Monday, December 26, 2016

Food Imports from Fukushima Prove that “Taiwan-Japanese Partnership” is a Cruel Hoax

Food Imports from Fukushima Prove that “Taiwan-Japanese Partnership” is a Cruel Hoax
United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC) 
A Translation 
December 27, 2016

Executive Summary: A Japanese academic recently commented on Taiwan-Japan relations and the ban on food imports from Japan's nuclear disaster areas. He said "Japan is too strong and Taiwan is too eager to lift the ban on food products from the Fukushima nuclear disaster areas”. This is the best description yet of current Taiwan-Japan relations. Can Japan forgo its status as the “superior” in the relationship? Will it listen to public opinion on Taiwan? Can the DPP review the relationship between Taiwan and Japan in a pragmatic manner? Must it insist on pursuing a united front with Japan against Mainland China? Unless the DPP can cease its unilateral desire to pander to Japan in order to oppose Mainland China, it will continue to sacrifice ROC national interests.

Full Text Below:

Public hearings were recently convened on food imports from nuclear disaster areas in Japan. Public protests have erupted one after another, and are unlikely to end any time soon. Meanwhile the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the Japanese government is angry because Taiwan continues to limit food imports from nuclear disaster areas in Japan. Therefore Japan has suspended the "Taiwan-Japan Economic Partnership Committee", and ended "Taiwan-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement" (EPA) negotiations. Earlier rumors that the government sought to allow food imports from nuclear disaster areas in Japan, in exchange for Japan signing the EPA, were apparently well founded.

Actually this is not the first time Taiwan and Japan have clashed since Tsai Ing-wen came to power. The "Taiwan-Japan Cooperation Dialogue on Ocean Affairs" was originally scheduled for late July. It was postponed to late October over the South China Sea “arbitration” case. When it convened in late October, observers wondered whether the government intended to trade our territorial sovereignty for mere fishing privileges in Cong Zhi Niao Reef, aka “Okinotoroshima”. The meeting was hastily concluded, and each side provided its own media spin. Taiwan-Japan negotiations have repeatedly run aground. One can only wonder how the DPP must feel, having long professed its undying friendship for Japan.

Think back to Tsai Ing-wen's visit to Japan last July. The Japanese had high expectations from the DPP as ruling party. Abe's younger brother, Shinohiko, accompanied Tsai Ing-wen on a visit to Abe's hometown, to highlight friendship between the DPP and Japan. The Japanese government deliberately arranged an “unexpected meeting” between Tsai and Abe in a restaurant penthouse, to show the close alliance between the two sides. Alas, Japan's lofty expectations have been tempered by harsh political realities, and the tacit understanding between the two sides has yet to withstand the test of public opinion on Taiwan.

The October "Taiwan-Japan Conference on Ocean Affairs Cooperation Dialogue" has concluded with nothing to show. Many in the DPP assume the reason was KMT objections and anti-Japanese sentiment. In fact, most people on Taiwan consider Cong Zhi Niao Reef sovereignty and fishing rights to be inseparable. They refuse to trade territorial sovereignty for mere fishing privileges. That is clearly how the public feels. The ruling DPP has accused the KMT of irrational obstructionism over food imports from Japan's nuclear disaster areas. In fact the public vehemently opposes the importation of food products from Japan's nuclear disaster areas. The KMT holds a minority of the seats in the legislature. It is hardly in a position to manipulate public opinion.

This shows that current problems in Taiwan-Japan relations are not due to intense opposition from the KMT. Nor are they due to close relations between the Taiwan and Japanese governments, but rather the long-standing, unequal relationship between Taiwan and Japan. The public on Taiwan is angry at the Tsai government for blindly kowtowing to Japan. It has lashed out in response. Current problems in Taiwan-Japan relations are the result of a disconnect between the framework of the relationship and the reality.

First consider the framework of the unequal relationship between Taiwan and Japan. The DPP and the Japanese government may share anti-China sentiments. But the relationship between the DPP and Japan has long been an unequal one. The Japanese government has always taken its national interests as its starting point. It has always presumed to be Taiwan's superior and dictated Taiwan's role. The DPP has used Japan as a weapon against Mainland China. But it has utterly neglected Taiwan's own interests. When Taiwan seeks more from Japan than Japan seeks from Taiwan, the DPP's wishful thinking becomes apparent. The DPP ignores Japan's pragmatism. Japan insists that Taiwan must first lift its ban on food imports from the Fukushima nuclear disaster area. Only then will Japan consent to resume negotiations over the Taiwan-Japan economic and trade agreement. This is why.

Second, the Taiwan government and the Japanese government have both ignored public opinion on Taiwan. Japan has relied too much on DPP government authority, and ignored the volatility of public opinion on Taiwan. Public support for Tsai Ing-wen has plummeted, avalanche like, in three short months. This has made it difficult, if not impossible for Tsai Ing-wen to lift the ban on food imports from Japan's nuclear disaster areas.

