Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Sunday 19 August 2012


Weekly Report from Taiwan Security Research (Aug. 19, 2012)
For full text, click on the title or visit the TSR web page at taiwansecurity.org
Bo Xilai Scandal and China's Leadership Succession
The Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai Scandal Masks the Battle for China’s Future By Seumas Milne (Guardian, Aug. 14, 2012) In the next few weeks, China's highest level leaders will be chosen for the next decade. What course they take won't just be settled by what goes on behind closed doors but by what happens on the ground in a country where there are now 180,000 "collective protest incidents" a year.
China’s Top Future Leaders to Watch: Biographical Sketches of Possible Members of the Post-2012 Politburo (Part 3) By Cheng Li (China Leadership Monitor #39, Hoover Institution, Aug. 16, 2012) This series will provide concise and primarily fact-based biographies for 25 to 30 possible members of the next Politburo.
South China Sea Disputes
Sansha: New City in the South China Sea By June Teufel Dreyer(China Brief 12(16), Jamestown Foundation, Aug. 17, 2012) Given Beijing’s demonstrated determination to solidify its claims to the South China Sea and the weakness of its opposition, there can be little doubt that China will succeed in garrisoning the area. Its salami tactics have proved stunningly successful so far. Beijing has little reason to compromise, making future incidents probable.
U.S. "Pivot" and Sino-U.S. Engagement
How China Sees America By Andrew J. Nathan and Andrew Scobell(Foreign Affairs, Aug. 16, 2012) Most Americans would be surprised to learn the degree to which the Chinese believe the United States is a revisionist power that seeks to curtail China's political influence and harm China's interests.
A Space Pact with China Could be the New ‘SALT’ By Michael Krepon (Washington Post, Aug. 18, 2012) China’s SALT moment with the United States will focus on space, where the competition is heating up and the stakes are high. What happens in space will heavily influence whether relations between China and the United States become more dangerous or more cooperative.
Diaoyutai Disputes Resurface
Hong Kong Activists Approach Disputed Senkaku Isles
(Wall Street Journal, Aug. 14, 2012) Three groups from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China had initially planned to undertake the voyage together, but the Taiwanese and Chinese groups have apparently withdrawn, leaving the Hong Kong activists on their own.
Japan’s Regional Ties Tested on Disputed Isles By Alexander Martin and Toko Sekiguchi (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 15, 2012) Strains in Japan's relations with neighbors were on full display as it sought to commemorate the end of World War II: China said it would protest the detention of 14 Hong Kong activists who embarrassed Tokyo with a high-profile landing on a disputed island, and both Seoul and Beijing issued fresh criticism of its wartime past.
Taiwan Supplies Food to Tiaoyu-bound HK Boat
(CNA, Aug. 16, 2012) Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration provided food supplies to a Hong Kong vessel on its way to the disputed Tiaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, Premier Sean Chen said.
Government Rules Out Cross-Strait Tiaoyu Cooperation
(CNA, Aug. 16, 2012) MOFA flatly rejected a proposal by some activists that Taipei should cooperate with Beijing in asserting its sovereignty over the disputed Tiaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.
Taiwan Requests Japan to Free Detained HK Activists
(CNA, Aug. 17, 2012) Taiwan has asked Japan to release a group of Hong Kong activists recently detained for landing on the disputed Tiaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Japan Defuses One Island Dispute, Escalates Another By Toko Sekiguchi and Eleanor Warnock (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 17, 2012) Japan has sought to damp a territorial dispute with China, but is turning up the heat in a similar conflict with South Korea, asking for a ruling from the International Court of Justice and threatening to sever some financial ties put in place over the euro-zone crisis.
Japan Stole the Diaoyutais, MOFA Says
(Taipei Times, Aug. 19, 2012) The Diaoyutai Islands are a territory of the Republic of China “surreptitiously occupied” by Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
China Warns Japan Before Visit to Disputed Islands
(AFP, Aug. 19, 2012) China demanded that Japan cease actions “harming” its territorial sovereignty amid an escalating row over disputed islands as a Japanese group prepared to sail to the Diaoyutais.
