Flights, envoys calm Taiwan-China tension

Flights, envoys calm Taiwan-China tension

Alice Hung, Reuters/Taipei

The exchange of historic flights between China and Taiwan, a rare Beijing offer to restart stalled talks and a private visit by senior Chinese officials all point to a thaw in tensions in one of Asia's most dangerous hot spots.

However, it may be too early to conclude that the recent spate of friendly gestures between the long-standing foes will lead to reconciliation because bitter differences over the issue of Taiwan independence remain unsolved.

Since the Nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war in mainland China to the communists, Beijing has viewed the self-ruled island as a breakaway province and threatened to attack if Taiwan declares formal statehood.

"Both sides are sending out goodwill to fuel a good atmosphere for interaction," said Chen Yuchun, a China expert at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei.

"The visit does not mean the resumption of talks, but it would have been unthinkable last year when tensions were high."

China said on Sunday its top negotiator with Taiwan, Wang Daohan, would send two envoys to attend the Wednesday funeral of his counterpart, Koo Chen-fu. They will be in Taiwan for just 24 hours in a private capacity, but the visit still marks the first to the island by high-level Chinese officials since 1999.

The news came a day after commercial jets flew non-stop between Taiwan and China for the first time in more than 55 years in special for Lunar New Year charter flights that many hope will pave the way for permanent direct air links.

A day before the charters, a senior official in Beijing offered to resume talks with Taiwan at any time under the right circumstances. Taipei and Beijing have not been on speaking terms since 1999 due to a row over Taiwan sovereignty.

"Even a stubborn stone can nod," President Chen Shui-bian said in the Solomon Islands on Sunday, using a Chinese saying to refer to China's apparent new signs of openness.

"There is no reason both sides of the Taiwan Strait can't open the door for reconciliation, cooperation and peace."

The Taiwan leader was in the South Pacific to cement relations with two diplomatic allies, some of only 26 states that recognize Taipei instead of Beijing.

Chen, who has angered Beijing with his vision of an independent Taiwan, has appeared more moderate since his party lost the December legislative elections to a Nationalist-led opposition alliance that is more conciliatory towards China.

For its part, Beijing has also seemed more relaxed and tried to woo the hearts and minds of Taiwan people.

"These recent moves, especially the direct flights for Lunar New Year, show a relatively pragmatic attitude," said Niu Jun, a Taiwan expert at Peking University.

"On the other side, from the political perspective, based on the mainland's current policy, it will be hard for the flights to have any big effect on the governing party in Taiwan," Niu said.

While tensions have eased, analysts expect Beijing to persevere with its carrot-and-stick policy towards Taiwan.

That is, China will to try to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and crush any attempt by Taipei leaders to shift the island towards formal independence, while offering incentives to boost economic and trade ties with Taiwan's 23 million people.

China's plan to push ahead with an anti-secession law, viewed by Taiwan as an attempt to form a legal basis to attack the island, is an example of the hard-line tactic.

"China is still using its two-handed approach and that could have repercussions and easily offset any progress we've made so far," said Lo Chih-cheng, executive director for the Institute for National Policy Research, a prominent thinktank in Taiwan.

"It's a good beginning, a first step. But whether there will be two steps backward remains to be seen," he said.