The Hong Kong-after-next

TRADE: "Taiwan and China Dance Ever Closer: To further economic integration, Beijing and Taipei may table the issue of the island's sovereignty," by Patrick Smith, BusinessWeek, 10 November 2008.

WORLD NEWS: "Taiwan's Ex-President Is Imprisoned," by Ting-I Tsai, Wall Street Journal, 12 November 2008.

The basic gist in first article: "Taiwan's Ma seeks a deal with China similar to Hong Kong's":

The Nationalists [actually the Kuomintang, as the labels are mismatched here, much like with our spendthrift Republicans and budget-balancing Dems of recent decades] want a 30- to 50-year agreement that says simply: Taiwan's political sovereignty is off the docket for now. Let's do business and revisit that question at an agreed-on moment later."

So very Chinese.

As for Beijing, Chen's visit signals that the mainland wants at least 20 years to focus on its economy without worrying about Taiwan.

Bad news for the big-war crowd here.

More bad news: Taiwan's cumulative $100B of FDI in the mainland is estimated to be 2X higher than it was just five years ago.

G.D. Kuomintang are gonna ruin our military!

Comments

[William R. Cumming]

Malcom Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" may have application here. Once the majority of Taiwan's economy is majority directed at mainland the issue of independence is over. Addition of Hong Kong and now Taiwan will really make China a power house.Also seeing more and more Mainland Chinese that have been given resident alien status or even citizenship, some working for beltway bandits. Has there been some change in Chinese priority for residence in the US?

[Jonathan Fu]

Just as the U.S. bought off Japan and Germany after WWII... China is buying off Taiwan!! Make money, not War.