A Taiwan air force jet escorts a plane out of Taiwan airspace
carrying Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou from Taiwa
If the historic summit this weekend between the leaders of China and
Taiwan is laden with symbolism, so is the location, the city-state of
Singapore.
An island nation made up largely of the descendants of 19th-century
Chinese migrants, Singapore has maintained close ties with both China
and Taiwan, and is a model of what China aspires to be: educated,
tolerant, prudent and well-to-do. Perhaps most importantly for Beijing,
Singapore has also created a nation docile enough not to question a
semi-authoritarian government too stridently.
Something in Singapore has undeniably worked. The bustling metropolis
with a population of 5.5 million — a tiny fraction of China's 1.4
billion and a quarter of Taiwan's 23 million - is holding its own
despite a crippling global economy, with its gross domestic product
expected to grow slightly in the third quarter. It has a 97 percent
literacy rate, 90 percent home ownership rate and one of the world's
lowest crime rates.
More than 20 years ago, China and Taiwan held their first talks in
Singapore. On Saturday, the top officials of both sides — Chinese
President Xi Jinping and his Taiwanese counterpart, Ma Ying-jeou — flew to Singapore to sit down together, the first time that has happened since the Chinese civil war.
"The decision to hold talks in Singapore again is significant in
itself," said Liu Hong, Chair of Nanyang Technological University's
School of Humanities and Social Sciences. "It is not only an
international hub but politically neutral, making it good ground for
both mainland China and Taiwan."
Singapore's ties to both sides go back decades.
Lee Kuan Yew,
the first prime minister and the architect of modern Singapore, was an
interlocutor between China and the West, often fiercely defending
Confucian values of discipline and authoritarianism while berating the
West for being critical of the lack of free speech. Lee, who died in
March, was one of the last foreign dignitaries to meet with the ailing
Chinese leader Mao Zedong in the 1970s.
Lee had no tolerance for political dissent, something Beijing has long
understood. Opposition figures in Singapore were either defeated in
elections or taken to court on defamation charges until they were
bankrupt. It still allows no street protests. Demonstrations can only be
held in tiny Hong Lim Park, and only after demonstrators register
online. Any other gathering — private, political or otherwise — requires
a police permit.
Trade between the two countries grew with China's open-door policy,
though Singapore only established full diplomatic relations after its
larger neighbor, Indonesia. The country has in recent years become
China's largest investor after Hong Kong and Taiwan, with a cumulative
total of $72 billion. Taiwan and Singapore are also major trading
partners.
Over the years, Singapore has played host to hundreds of international
security forums, large-scale financial conferences and sporting events.
While its citizens have, in recent years, grown more critical of
government policies, they remain largely apathetic on global issues.
Singapore's leaders have in some ways propagated this, and have
succeeded in maintaining good relations with both Taiwan and China.
Ethnic ties unite all three of them. More than 70 percent of Singapore's population is ethnic Chinese.
"It all comes back to Chinese roots," said Chen Gang, a research fellow
at National University of Singapore's East Asian Institute. "Singapore
has a special role to play in China's foreign policy."
While historic simply for having taken place, Saturday's talks are not
expected to generate much substance. No agreements will be signed or
joint statements issued. Instead, Ma and Xi will talk about maintaining
peace and the status quo.
Those are issues that Singapore understands very well.
Post a Comment