A belligerent country intent on picking a fight with another country may be eager to be offended by any little thing and call it an unconscionable provocation. With respect to Taiwan, a country that has never been part of the People’s Republic of China, the casus belli in the minds and propaganda of Chinese government officials is something called “separatism.”
In this context, “separatism” is a heretical saying of the obvious that requires sending warplanes to buzz the country in which the obvious thing is being said. Chinese officials claim that the island country of Taiwan is now and always has been and certainly should be a part of the PRC. If anyone in Taiwan, particularly a head of state, says, “That’s incorrect, we’re ruling ourselves over here, obviously,” officials of the mainland government congeal in horror. Their eyes bug out, their complexions turn purple, their hair stands on end, steam pours out of their ears, they whirl around like the Tasmanian Devil, and they make goofy statements like this one by Zhu Fenglian, a diplomat with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office who wants to explain why China is conducting so many military drills near Taiwan (Reuters, September 27, 2023):
“The purpose [of the drills] is to resolutely combat the arrogance of Taiwan independence separatist forces and their actions to seek independence. The provocation of Taiwan independence continues all day long, and the actions of the People’s Liberation Army to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity are always ongoing. I hope that the majority of Taiwanese compatriots will clearly distinguish between right and wrong, resolutely oppose Taiwan independence, and work with us to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
The problem with this statement is everything.
One. The purpose of China’s military drills is to “resolutely combat the arrogance of Taiwan independence separatist forces.” In light of this concern, we can expect—not really, but for the sake of argument based on pretending that the words of Zhu Fenglian and the implications of the words are sincere, let’s say that we can expect—we can expect the Chinese government’s military flexing and threats to invade Taiwan to recede just as soon as the arrogance in Taiwan about the “separatism” sufficiently recedes, perhaps as shown by the results of Taiwan’s January 2024 presidential election. A victory by a candidate who favors a policy of appeasing China by repudiating the arrogance of separatism might do the trick, at least until China gets to the next step in its strategy to take over Taiwan.
What does Zhu Fenglian mean by “arrogance” here? Does it have something to do with the dictionary definition, “an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions” (Merriam-Webster)? If stating a fact is “arrogant” when Chinese officials dislike the statement, “arrogance” must mean whatever attitude happens to attend a person’s refusal to accept irrational assertions by the PRC government and refusal to submit to its irrational demands. Such refusals are warranted. They are warranted because the confectioners of Chinazi doctrine and propaganda have yet to prove the rationality of irrationality or that facts are not in fact facts.
Two. “Independence separatist forces” in Taiwan act to “seek independence.” How do they do this? Why would any Taiwanese citizen need to do this? If your country is already a country, already separate from other countries, already independent—examples would include Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Japan, Russia, Mozambique, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, and Taiwan—you don’t need to seek independence for your country. Its independence is already a fact that is taken for granted by everybody in all aspects of the country’s politics, society, and culture. Nobody living in the various countries of the globe wanders around seeking their country’s existence as a country.
Three. “The provocation of Taiwan independence continues all day long.” Does this mean that Taiwan’s independence as a separate country continues all day long? Its independence does continue all day long, and day after day. But Chinese government officials like Zhu Fenglian claim to disbelieve this truism. Perhaps the meaning is that people in Taiwan continue to provoke the easily provoked government of China by affirming that Taiwan is indeed a country. True enough (though the provokers probably don’t affirm this fact all day long, having other things to do as well). But so what?
Four. By its continuous threatening of Taiwan, the People’s Liberation Army is acting “to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” False. Taiwan is hoping to avoid being attacked and is planning to defend itself if attacked. It is not planning to invade China and has not threatened to invade China; and no one, not any Chinese government official and not Zhu Fenglian, believes that it is or has. China’s threats against Taiwan are not about preserving the territorial integrity of China.
In addition to the assumption that Taiwan is part of China, which it isn’t, the diplomat’s statement also assumes that national sovereignty or territorial integrity are imprescriptible values no matter what kind of regime is governing a nation, no matter how the regime governs, no matter how the country it governs has arrived at its present boundaries. That national territories are properly inviolable cannot be stated as a universal proposition; it depends. In any case, despite the form of Zhu Fenglian’s statement, in point of fact the Chinese government regards only its own territory or imagined territory as properly defensible on grounds of national sovereignty and territorial integrity. China feels free to ignore the boundaries of other countries, as witness its incursions against Bhutan, countries bordering the South China Sea, and Taiwan, among others.
Five. Zhu Fenglian hopes that most “Taiwanese compatriots will clearly distinguish between right and wrong,” a capability that she contends is exemplified by resolutely opposing the independence of Taiwan. Since a compatriot is one “born, residing, or holding citizenship in the same country as another” (Merriam-Webster), the use of this word is another way of repeating, as if it were self-evident, the falsehood that Taiwan is not a distinct country. As for the rest of it…well. It would be nice if we all accepted the importance of distinguishing right from wrong and doing only what is right. But in the case of Zhu Fenglian and her oppressive and murderous government, whose actions with respect to Taiwan she dishonestly rationalizes, any professed desire to act in only a morally right way is a lie. She is not even trying.
Six. Zhu Fenglian wants the people of Taiwan to “work with us to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Straight.” Of course, if it wished, the government of China could achieve this peace and stability in short order, simply by ending its military harassment of Taiwan and accepting Taiwan’s existence as a separate, independent country. Call Beijing, Zhu Fenglian.
