitate discussion between the central
government and countries that have contentious
relations with China. For example, given the
well-established population of Indians, Japanese
and Catholics in Hong Kong, the SAR is well placed
to act as a platform for discussion and
confidence-building between Beijing and New Delhi,
Tokyo and the Vatican.
Hong Kong's muted
response to the violent anti-Japanese protests on
the mainland in 2004 demonstrates how Hong Kong is
more accustomed to dealing with diversity. China's
and India's hardware-software partnership can be
complemented by Hong Kong's financial and legal
infrastructure in ensuring intellectual-property
protection.
Given that Hong Kong is a
former British colony, with many government
officials such as Chief Executive Donald Tsang
having trained under the British administrative
service, the SAR would also be well positioned to
address Sino-British, Sino-Commonwealth, and
Sino-European Union relations.
Furthermore, it is in Hong Kong's best
interests to play a more proactive role in
resolving disputes between China and the
international community, given that the SAR is
often dragged into these conflicts. A
deterioration in China's relations with Taiwan,
Japan or the United States would have an adverse
affect on Hong Kong given the level of investment
and trade between Hong Kong and these entities.
Recent frictions that have spilled over into Hong
Kong include the textile-quota dispute with the
United States and the European Union and US
pressure on China to revalue its currency.
Similarly, the rise in Sino-US tensions
after the collision of Chinese and US military
aircraft near Hainan in April 2001 resulted in US
military vessels being banned from calling at
ports in Hong Kong for a number of months. A
planned visit by the pope to Hong Kong in 1998 was
also canceled as a result of strained Sino-Vatican
relations. In the case of Sino-Vatican relations,
Hong Kong's role has often served to fuel
hostilities between the two sides given Cardinal
Joseph Zen's contentious relationship with
Beijing.
Hong Kong could also play a more
significant role in providing humanitarian aid for
regional and international crises given its high
per capita income. The Hong Kong government was
the subject of criticism after the tsunami that
hit Indonesia and other parts of
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