China’s criticism of new Taiwan leader excessive

Taiwan's new President Tsai Ing-wen gestures during her inauguration ceremony in Taipei on May 20, 2016. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Well, history has a long list of fates that befell persons who led their nations and states and gullible, actually forced, citizens into pursuing “overall strategic considerations.”
  • In the piece on Tuesday, Mr Wang went on to say Ms Tsai focuses excessively on details and short-term goals rather than overall strategic considerations.

Someone, certainly lots, in the People’s Republic of China’ needs to re-learn a simple lesson in diplomacy and how nations behave.

Pronouncements from Beijing last week on relations with Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China, illustrate this.

Barely a week after Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration as president of Taiwan on May 20, 2016, by all accounts, motor mouths — there were plenty of printed verbiage — in Beijing got fast and loose.

Here’s a modest example that went viral: “As a single female politician, she lacks the emotional encumbrance of love, the constraints of family or the worries of children.”

That was part of an article written by one Wang Weixing. It was distributed by the official Xinhua News Agency.

“Her style and strategy in pursuing politics constantly skew toward the emotional, personal and extreme,” Mr Wang continued.

Reportedly, Wang is an analyst with China’s People’s Liberation Army. Who the army is liberating China from remains a mystery. Whatever, the army seems busy developing courses in political psychiatry.

That aside, Mr Wang didn’t explain why the attributes he piled on Ms Tsai contributes to leadership.

He essentially glorified make chauvinists’ bar hogwash: a woman isn’t more than smiles, boobs and bums, et al. Result: societal waste of talent.

In the piece on Tuesday, Mr Wang went on to say Ms Tsai focuses excessively on details and short-term goals rather than overall strategic considerations.

That erroneously means she has no clue Beijing’s political mandarins’ “overall strategic considerations” are to gobble as much of the world as possible.

Well, history has a long list of fates that befell persons who led their nations and states and gullible, actually forced, citizens into pursuing “overall strategic considerations.”

RECONCILIATION IS OKAY

China has no farther to look at than its own imperial eras. Next door neighbour, Mongolia, has own version.

Anyway, Mr Wang also happens to be a member of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.

It’s a semi-official body that deals with issues Chinese/Taiwanese and his opinion a rare gem in China.

Ego, or rather “egoty”—a non-existent word in the English language but apt derivative from ego to denote the ugliness of the condition--doesn’t allow the officialdom in Beijing to directly deal with counterparts in Taiwan.

If one doesn’t directly talk to the Devil, why complain about what the Devil he or she does?

Historically, Taiwan is only part of territories China, in its amorphous evolution, once controlled. In the long haul, China’s claim of Taiwan rationale would equal Britain’s of Calais and vicinity in France, ad infinitum.

Taiwan came to existence as a de-facto state in 1947. It was a result of Chinese people disagreements — international machination included.

The losers went their way, to build a prosperous nation. The victors continued to slaughter each other.

That said; there’s nothing wrong in seeking reconciliation. In any case, today’s Chinese aren’t the Chinese and Taiwanese of an ignominious era.

That fits into Tsai’s comment about not being bogged down by “historical baggage”.

It’s the future that matters; saber-rattling and nearly obscene kitchen politic verbiage kills it. After all, diplomacy, like seduction, is the ability to tell someone “go or come” to hell and make that person happy doing it.