Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Weekly Report from Taiwan Security Research (Feb. 27, 2011)

For full text, click on the title or visit the TSR web page at taiwansecurity.org

China Reacts to Call for 'Jasmine Revolution'

Chinese Government Responds to Call for Protests By Andrew Jacobs (New York Times, Feb. 21, 2011) Skittish domestic security officials responded with a mass show of force across China on Sunday after anonymous calls for protesters to stage a Chinese “Jasmine Revolution” went out over social media and microblogging outlets.
Ma Hopes China Speeds Up Reforms
(China Post, Feb. 22, 2011) President Ma Ying-jeou expressed the hope that the Chinese mainland will maintain prosperity and development but at the same time accelerate the pace to firmly push forward political reforms for democracy, the rule of law, and safeguard human rights.
Call for a ‘Jasmine Revolution’ in China Persist
(New York Times, Feb. 24, 2011) A small but stubborn protest movement is continuing calls for demonstrations despite a campaign of arrests and censorship that underscores China’s concern over unrest and revolts in authoritarian countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Nervous about Unrest, Chinese Authority Block Web Site, Search Terms By Keith B. Richburg (Washington Post, Feb. 25, 2011) Chinese authorities continued to tighten controls on Internet use Friday in the face of murky calls for "jasmine rallies" to emulate the anti-government protests convulsing the Middle East and North Africa.
Smelling Salts for China’s Jasmine Dream By Peter Lee(Asia Times, Feb. 26, 2011) As the elites and pro-democracy camp pursue divergent fantasies, the people-powered dream could end up being much like post-communist Russia; a messy militocracy.
China’s Wen Vows to Contain Food, Home Prices Amid ‘Jasmine’ Protest Calls (Bloomberg, Feb. 26, 2011) Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to curb inflation and punish abuse of power in an online forum with citizens as the government tries to head off dissent amid a renewed call for nationwide “jasmine revolution” protests.
Organizers Call for 2nd Round of Demonstrations Across China(CNN, Feb. 27, 2011) Nearly a week after calls for widespread pro-democracy protests fell flat in China, organizers are making another attempt at rallying support for the so-called "jasmine" demonstrations Sunday.

Taiwan-Philippines Diplomatic Row

Apology from Manila Over Row a Must: Wu
(CNA, Feb. 21, 2011) Offering an apology is the least the Philippine government should do to resolve a diplomatic row with Taiwan, said Premier Wu Den-yih.
No Apology from Philippine Envoy
(Taipei Times, Feb. 22, 2011) A special envoy from the Philippines yesterday met Foreign Minister Timothy Yang, but did not offer an apology for the recent diplomatic fracas.
Philippines Has Failed to End Taiwan Row: President Aquino
(AFP, Feb. 24, 2011) Philippine President Benigno Aquino said the Philippines had failed to resolve a row with Taiwan over deportations, as Taipei threatened to stop hiring Filipino workers.
Taiwan Softens Its Stance in Row with Philippines
(Taipei Times, Feb. 25, 2011) Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang said that there was no need for Taipei to demand that the Philippines apologizes for deporting 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China.
Filipino Workers Could Lose NT$10 Billion a Year If Taiwan Implements Working Visa Freeze (China Post, Feb. 26, 2011) The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) may soon implement a freeze on Filipino workers if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) approves the policy.

Cross-Strait Issues

China Delegation Arrives for Cooperation Meeting
(CNA, Feb. 22, 2011) delegation arrived in Taiwan Monday in preparation for the first meeting of the cross-Taiwan Strait Economic Cooperation Committee (ECC).
ECC Committee Begins First Trade Meeting
(CNA, Feb. 23, 2011) The first meeting of the cross-Taiwan Strait Economic Cooperation Committee (ECC), the group that will steer the future course of a landmark Taiwan-China trade pact, opened in northern Taiwan's Taoyuan County.
Tsai Tackles Cross-Strait Relations
(Taipei Times, Feb. 24, 2011) Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen announced a revised approach to the party’s China policies that will highlight differences between the two countries even as the party pursues peace across the Taiwan Strait.
China’s Top Negotiator Tours Kaohsiung Harbor Amid Protests
(CNA, Feb. 25, 2011) Chen Yunlin, China's top negotiator with Taiwan, took a harbor cruise in the southern Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung.
Chen Discusses Yunlin Agricultural Purchases(Taipei Times, Feb. 27, 2011) Yunlin will top China’s list when it comes to purchasing agricultural products from Taiwan, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin said.

U.S.-China Engagement

Cables Show China Used Debt Holdings to Press US
(AFP, Feb. 22, 2011) Leaked diplomatic cables vividly show China's willingness to translate its massive holdings of US debt into political influence on issues ranging from Taiwan's sovereignty to Washington's financial policy.
Help China to Help China By Luxi Zhou and Fan Lin(PacNet #13, Pacific Forum, CSIS, Feb. 22, 2011) One key to the long-term success of the relationship is an objective US understanding of what China wants in the partnership. The answer is that word: “PARTNERSHIP.”

Taiwan's Domestic Issues

Survey on the Approval Rating of President Ma Ying-jeou and the Cabinet (GVSRC, Feb. 21, 2011) 38 Percent of the respondents were content with President Ma’s performance, while 37.6 percent were satisfied with Premier Wu’s.
DPP Heavyweights Hint at Presidential Election Bid
(Taipei Times, Feb 21, 2011) Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians continued to hint at a possible presidential run over the weekend, with only two months left before party primaries.
Annette Lu Planning Presidential Bid
(Taipei Times, Feb. 26, 2011) Former vice president Annette Lu made it clear that she will run for president next year, a decision she said she would formally announce on Monday at a public rally in Taipei.

China's Rise and Domestic Issues

When Millennia-Old Mummies Threaten National Identity By James Cuno (YaleGlobal, Feb. 23, 2011) Chinese authorities have faced an intermittent separatist movement of nationalist Uighurs, and Uighur nationalists have used evidence from the mummies – whose corpses span thousands of years – to support historical claims to the region.

Regional Issues

Could ASEAN Drift Apart? By Geoff Wade(YaleGlobal, Feb. 25, 2011) China’s infrastructure assistance helps economic growth, but the weighting toward the organization’s mainland members contributes to tensions that could weaken ASEAN's own collaboration.

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