An island slips into diplomatic nowhereland

OneWorld UK

A gentle community gets on with life despite having a wall of missiles pointing at them, reports Nury Vittachi

THE MOST POIGNANT place on earth is a small island in the east China seas.

Taiwan has done everything that the world community asks a society to do: its leaders have given its people freedom and democracy, information moves without hindrance, the rule of law is adhered to, it has no human rights problems, and it does not make weapons of mass destruction. Its a gentle society, with a low crime rate and famously industrious workers.

Yet in return for this, one by one, almost every country has turned its back on Taiwan, severing diplomatic relations, and siding with its arch enemy.

On any given day, more than 700 deadly missiles are trained on the island.

And yesterday it was announced that the president - rather than be humiliated by being refused permission to visit the US and instead allowed only to make a refuelling stop in Alaska - will bypass America entirely.

Taiwan is being shunned by the world. Instead, countries are forming allegiances with its huge neighbour, China a totalitarian country with the barest vestiges of freedom and democracy.

Taiwans President Chen Shui-bian left the 294-by-144 kilometre island, population 23 million, last Thursday [May 5] hoping to make stopovers in key US cities, but the visit was rejected by Washington. Observers say that this is one of the worst diplomatic setbacks for Taiwan in more than a decade.

The root cause of the islands problems is a declaration by China that any country that implies Taiwan is anything except a renegade province of the mainland will trigger financial or diplomatic reprisals.

In recent weeks, this long-simmering tension boiled over into violent riots in the Solomon Islands, where allegations of huge secret payments from China and Taiwan over diplomatic recognition is seen as having introduced massive corruption into the government.

When one talks to individuals in Taiwan, it is clear people are stung by the way the global community has turned its back on thembut at the same time they understand the financial temptations of being able to deal with a huge market like China.

In this sense, Taiwan is a man on zebra crossing facing an oncoming truck. The pedestrian has the moral right; but the truck is going to win the argument anyway.

My visit to Taiwan revealed a culturally schizophrenic society. Archetypal east Asian noodle shops share space with icons of the west: branches of Starbucks and McDonalds are everywhere, and it has more 24-hour convenience stores per capita than anywhere else on the planet.

Its no wonder that foreign influences are prominent. Taiwan does not have much indigenous culture of its own that has made its presence felt on the world stage although there has been one surprise contribution to international cuisine in recent years. A Taiwanese restaurateur who stirred tapioca globules into drinks and invented bubble tea has a surprise hit on her hands. The drink spread to Hong Kong and Japan over the past three years, and is now increasingly available in London, New York and Australia.

The knowledge that 700 missiles are pointed at your head only adds to the natural drama of the place. It is a very elemental place: there are lakes, mountains and volcanoes all over the island, earthquakes shake the ground regularly, and typhoons and monsoon storms are frequent. The phrase between the devil and the deep blue sea could have been written for this island.

Incidentally, mainland China has not as yet asked the international community to refuse imports of bubble tea. Taiwan may have lost the battle for the hearts of global society, but it still may win some fans by appealing to their stomachs.

* Also by Nury Vittachi:
Tiger versus Dragon: the debate hots up
Malaysian police forced back to school
The Dear Leader is making tracks
Where falling in love can be a fatal mistake
A menu with only one dish
Transnationals swap ethics for profit in China
China takes the brakes off motoring