Taiwan's former President in China to borrow peace?

New Delhi: In a surprise move, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou is visiting China this week (March 27 to April 7) to ease tensions between Taiwan and China. Ma is a member of the opposition Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang), leading a delegation of academics, students, and his former presidential staff.

“People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are ethnically Chinese and share the same ancestor, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou,” said on Tuesday at the start of his visit to China that Taiwan's ruling party has criticised.

Taiwan observers including New Delhi are observing the visit, which in itself is the first former or current Taiwanese president visit to China since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of a civil war with the Communists. Ma was in office from 2008-2016.

Although the former president visits privately, his stature as a former leader gives the trip political overtones. He is also visiting amid heightened tension as Beijing uses political and military means to try and pressure democratically governed Taiwan into accepting Chinese sovereignty.

Before leaving Taipei, Ma told Taiwan-based media on Monday that the trip is his first visit to the mainland. 73-year-old Ma, said he was dealing with cross-Straits affairs at 37 and has waited 36 years to visit China.

The visit coincides with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's visiting United States en route to Latin America.

The visit is also one day after Honduras announced it was cutting ties with Taiwan authorities and establishing official diplomatic relations with the Chinese central government.

Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party has questioned why he is visiting just after China took away another Taiwanese diplomatic ally, Honduras, on March 26, 2023, leaving Taiwan with official diplomatic ties with only 13 countries.

The UN maintains its distance from Taiwan

Individuals holding Taiwanese identification continue not allowed to visit the United Nations headquarters or any other UN office. Taiwan has regularly sought increased participation at the UN and its array of bodies, despite US support to Taiwan to participate in UN activities.

Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations (UN) because of China's opposition, given its territorial claim over Taiwan. This uncertain diplomatic status of Taiwan often humiliates Taiwanese citizens in international events and on other occasions.

Taiwan lost its observer status at UN-affiliated bodies like the World Health Assembly (WHA) – the governing body of the World Health Organization. It has similarly been excluded from the International Civil Aviation Organisation since 2013 due to pressure from Beijing to remove any hint that Taiwan might not be a province of China.

In yesterday's press briefing at the UN headquarters saw journalists question the spokesperson about Taiwan's democracy and the exclusion of Taiwanese citizens from the building.  Several questions were asked by the journalists covering the UN.

Here is a verbatim conversation between the journalists and the UN spokesperson:

Question: So, Secretary-General is clearly seen as a champion of democratic values. Given that the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, is in the US this week, will come to New York later in the week and is the leader of what is considered Asia's leading democracy, does the Secretary-General have any message for her?

Spokesman: The Secretary-General's position on China is guided by the relevant General Assembly resolution on the One China policy.

Correspondent: Sorry. I'm not asking about China; I'm asking about Taiwan and its democracy.

Spokesman: No, no, I understand, and that's the answer to your question.

Question: Okay. One other question, then. No message for President Tsai Ing-wen, but what about the Taiwanese citizens, the passport holders who are not even allowed into this building to take a tour? Does the Secretary-General have anything to say about that?

Spokesman: The policy of the UN is that the premises of the UN Headquarters are open to people with identifications of Member States of the UN.

Question by another journalist: I want to just pick up on Yvonne's question. It's about Taiwan because it's been several years since I've asked you about Taiwanese citizens coming into this building. And you seem to have clarified the position a little bit more than last time, you were going to seek clarification for me. So, let me just dig a bit further. Taiwan citizens used to be allowed into this building and they are not allowed now. How did that change?

Spokesman: I don't know when or when that happened. What I can tell you is that, as far as I know, to come into this building, you need to show a government-issued ID from a Member State of the United Nations.

Question: And what's the authority for that? Was that a GA resolution? Or was it just a decision of the Secretary-General?

Spokesman: Let me check.

Question: If you could try and find out because also Kosovo passports. There are Kosovo passport-holders, including senior Kosovo officials who briefed the Security Council. They're not members of the United Nations. How are they allowed?

Spokesman: But they've come also on the fact that it is an issue that's before the Security Council.

Spokesman: Let me check, yeah.

Correspondent: I mean it seems to me all of these people are citizens of the world. And wouldn't have thought that the Secretary-General is someone who wants to practise discrimination.

Spokesman: I don't think… no, and I don't think this policy… I think this policy has been in place for quite a number of years, but I will get back to and if I've misspoken.

China has pushed Taiwan to the wall and says Taiwan has "no right" to join the UN, while the US continues to support its participation. Today, Taiwan only has 13 diplomatic allies left, down from 22 since the pro-Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was elected in 2016.

China's ruling government claims Taiwan is part of its territory, but Taiwan's governing Democratic Progressive Party says it's already a sovereign state that is not part of China. China's People's Liberation Army sends fighter jets toward Taiwan nearly daily, and official communications between the two governments have broken off.

India does not maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan; however, the relationship between the two is progressive. India's recent border disputes with China have compelled India to revisit India's 'One China Policy', and there has been a growing sentiment in India that it should establish closer ties with Taiwan.