Taiwan to Pay a High Price for U.S. Congressional Visits
United Daily News Editorial, September 3, 2022
Recently, American politicians have been visiting Taiwan quite often, and Taiwan has promoted the closeness of U.S.-Taiwan relations as proof that the "alliance of values" is rock-solid. However, the recent visit of Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the United States House of Representatives to Taiwan triggered the fourth crisis in the Taiwan Strait. With air intrusions by Communist China, the median line in the Taiwan Strait disappeared overnight. What's more serious is that U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who visited Taiwan in April, asked Taiwan during the trip to purchase Boeing 787 aircraft. At that time, the government categorically denied it. Unexpectedly, the latest news came out that China Airlines held an interim board of directors meeting on August 30 and approved the purchase of 24 Boeing aircraft, with a total amount of NT$140 billion (about US$ 4.6 billion). What a staggering price Taiwan has to pay for promoting these seeming international “friendship.”
Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan caused discoloration in the Taiwan Strait, which has been turbulent so far. She took her son with her during the trip, and was questioned that she had other commercial motives. The cloud of doubt is still unclear. Of course, we should open our arms to welcome our friends to visit Taiwan, but under the splendid diplomatic protocols, the number of military or commercial transactions that cannot be brought to the table is what our people should be vigilant about. China Airlines' main fleet is "Airbus," but now it is forced to spend a lot of money to procure American Boeing passenger planes due to congressional visits from the United States. This is a result of diplomatic pressure over commercial operation; this is also an irresponsible act of the government’s interference with business management.
Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina and his party came to Taiwan in mid-April. When they met with President Tsai Ing-wen, Senator Graham asked her to buy 24 Boeing 787 aircraft built in his constituency of South Carolina. At that time, the interpreters of the Office of the President deliberately omitted to interpret this statement, and the press release afterward also omitted it, implying that the government intended to conceal the news. However, the Office of the President and the Executive Yuan later asked China Airlines in private about the progress of the business deal. This newspaper discovered Senator Graham’s remarks related to promoting Boeing planes. After the disclosure, the presidential office actually called the news report “ulteriorly motivated.” Director-General Chen Ming-tong of the National Security Bureau snapped his “red hat” even more, saying he suspected it was "cognitive warfare." Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu stated that he didn't hear it clearly, and he believed the interpreters didn't hear it clearly either.
Four months later, China Airlines convened an interim board of directors meeting on August 30 and announced the purchase of 16 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, plus eight "options." The total, no more or no less, was exactly the 24 Boeing aircraft that Senator Graham had requested. There is a possibility that the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen had made a commitment to buy Boeing aircraft before Senator Graham and his party visited Taiwan. Another possibility is that this is a "diplomacy tied to business" transaction, and Taiwan would pay the bill after Senator Graham and other so-called heavyweight "cross-party lawmakers" visited Taiwan, as a "deferred reward." The question is that the government "invites guests," but forces China Airlines to "foot the bill" and purchase airplanes that do not meet its needs. What kind of generosity is this?
In any case, the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen is only receiving a few congressional delegates from the United States, and Taiwan has to pay NT$140 billion for the procurement deal. What a high price is this? What's more, according to news reports, Boeing temporarily stopped the delivery of Boeing 787 about a year ago due to structural defects, and already accumulated over a hundred airplanes in stock so far. It was until last month that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had cleared the way for the delivery of the first Boeing plane. In light of such uncertain safety prospects, the Tsai administration actually pushed China Airlines to buy Boeing 787. Where did it place the safety of our people?
There should be professional evaluation and judgement to decide whether or not China Airlines could diversify its fleet, from the original structure of Airbus as the main force to the revised plan of using Boeing fleet as supplementary. As a matter of principle, the decision must be, at least, in line with China Airlines' own operating interests and management convenience. In addition, the principle of "passenger safety first" must be taken into account. However, when the Tsai administration intervened in this matter with diplomatic thinking, everything changed its tone, and safety and commercial considerations were all trampled underfoot. Only the government's "diplomatic face" was the highest guideline. Just imagine, for instance, when an American senator played guiding chess with President Tsai at the presidential office, asking her to buy this and that, and even offer the quantity of products directly. President Tsai hurriedly accepted the offer, then transferring her pressure to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and China Airlines. In such a scene, do people see any "national dignity" of Taiwan?
Due to Speaker Pelosi's visit, Taiwan paid the price for the disappearance of the median line in the Taiwan Strait and intrusion by mainland Chinese missiles. Up to now, the mainland’s harassment has not stopped. For Senator Graham's visit, Taiwan paid a price of NT$140 billion and bet on the safety of China Airlines passengers. Under the big diplomatic balloon, there is a hidden risk that the Tsai administration will not tell you, and indeed the price is so high.