Malaysiakini concludes its exploration of China-Taiwan ties as well as other sets of Taiwan's relations with other countries - including Malaysia - with Frances Lee, Director of Public Affairs for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysiakini : How many Malaysians have been educated in universities and institutions of higher learning in Taiwan since the 1950s and how many are there now pursuing tertiary education? What do they study in Taiwan?

Frances Lee : The cultural and people-to-people links between Malaysia and Taiwan are strong. For instance, the number of Malaysian students going to Taiwan increases year by year. The accumulative figure of students for the past 30 years is more than 35,000.

Now there are about 4,200 Malaysian tertiary students in Taiwan. Their fields include medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, international business, information management, computer science, information engineering, foreign languages and literature.

Many, if not all, the tertiary degrees issued by universities and institutions of higher learning in Taiwan are still not recognised by Malaysia? Why? Are there any efforts being made to obtain recognition?

Lee: The Malaysian government adopts the British system in terms of university degree recognition which is a very complex process. It takes a joint effort to complete the procedure of degree recognition.

What are the business and economic relations between Malaysia and Taiwan?

Lee: Taiwan-Malaysia relations are very broad-based and are expanding. Taiwan has quite a substantial relationship with Malaysia in terms of economic ties, business links and people-to-people exchanges, etc.

The overall Taiwanese investment in Malaysia up to December 2003 was US$9.4 billion, the third largest investor after US and Japan. Bilateral trade in 2003 amounted to US$7.8 billion with Malaysia enjoying US$1.7 billion surplus.

Tourism statistics show that in 2000, some 300,000 Taiwanese visited Malaysia. Last year the total was about 150,000 due to the impact of SARS and Iraq war. But this year, we expect a good rebound.

On one side, the People's Republic of China (PRC) appears to be very serious in ensuring that Taiwan does not declare independence, but in Taiwan itself there seems to be a strong and popular school of thought that together with public opinion advocates the independence of Taiwan either as the Republic of China (ROC) or the Republic of Taiwan. Will these two polarised positions eventually lead to a war or a serious armed conflict across the Taiwan Straits?

Lee : The Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (China) are now co-existing in international society and this is a simple and undeniable fact. In order to improve cross-straits relations, both sides should firstly and honestly face historical facts and realities. Only then can both sides proceed to handle future issues accordingly.

The attempt to use the 'One China' formula by China to suppress Taiwan's international space will not lead to harmonious relations across the Taiwan Straits. On Taiwan's part, our intention to pursue peace and stability across the straits will never change. Only mutual respect for one another will lay the foundation for long-term peace and stability.

In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, the call for independence in Taiwan did not seem to be strong but since the 1980s, public opinion in Taiwan seems to be changing to be more in favour independence from the mainland. What are the causes or reasons for this change in public sentiment, opinion and position?

Lee : Before 1971, the Republic of China (Taiwan) was one of the members of the United Nations as well as a permanent member of its Security Council. Most countries in the international community recognised us, not the other side.

Taiwan started to practise democracy step by step since 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, Taiwan people enjoyed freedom of speech and other civil rights. We also lifted the ban on political parties in mid-1980s which signified the beginning of a new era of multi-party democracy. The development of democracy reached a landmark when direct presidential elections were introduced in the 1990s.

The people of Taiwan have also showed concern regarding the welfare of Chinese in the 1980s and early 1990s especially during natural disasters such as flooding in mainland China. But the Taiwanese feel that China has grown unfriendly and sometimes even hostile as seen during the latter's missile testing in 1996 and other military deployments plus diplomatic suppression against Taiwan. Under such circumstances, you can imagine how the Taiwan people's perception about China.

Despite the seemingly popular call for independence in Taiwan, there is still a vocal domestic that favours unification with the mainland. Are there any alternative positions that are located in between unification and independence? What are the reasoning of the two positions?

Lee : According to a public opinion poll on current cross-straits relations conducted by the Council of Mainland Affairs of Taiwan in July 2004, the poll result indicated that 82 percent of Taiwanese support maintaining the status quo in cross-straits relations.

From PRC's perspective, the independence of Taiwan will not only be a matter of losing sovereignty, territorial integrity and 'face' but will also serve as a powerful boost to the similar independence movements in Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang and other regions which in turn would certainly lead to the dismemberment of China as a unified nation-state. Do the people of Taiwan think about this possible consequence?

Lee : Taiwan fully endorses the philosophy of 'prosper thy neighbour'. We wish China well. As for China-Taiwan relations, both sides should start from reality.

That there have always been strong as well as long-standing security and defence relations between Taiwan and the US. This is obvious and undeniable. However, is there now doubt as to whether the US would commit real forces and ground troops to assist the Taiwan if and when China decides to attack across the Taiwan Straits?

Lee : As a responsible government, Taiwan has to defend its national security with its own forces as every other country does. On the other hand, we think democratisation is one of the best weapons to defend our country against being attacked.

Now that the Soviet threat has disappeared, China has opened its economy to US investments. With the US militarily, politically and diplomatically preoccupied in the Middle East and with the Islamic world, what are the strategic or geopolitical values of Taiwan to the post-Cold War United States?

Lee : Taiwan is geopolitically located between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia which is important in terms of transportation and others. Economically, Taiwan also plays an important role in terms of division of labour in global economic development. We also share the philosophy of Malaysia's 'prosper thy neighbour' policy which shows that we are a significant asset for regional and international community.

There are actually two hypotheses as to the real intention of PRC to place its version of reunification with Taiwan at the top of its strategic priority. One, the ideological or romantic reason for the historical mission of a unified China, and two, a geo-strategic plan to gain Taiwan as a forward station PRC armed forces to enable it to move closer to Japanese and US positions in the Western Pacific such as Guam, the Wake Islands and Pearl Harbour. What is the view of the Taiwanese government on this?

Lee : No matter what intention China harbours against Taiwan, China should face the reality that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China now co-exist in the international community. Taiwan's people's love for democracy, peace and development is very firm.

China's military threats and diplomatic suppressions against Taiwan will only take cross-straits relations further apart. We hope both sides will adopt a more accommodative position in order to create a win-win situation in the straits.

Taiwan has developed political systems of direct presidential elections and multiparty democracy as well as constitutional safeguards for human and civil rights (including the right to free speech, assembly and religion).

But on the mainland, the culturally similar Chinese people seem to be contented to live under a one-party polity which cannot be strictly defined as free and democratic. Why are there such vast differences in the political attitudes, choices and preferences of the Chinese and Taiwanese?

Lee : If you ask a person who has never enjoyed freedom or has only enjoyed limited freedom before, I think he will be contented with the status quo no matter what it is. However for people who have always enjoyed an environment of freedom, I would say it is very difficult for them to go back to live under a one-party polity.

JAMES WONG WING ON is chief analyst of Strategic Analysis Malaysia. He is a former DAP member of Parliament for Kampar (1990-1995) and a former columnist for the Sin Chew Jit Poh Chinese daily (now Sin Chew Daily). He read political science and economics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.