馬英九的強心針 A shot in the arm for Ma Ying-jeou

AT LAST Ma Ying-jeou, elected president of Taiwan last year, has something to show for his efforts to patch up relations with China, badly frayed under his predecessor, Chen Shui-bian. On April 28th Mr Ma secured a long-sought breakthrough. After 12 failed attempts since 1997 to join the United Nations’ World Health Organisation (WHO) as an observer, Taiwan has been invited to take part in the WHO’s World Health Assembly in Geneva in May.

This will be Taiwan’s first participation in a UN event since it lost its seat to China 38 years ago. It represents a big concession from China, which habitually bars Taiwan from any gathering that might suggest it has a claim to statehood. Taiwan will take part under the name “Chinese Taipei”, used in sporting events such as the Olympics and regional groups such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum.

The move will be widely welcomed at a time when the world is grappling with its response to swine flu. Taiwan so far has reported no cases, but the years of exclusion from the WHO make it feel vulnerable. During the deadly SARS crisis of 2003, Chinese objections delayed WHO experts wanting to assess the situation in Taiwan for several weeks. Taiwan’s government was already permitted some contact with the WHO, but as an observer to the assembly it will have broader access to its data.

The move is the first real sign that detente with China has transcended purely trade and economics. Last year Mr Ma eased tensions by reviving a tactful but discarded formulation that both Taiwan and China were part of China but each defined the term in its own way. He renewed contacts with the Chinese government, and reached agreements to boost business ties. The latest, signed in Nanjing on April 26th, include one on financial co-operation, which will eventually allow Taiwanese financial institutions to start operating on the mainland. Others will allow a sharp expansion in direct cross-strait flights and improve co-operation in fighting crime and repatriating fugitives.

Mr Ma has also called from the outset for a “diplomatic truce”. He said Taiwan needed to stop competing with Beijing to add to the short list of 23 countries which recognise it rather than China. WHO membership, however, was a priority for practical rather than political reasons. Analysts say a deal has been under negotiation for months. Taiwan has rejected any offer that describes it as part of the People’s Republic of China, and has insisted that the invitation come from the WHO, not Beijing.

Beijing-watchers in Taiwan say senior Chinese officials differed about how to respond to Mr Ma’s request. They did not want to give Taiwan too much political leeway. But they worried that if they did not help him, the disillusioned public would give more support to the opposition, Mr Chen’s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party. They may also have realised that blocking 23m people from important forums dealing with global health hardly improves China’s image as a responsible global citizen.