Tsai Ing-wen can turn dilemma of Kadeer’s visit into opportunity<\/p>\n
By Lee Pin-hua (translated by Sophia Yang),Taiwan News, Contributing Writer
\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b2017\/01\/29 09:27<\/p>\n
The World Uighur Congress President Rebiya Kadeer has recently been invited to visit Taiwan by a minor local political party, sparking discussions on whether to approve the visit of the exiled human rights activist. Kadeer’s visit may touch a nerve in the cross-strait relationship, while the visit can act as a counterbalance to offset the growing disadvantages facing Taiwan in international political arena under China\u2019s influence.<\/p>\n
Kadeer was a successful businesswoman and millionaire in the 1980s and was once a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People\u2019s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which plays an important advisory role in state affairs. In 1996, her husband Sidik Haji Rouzi, then an associate professor, left China for the United States to work as a broadcaster for a radio station with a clear anti-China stance that led Kadeer to be removed from the CPPCC and even jailed on the charge of \u201cpassing on classified information to foreigners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kadeer left prison after serving five years of an eight-year sentence on medical grounds; she then flew to the U.S. to join her family in Washington. In 2006, Kadeer became the president of the World Uighur Congress and has since been labeled as a separatist and terrorist by China. <\/p>\n
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), a pro-independence political party in Taiwan, said in January Kadeer has accepted its invitation and urged the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government and President Tsai Ing-wen to grant her a visa. Back in 2009, Tsai\u2019s predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, once rejected the visa application for Kadeer claiming she might have connections with terrorist groups, which incurred a backlash from the DPP saying Kadeer is a political refugee rather than a terrorist.<\/p>\n
TSU\u2019s invitation has created a dilemma for Tsai, as granting her a visa would literally be a slap in China\u2019s face, making the deep-frozen cross-strait relationship even worse, while the other option would also not be a wise choice and self-contradictory. <\/p>\n
However, the cloud has a silver lining to Tsai. Despite extending an olive branch to Beijing, the communist regime has still managed to sway Taiwan\u2019s allies in Africa away. With that, Taiwan should take the opportunity to welcome Kadeer with open arms as a counter move, while in the meantime, letting Beijing know that Taiwan has cards to play. Or, the cross-strait communication channels shut down by Beijing since Tsai\u2019s inauguration last May could be reopened ahead of the visit.<\/p>\n
Of course, the consequence could be undesirable, but at least the move can break the impasse, given that China\u2019s top official for talks with Taiwan, Chen Deming, has yet to respond to an invitation to visit Kinmen, a Taiwan-controlled island close to the mainland, from his Taiwanese counterpart Tien Hung-mao (\u7530\u5f18\u8302) for weeks. <\/p>\n
Edited by Keoni Everington<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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