Are Ma and the KMT Betraying Taiwan?

Saturday June 21, by Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

Recently the Pan-blue press has been trying to make a mountain out of a molehill in the Diaoyutai islands. There have been suggestions of war accompanied by jingoistic saber-rattling. In reality what may be involved is that Taiwan's President wants to distract the public from how much he has been kowtowing to China to hopefully gain some tourist dollars. In the Diaoyutai Affair, members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) seem more interested in trying to stake a weak claim at sovereignty over these rocks than protecting the sovereignty of their country. The extent to which these islands provide a platform for political posturing and distraction has been accented by the recent revelation that as far back as December, Ma Ying-jeou and the KMT had urged the United States to not provide Taiwan with the necessary arms to defend itself. They wanted to postpone arms sales indefinitely. Why? They were worried about offending the bully across the Strait and afraid China might keep them from fulfilling a campaign promise of Ma to bring in some China dollars. Such a principled president.