2011 report to congress - U.S.-China Economic and Security Review ...

dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with $$_JOB278Taiwan interpreted as an election strategy motivated by aversionto appearing too conciliatory toward China. 195 According to one expert,President Ma has been under pressure from members of hisparty to prevent the Kuomintang from gaining a reputation as excessively‘‘pro-China.’’ 196 Taiwan has also banned the travel of senior-levelmainland officials to the island, allegedly in an attempt toprevent the visits from being used against his administration inthe presidential campaign. 197Beijing may also be a factor in the slower pace of developmentsin the cross-Strait relationship. China has taken a strong interestin the outcome of Taiwan’s election, showing preference for a Kuomintangvictory. According to Richard C. Bush, director of the Centerfor Northeast Asian Policy Studies at The Brookings Institution,Beijing has avoided controversial cross-Strait issues and ‘‘isnot pushing the agenda’’ before the election because it ‘‘understandsthat it has an interest in keeping President Ma and theKMT [Kuomintang] in power.’’ 198 China may even become lenienton issues such as participation in international organizations inorder to demonstrate the effectiveness of President Ma’s cross-Strait policies. 199 However, according to one Washington D.C.-based expert on cross-Strait issues, it is possible that if PresidentMa wins reelection, Beijing could take a harder line with Taipei inorder to ‘‘secure [China’s President] Hu Jintao’s legacy’’ beforePresident Hu steps down in the fall of 2012. 200Developments in Taiwan’s International SpaceTaiwan has continued to pursue efforts to gain internationalspace through participation in international organizations and negotiatingwith other countries on visa waiver exemption, extradition,and free trade agreements. Since the publication of theCommission’s 2010 Annual Report to Congress, Taiwan has experiencedboth progress and setbacks in its participation in internationalorganizations. In 2011, Taiwan joined one new internationalorganization, the Civil Air Navigation and Services Organization,which is an official observer of the United Nations’ InternationalCivil Aviation Organization.* It experienced a setback inMay 2011, when the World Health Organization used the label,‘‘Taiwan, Province of China,’’ sparking Taiwan officials formally toassert that it be referred to as ‘‘Chinese Taipei.’’ 201 A similar controversyoccurred in July 2011, when Taiwan’s Ministry of ForeignAffairs publicly urged Brazil to make the same change after discoveringthat the Brazilian government’s website designated Taiwanas a province of China. 202 A report prepared for the Commissionby The Economic Strategy Institute discussed similar People’s Republicof China (PRC) indignation expressed when ‘‘Taiwan’’ isused, stating:* Rather than joining the organization under a regional name such as the commonly usedname ‘‘Chinese Taipei,’’ Taiwan is listed solely as ‘‘Air Navigation and Weather Services, CivilAeronautics Administration,’’ with no mention of Taiwan. Full membership is open to any organizationproviding air navigation services, as opposed to the International Civil Aviation Organization,which only admits states. Taiwan is not a member of this latter organization. ShellyShan, ‘‘Taiwan joins CANSO [Civil Air Navigation Services Organization] aviation organization,’’Taipei Times, January 15, 2011. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/01/15/2003493568; and Civil Air Navigation Services Organization, ‘‘Joining CANSO.’’ http://www.canso.org/cms/showpage.aspx?id=329.VerDate Nov 24 2008 13:46 Nov 10, 2011 Jkt 067464 PO 00000 Frm 00290 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 G:\GSDD\USCC\2011\067464.XXX 067464