From Overseas Press

Taiwan's existence can only be defined in relation to the mainland

(The China Post)
Updated: 2010-06-18 13:45

The arguments for and against the ECFA have been centered on essentially one issue—the role of the mainland, rather than the economic pact itself.

The KMT sees the mainland as a benefactor through which Taiwan can expand its economic ties with other parts of the world.

The DPP continues to see the mainland as an enemy with the ambition to take over the island eventually. The ECFA is actually part of its conspiracy to force Taiwan into agreeing to unification, the DPP believes.

Either way, Taiwan's existence is in a sense defined in relation to the mainland.

Without the ECFA—and the mainland—Taiwan will struggle, according to the KMT line of reasoning. But for the DPP, the ECFA is a thinly veiled trap of the mainland.

The ECFA may be a pharmakon—both a cure and poison. The ECFA may boost Taiwan's economy. The pact is necessary because an economically struggling Taiwan would one day find itself politically untenable in the face of the mainland.

But a Taiwan prospering on its economic dependence on the mainland would also be equally politically untenable in the face of the mainland.

So is unification with the mainland inevitable? That's one question no one can really answer. But Taiwan's existence is definitely defined in relation to the mainland.