An exclusive interview with Dr. C.J. CHEN, Taiwanese Ambassador in Brussels.
Since 1949 China has been divided into two different political entities: a Republic of China on the island of Taiwan and a People's Republic of China on the mainland. The two Republics have been developing on separate tracks for more than 56 years. There was no contact between the two before 1987. Since then, the exchanges between the two sides have been steadily increasing.
Dr. C.J. Chen, the de facto Ambassador of Taiwan in the EU and Belgium: "The developments of relations between Taiwan and China have been quite dramatic in the last 17 years. Some are very positive and encouraging, such as the exchange of visits, trade and investment. However, there are others which are very negative and discouraging, such as the absence of dialogue between the two Governments and the military competition between the two".
According to Ambassador Chen, people in Taiwan are making at least 3 million trips to China each year. Accumulatively, more than 30 million visits have been made by Taiwanese in the last 17 years. During the same period, more than one million trips have been made by Mainland Chinese to Taiwan. In the area of trade and investment, the growth has been equally impressive. According to Ambassador Chen, the annual trade volume between Taiwan and China reached US$ 61,6 Billion in 2004. China has already become the largest export market of Taiwan and Taiwan's investment in China exceeded U.S. $100 Billion some years ago. Mr. Chen believes that "all those positive developments are mutually beneficial and should continue to be encouraged".
However, Ambassador Chen points out, since 1998 China has discontinued its dialogue with Taiwan in spite of the growing exchanges between the two sides. What is worse still is the fact that China has been deploying hundreds of missiles on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, increasing their military budget by double digits every year and purchasing advanced weapons from other countries such as Russia, thus forcing Taiwan to acquire defensive weapons to protect itself. "It is sad" said Ambassador Chen "that both sides are using their limited resources for very expensive military equipments. That could have been used for other more meaningful purposes".
Beijing has been insisting that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China. Taiwan has been insisting that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country. The so-called "one China" issue has indeed been troubling the cross-strait relations for over five decades. According to Ambassador Chen, the "one China" issue actually reflects the various differences between China and Taiwan: (1) their disparate economic and political system, (2) their different standard of living, (3) their distinctive mentalities and outlooks and (4) the lingering sense of distrust.
"How could you unify two peoples, one living in a free society with an average annual income per capita of $ 14,000 and the other living in an authoritarian society with an average annual income of $ 1,000" asked Mr. Chen.
Taiwan is now a modern, prosperous and dynamic democracy of 23 million people. There are more than 100 political parties, although only 5 are represented in the Parliament. In addition, there is a free media; 400 dailies, 100 radio stations, 75 cable televisions and 5 TV networks.
With virtually no natural resources except man power and brain power, Taiwan has created an economy which is the 17th largest in the world. Taiwan has been leading the world in producing many IT products, such as semi-conductor, memory chips, LCD/TFT… It is the sweet results of hard-working and good-planning, dedication and determination.
Taiwan-Europe
Before Mr. Chien-Jen Chen was appointed to Brussels, he was Taiwan's Ambassador to the United States (2000-2004) and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Taipei (1999-2000). The fact that such an experienced diplomat and politician was sent to the capital of Europe, demonstrates the importance of the EU to Taiwan.
"There is a lot of work to do. The geographic and mental distance between Europe and my country is enormous and it should and can be narrowed. It is clear that we still have much to learn about each other: politically, economically, socially and culturally. There are so many opportunities to explore and to develop. It is good to see that already 15 EU member states and the EU have representation in Taipei and we have offices in 19 EU countries. This is a clear indication of mutual appreciation between the EU and Taiwan, and it has certain provided a strong base for better ties between the EU and Taiwan".
The EU as a whole is now Taiwan's fourth biggest trading partner ($38 billion), after China, Japan ($56 billion) and the United States ($49 billion). Germany, the United Kingdom and The Netherlands are the most important European trading partners of Taiwan. Mr. Chen points to the historical ties between his country and The Netherlands which was among the first European countries that discovered Taiwan hundreds of years ago.
Tourism is increasing. Last year 160.000 Europeans visited Taiwan and 260.000 tourists from Taiwan traveled to Europe. "There must be a market for growth on both sides", assures Ambassador Chen. "Six million people from Taiwan were traveling abroad last year. Most of them visited mainland China and many of them visited the United States. But Europe, as a continent of great civilization, full of history, culture, religion, arts as well as natural beauty, should have attracted more tourists from Taiwan".
Taiwan has also its attractions. In addition to its unique, beautiful scenery, it's a place where the past and the present merge and the East and the West meet. A place where you can observe ancient Chinese culture and tradition at the same time enjoy modern and Western conveniences. It's a place where you find the highest mountain in south-east Asia (Jade Mountain is higher than Fuji Mountain in Japan), the tallest building tin the World (Taipei 101 is taller than any other skyscraper in the world) and the best and most precious collection of Chinese treasures in the world (the National Palace Museum in Taipei).
"If you rare interested to spend a few days in Asia and want to learn and enjoy as much as possible, Taiwan should be one of your top considerations" concludes Ambassador Chen.