German Scholar Says Ma’s East China Sea Initiative Has Potential
(CNA, Aug. 16, 2012) President Ma Ying-jeou's East China Sea Peace Initiative to help resolve the dispute over the Tiaoyu Islands could be acceptable to the parties involved but needs to be spelled out in more detail, Gunter Schubert, a German expert on Taiwan, said recently.
Ma’s Peace Plan Gets Positive Washington Response: Envoy
(CNA, Aug. 19, 2012) President Ma Ying-jeou's East China Sea Peace Initiative to help resolve the dispute over the Tiaoyu Islands has received a positive response from the U.S. authorities, Taiwan's representative to the United States said.
Taiwan Rebalances in the Near Sea By Russell Hsiao and Jyh-perng Wang (China Brief 12(16), Jamestown Foundation, Aug. 17, 2012) Ostensibly, Taipei is changing its Near Seas policy from a passive to a more active assertion of ROC (Taiwan) sovereignty vis-à-vis the PRC over the disputed islets.
DPP Searches for New China Stance; Cross-Strait Issues
Give Chinese Students NHI: DPP Lawmaker
(Taipei Times, Aug. 13, 2012) A DPP lawmaker has proposed including Chinese students in Taiwan under National Health Insurance coverage as the party strives to address basic human rights and to turn around its image of being “anti-China.”
Lawmaker Sorry for Rushing NHI Proposal
(Taipei Times, Aug. 14, 2012) DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui defended his initiative to include Chinese students in the National Health Insurance plan and stressed that the proposal did not represent the DPP’s position.
DPP Sends Mixed Signals on NHI Proposal
(Taipei Times, Aug. 15, 2012) A proposal by DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui to include Chinese students in the National Health Insurance program yesterday continued to draw mixed reactions from party members.
Su Says Taiwan Affairs a Priority
(Taipei Times, Aug. 16, 2012) DPP is in no hurry to establish a China Affairs Committee, as the welfare of Taiwanese means more to the party than anything else, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang said.
Hsiao Bi-khim to Attend Shanghai Talk
(Taipei Times, Aug. 13, 2012) The visit is notable because of Hsiao’s position as a DPP lawmaker amid a new political -atmosphere in the party after its loss in the January presidential election, a result many observers say was brought about by the DPP’s failure in engaging Beijing politically and economically.
Hsiao Denies Accusations of China Message Carrying
(CNA, Aug. 14, 2012) DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim denied accusations that she has been forwarding messages from DPP officials to Chinese authorities.
DPP Proposes Soft Power Exchanges with Mainland
(CNA, Aug. 16, 2012) DPP Legislator Lin Chia-lung said in Shanghai that Taiwan and China should focus on exchanges in the area of soft power development and city governance experiences, without involving sensitive political issues.
Cross-Strait Pact: New Day for Taiwanese Investors? By Eva Dou(China Real Time Report, Aug. 13, 2012) As with many things in China, the value of this agreement for Taiwanese will depend more on Beijing’s implementation than the wording.
Military Balance and Arms Sales
MND Denies Only Seeking 24 New F-16s
(Taipei Times, Aug. 14, 2012) In a new twist in Taiwan’s F-16 saga, reports claim that Taipei could seek to acquire far fewer than the 66 aircraft it has long requested from the US.
Taiwan's Foreign Relations
Taiwan Plans to Get US Backing for Trade
(CNA, Aug. 15, 2012) Taiwan plans to win the support of the United States to join a Pacific Rim trade bloc through long-stalled talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Regional Issues and Japan Policy
Japanese Ministers Visit War Shrine amid Tension with Asian Neighbors By Martin Fackler and Choe Sang-hun (New York Times, Aug. 16, 2012) Two Japanese cabinet members paid their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine. It was the first visit by high-ranking officials in three years and coincided with a recent flare-up in tensions between Japan and its Asian neighbors over history and territory.
US Report Urges Japan to Work with Taiwan on Security
(Taipei Times, Aug. 17, 2012) A new report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies says Japan should work with Taiwan and other Asian democracies to promote security throughout the region.
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Regards,
Taiwan Security Research: http://www.taiwansecurity.org/
Taipei Forum: http://www.taipeiforum.org.tw/
Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 18:44