以下的文章摘錄於2007年七月14日出版的經濟學人（The Economist）週刊。是一篇關於歐盟與台海兩岸之間紛爭的報導。因為最近政府推動「入聯合國公投」的關係，又在國際上引起一些漣漪。這一篇就是在講歐盟針對這個漣漪所做出的反應。不過倒是很有趣地質問了歐盟所謂的「中心價值」和它在面對國際政治外交大局的時候，究竟那一把尺在哪裡？
先前我也引述過一些有關於歐盟價值的文章。雖然那些文章主要是在批評新加入歐盟的波蘭在某些內政之上並不符合歐盟的觀點和價值。但是，在國際政治角力之中，當有著相當大的利益放在眼前的時候，歐盟自己會不會變得挑挑揀揀起來？另一方面，對於實際上主場相撲的中國和台灣來說，現實的國際政治本來就不是個有公平遊戲規則的地方，兩者的實力又愈來愈懸殊，台灣的謀略在哪裡，也很值得大家思考。
另外一點，不妨跳脫台灣媒體的色彩來聽聽國際傳媒是怎樣看此地此景的。
The European Union and Taiwan
Bully for China
Jul 12th 2007 | BRUSSELS
From The Economist print edition
China tells the EU to dump on Taiwan. The EU asks “How hard?”
ASK officials in Brussels about relations between China and the European Union, and you will soon hear the word “values”. A recent EU strategy paper on China calls on Europe to pursue a “dynamic relationship with China based on our values”, notably including democracy and human rights.
Try telling that to Taiwan. It is about to receive a stern EU injunction to act “sensibly and responsibly” by scrapping a planned referendum asking voters whether they would like the island to seek membership of the United Nations under its historic name, the “Republic of China”, or just “Taiwan”.
Why is the EU meddling? Taiwan is a thriving democracy and big trading partner (almost as important as India or Brazil). The explanation is simple and unedifying: the EU is doing China's bidding. Chinese rulers regard the Taiwan referendum as a sneaky step closer to an eventual declaration of formal independence by the island.
China expends extraordinary energy on pestering other governments to preserve the strange limbo inhabited by Taiwan, a self-governing island of 23m that it insists is a wayward province. Whenever Taiwan irks China, its ambassadors appear at foreign ministries worldwide, demanding that Taiwan be rebuked.
An internal EU memorandum sheds light on the way such strong-arm diplomacy works. Prepared by officials working under Javier Solana, the EU's foreign-policy supremo, it describes a meeting, late last month, between the Chinese ambassador to the EU, Guan Chengyuan, and a top Eurocrat. According to EU note-takers, Mr Guan called the referendum provocative and destabilising, and said China wanted EU support, as it did not want to have to use “the last resort”—an apparent reference to its threat to use force, if necessary, to “reunify” Taiwan.
The memorandum records Mr Guan's EU host as agreeing that a referendum is against Taiwan's own interests, and offering to send a “clear and forceful” message to Taipei to that effect. America, which has many reasons to seek China's diplomatic goodwill, has publicly rebuked Taiwan over the referendum. The EU, in contrast, will stick to private warnings for the moment, to avoid “playing into the hands” of Taiwan's “populist” president, Chen Shui-bian, by giving him “undesirable” publicity.
Portugal, which took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU this month, has duly drafted a private warning to Taiwan, saying that a referendum risks raising tensions and would be “unhelpful”. A parallel message is to be sent to China, urging restraint.
UN membership for Taiwan is a long-lost cause, and Mr Chen's referendum plan is at heart an electoral ploy ahead of next year's presidential poll. But that is the sort of thing that happens in a democracy. One dissenting EU diplomat says the Union is pretending there is “moral equivalence” between Taiwanese election politics and Chinese threats of violence. Certainly, this is not how most people understand the EU's oft-professed values.
＜延伸閱讀＞
先前關於歐盟價值的一些文章：
丁丁和土耳其旅館
這不是自助餐台
先前我也引述過一些有關於歐盟價值的文章。雖然那些文章主要是在批評新加入歐盟的波蘭在某些內政之上並不符合歐盟的觀點和價值。但是，在國際政治角力之中，當有著相當大的利益放在眼前的時候，歐盟自己會不會變得挑挑揀揀起來？另一方面，對於實際上主場相撲的中國和台灣來說，現實的國際政治本來就不是個有公平遊戲規則的地方，兩者的實力又愈來愈懸殊，台灣的謀略在哪裡，也很值得大家思考。
另外一點，不妨跳脫台灣媒體的色彩來聽聽國際傳媒是怎樣看此地此景的。
The European Union and Taiwan
Bully for China
Jul 12th 2007 | BRUSSELS
From The Economist print edition
China tells the EU to dump on Taiwan. The EU asks “How hard?”
ASK officials in Brussels about relations between China and the European Union, and you will soon hear the word “values”. A recent EU strategy paper on China calls on Europe to pursue a “dynamic relationship with China based on our values”, notably including democracy and human rights.
Try telling that to Taiwan. It is about to receive a stern EU injunction to act “sensibly and responsibly” by scrapping a planned referendum asking voters whether they would like the island to seek membership of the United Nations under its historic name, the “Republic of China”, or just “Taiwan”.
Why is the EU meddling? Taiwan is a thriving democracy and big trading partner (almost as important as India or Brazil). The explanation is simple and unedifying: the EU is doing China's bidding. Chinese rulers regard the Taiwan referendum as a sneaky step closer to an eventual declaration of formal independence by the island.
China expends extraordinary energy on pestering other governments to preserve the strange limbo inhabited by Taiwan, a self-governing island of 23m that it insists is a wayward province. Whenever Taiwan irks China, its ambassadors appear at foreign ministries worldwide, demanding that Taiwan be rebuked.
An internal EU memorandum sheds light on the way such strong-arm diplomacy works. Prepared by officials working under Javier Solana, the EU's foreign-policy supremo, it describes a meeting, late last month, between the Chinese ambassador to the EU, Guan Chengyuan, and a top Eurocrat. According to EU note-takers, Mr Guan called the referendum provocative and destabilising, and said China wanted EU support, as it did not want to have to use “the last resort”—an apparent reference to its threat to use force, if necessary, to “reunify” Taiwan.
The memorandum records Mr Guan's EU host as agreeing that a referendum is against Taiwan's own interests, and offering to send a “clear and forceful” message to Taipei to that effect. America, which has many reasons to seek China's diplomatic goodwill, has publicly rebuked Taiwan over the referendum. The EU, in contrast, will stick to private warnings for the moment, to avoid “playing into the hands” of Taiwan's “populist” president, Chen Shui-bian, by giving him “undesirable” publicity.
Portugal, which took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU this month, has duly drafted a private warning to Taiwan, saying that a referendum risks raising tensions and would be “unhelpful”. A parallel message is to be sent to China, urging restraint.
UN membership for Taiwan is a long-lost cause, and Mr Chen's referendum plan is at heart an electoral ploy ahead of next year's presidential poll. But that is the sort of thing that happens in a democracy. One dissenting EU diplomat says the Union is pretending there is “moral equivalence” between Taiwanese election politics and Chinese threats of violence. Certainly, this is not how most people understand the EU's oft-professed values.
＜延伸閱讀＞
先前關於歐盟價值的一些文章：
丁丁和土耳其旅館
這不是自助餐台
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