Third, the DPP has underestimated the intensity of domestic public opinion against food imports from Japan's nuclear disaster areas. In a panic, the Tsai government convened 10 public hearings over three short days, in the hope that it could ram the bill through the legislature. This heavy handed, top down approach provoked a powerful backlash, increasing opposition. During the "Taiwan-Japan Economic and Trade Conference", the Chairman of the Japan Association for the Promotion of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (GIEF) Yasuo Fukuoka, violated a tacit agreement to avoid criticizing Taiwan. He was impatient with the Tsai government's tardy handling of the situation. In the process he revealed Japan's political arrogance.

A Japanese academic recently commented on Taiwan-Japan relations and the ban on food imports from Japan's nuclear disaster areas. He said "Japan is too strong and Taiwan is too eager to lift the ban on food products from the Fukushima nuclear disaster areas”. This is the best description yet of current Taiwan-Japan relations. Can Japan forgo its status as the “superior” in the relationship? Will it listen to public opinion on Taiwan? Can the DPP review the relationship between Taiwan and Japan in a pragmatic manner? Must it insist on pursuing a united front with Japan against Mainland China? Unless the DPP can cease its unilateral desire to pander to Japan in order to oppose Mainland China, it will continue to sacrifice ROC national interests.

反核食揭露台日夥伴關係的假面
2016-12-27 聯合報

反核食公聽會最近重新召開,持續發生民眾抗議場面,一時恐難善了。與此同時,外交部也證實,日本政府因不滿台灣持續管制日本核災食品,因此暫停召開「台日經濟夥伴委員會」,進而使「台日經濟夥伴協議」(EPA)談判宣告停擺。先前傳出蔡政府擬以解禁日本核食以換取台日簽署EPA,如今看來,並非空穴來風。

這其實不是蔡英文上台後台日兩國首度觸礁事件。原本預定在今年七月底召開的「台日海洋事務合作對話會議」,即因為南海仲裁案出爐,而被推遲到十月底舉行。十月底召開時,更因為外界質疑蔡政府擬以沖之鳥的「主權換漁權」,而讓這項會議在各說各話下倉促落幕。台日談判接連觸礁,對一向自詡為親日的民進黨政府,真是情何以堪。

回顧去年七月蔡英文的訪日之行,日方為了表示對民進黨即將執政的高度期待,不僅由安倍的胞弟岸信夫全程陪同蔡英文參訪安倍的故鄉,以凸顯民進黨與日本情誼之深厚;日本政府更刻意安排蔡英文與安倍在餐廳閣樓的「不期而遇」,以顯示雙方緊密的價值同盟。然而,日本再高的期待似乎不敵政治現實的考驗,雙方再多的默契仍必須接受台灣民意的試煉。

十月的「台日海洋事務合作對話會議」不了了之,民進黨不少人認為,是國民黨杯葛及社會親中反日的意識形態作祟所致。事實上,堅持沖之鳥的主權與漁權不可分割,一直是台灣多數民眾的基本態度;不以主權交換漁權,也是國內民意的最大公約數。至於解禁日本核食的難產,執政黨將之歸咎於國民黨的無理杯葛,事實上,若非民眾對日本核食具有強烈反感,已淪為國會少數的國民黨恐無能力指引民意。

由此可見,當前台日關係的難題,並不在於國民黨的強力反對,也不在於台日政府關係不夠緊密,而是在台日長期不對等的關係下,台灣民意對於蔡政府對日本的盲目屈從感到不滿,並因而反撲,這是結構面與現實面碰撞的結果。

首先,談台日不對等關係的結構面。蔡政府上台之後,民進黨與日本政府雖具有共同的反中立場,但台日間不對等關係的格局並未因之改變,日本仍一如過去完全以其國家利益為出發點,且以「上國」之姿來指導台灣。至於民進黨,則和以往一樣,把日本當成抗衡中國的利器,卻對台灣自身的利益缺乏完整考量。也正因為如此,在台灣有求於日本多於日本有求於台灣時,會讓民進黨對日本有一廂情願的幻覺,從而輕忽日本務實的本性。日本堅持台灣先要解禁福島核災食品,台日兩國才有可能啟動台日經貿協議談判,原因正在於此。

其次,談台日兩國政府忽視台灣民意的現實面。日本過度「靠勢」民進黨執政的權力,卻忽視台灣民意的多變性。安倍政府以為,完全執政的蔡英文應該是無所不能;殊不知,蔡英文的民意支持度在短短三個月即面臨雪崩式下滑,這讓蔡英文面對解禁日本核食議題顯得難以著力。

另一方面,民進黨也低估了國內民意對於進口核災食品的反對。蔡政府在三天內匆匆開了十場公聽會,急欲強行通過此案,這種霸王硬上弓的作風反而助長了反撲的火勢,使事態擴大。日本交流協會會長大橋光夫在「台日經貿會議」上,違背默契說出責備台灣的重話,當然是對蔡政府的處理能力感到不耐,卻也暴露了日本高調指導政局的傲慢。

一位日本學者最近評論台日關係說:「在解禁福島食品輸台問題上,日本太強勢,台灣太急促。」這正是對當前台日關係的最佳寫照。日本若不能放下「上國」的身段,好好傾聽台灣民意,只會讓台日兩國人民的情感越來越遠;反觀,民進黨若不能務實地看待台日關係,只片面追求聯日抗中,恐將喪失國家利益。

No comments: