Christopher Hughes 到底說了些什麼?
http://www.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=5056799&page=7
I couldn’t recall the detail ofthe conference I attended in Taiwan last year, but I remember that there wasthis big discussion about ECFA. I was quite skeptical about ECFA. Was itnecessary? Why do you even need ECFA, really? Even if you look at KMT, theimpact on GDP is relatively small, much smaller than predictions. And there area lot of political arguments made about it. There are a lot political thaneconomic I think, both sides, for and against. For the Ma administration, theyhad to show some progress on the cross-strait relations to get some supportfrom Beijing. The arguments they made were that we have to compete with SouthKorea. This is not really an argument. If you’re competing with South Korea,it’s hopefully high-technology. Now that is already covered by WTO.
The big problem for Taiwan is noteconomic. I’m not an economist, but I speak in an economic sense. I’m not fromTaiwan, you know…you know more about Taiwan. The problem is domestic, thestructure of Taiwanese industry, the business practices, and financial sectors.The fact that it’s very easy for Taiwanese businesses is to use cheap labor andland in China. It means that there’s no incentive to upgrade Taiwaneseindustry, so the more businesses in China, the less incentive to actuallyrestructure Taiwan’s own domestic industry. And so essentially, Taiwan islosing its technology now, very little, in terms of new developments inproducts. And you have a lot of advantages in the language and so on. It’s mucheasier for Taiwanese businesses to work in China, much easier than South Korea.
So the argument they hold, youknow, that the South Korea got this trade agreement with China. If we don’thave one we’d be frozen up. I don’t think these arguments really stand up,they’re more political. That was one of the big arguments Ma’s administrationmade over ECFA constantly. And during the election in 2008, it was a big partof Ma’s campaign that South Korea signed FTA with China, and have much easieraccess to China’s market and we’ll be frozen up from south east Asia. I don’tthink it’s really economical thought, it’s much more political. It diverts thereal attention away from the real problems, which is Taiwan itself. Domestics,manufacture, R&D. Also the financial sectors were still not properlyreformed.
I think if you look at thoseissues, Taiwan has had a lot of advantages. Still, with china, the economy.Going back to… it wasn’t KMT who started, it was DPP. They speak open a lot toChinese mainland economy. That was very easy. I mean it couldn’t go wrong, evenI could run a business like that, I guess. So In some ways, it was good forTaiwan’s economy, but it was a bit too easy. It made Taiwan’s economy becomevery dependent on China. Not enough effort was put into the global aspect, withthe EU, with the US. And all its attention is China, China, China. And that ledto dependency, distortion, in economy.
So now the trade servicesagreement. You have to ask what is the need for this, who is going to reallybenefit from this? So who are the winners and losers? But it also deliberatespolitical issues… what are the political implications for Taiwan. We’re alllooking at Hong Kong, of course. And you can see there, what happens when youbecome dependent on Chinese economy. And it’s used for political leverage. Topress freedom, to control the media, the academic freedom… all of these thingsare reflected by this huge economical leverage.
Q: Might Taiwan be the next HongKong after the Service Agreement is passed?
I would imagine that’s why thosestudents are upset or worried. And I think there are a lot of good reasons forthat, and it’s up to the government of Taiwan to ensure that it’s done properlywith the safe guards. And I don’t think there’s any trust in Ma’sadministration. I mean, what’s their intention? What does Ma really want? Groupof advisors were around him.
The Agreement hasn’t passed (whenI was in Taiwan), but it was being discussed last year. I go every year toTaiwan to do some research, to China as well, to see both sides.
You can’t separate economicinfluence from political influence because china’s policy is clearly to useeconomic influence for its political purposes. It’s China’s official policy touse economic influence to achieve unification. That’s an open public policy,there’s no secret about that. So there’s no separation. The question there is:how does Taiwan deal with that? Do you pretend, “oh there’s a separation, thatthese are purely pragmatic economic matters, we can separate it from politics.”You can’t state that. That’s not how they see it in Beijing at all. For them,economics and politics are the same thing. It goes back a long way for theChinese communist party.
Q: Is the connection with othernations apart from China possible?
I think it’s possible, and it’sworth a try, but Ma’s administration hasn’t even tried it. Their policy allalong… if you look at Ma’s policy, which really goes back to 2005, 胡連會, wherethey had the agreement. That’s really where this situation comes from. Ma’spolicy in 2008, where he ran for the presidency, purely focused on thecross-strait relations. There was not really any foreign policy. There was onlyone page, you know, something… we’ll do something with America… but it wasreally nothing. If we can just get cross-strait relation right, that economicintegration, would solve all out. And that’s what they thought it, and votedit… to give it a try. The idea was that if we have these good economicrelations, we would build up trust with Beijing, then we will somehow graduallyget more international space, but it was never explained how it worked or whywould Beijing want to do this. It was really built on trust from the 胡連會.
Well, you know a lot of peoplebelieve that, and it may have worked in a short term to release some pressureon Taiwan. But it’s not a long-term strategy. It lacks a foreign policy, itlacks defence policy… there’s no real, I mean, where is the diplomacy? I mean,if you’re in London, what does the Taiwan office (台灣代表處) do?They have meetings where they talk about the Qing dynasty. Very interesting,they never mentioned Taiwan.
We all know the limits. The UK isnot going to recognize Taiwan as a state, I wish we would, but we are not goingto because China will stop that. But there’s a lot of grey area where in thepast Taiwan was able to achieve quite a lot international space, not diplomaticrecognition but joining international organizations. And often it did requiresome courageous diplomacy, but it requires calling Beijing’s bluff. And Beijingwould always threaten to go to wars, but Taiwan didn’t back down at that time.
As cross-strait relationsimproved, there were also some more international space. That was 李登輝’sstrategy, back to 1990s. And 陳水扁,but they would never trust him whatever he did. He did try that strategy, butthey didn’t trust him. But with Ma, when he came in 2008, he had a goodopportunity because whatever he did, he could have done a lot more, because thedeep fear of Beijing was that DPP comes back to power. He could have pushedforward more in international space. He could have… he didn’t try. There was noforeign policy. I think he lost the opportunity for Taiwan. He could have comeback to something like李登輝’sstrategy. For the DPP, it is very difficult because the Beijing government justwon’t trust them because their party committed to the independence of Taiwan.That may change the future, and we don’t know what will happen in 2016. If Maand KMT are working for Taiwan’s interest, they’d been thinking in long-term,they’ll try to have cross party consensus, domestic consensus, which shouldreally focus on Taiwan’s interests, but I don’t see that at all. I see a policythat only based on one thing, which is keep DPP out, whatever that takes.
And another thing that worries meis that lots of people in KMT are really Chinese nationalists. And their heartsare really toward China’s unification and China. And they’re quite high up inKMT, and Ma could be one of them. So that rouses another issue: what is theirintention? Is he just incompetent? That’s why he didn’t use his opportunity, orhis intention is really to get some sort of agreement with 習近平? GettingNobel Prize for unification? The conference I attended didn’t reflect thepublic opinions in Taiwan. People from previous generation are still with thismindset. How influential are they? I know there’re younger people who don’tlike that… And the personal links with China, and how much time they spentthere, whom they talked to… there’s a network as well. That is very Chinafocused. That’s the product of China’s policy since 1979.
What does Taiwan do to balancethat? Under 李登輝and陳水扁, theytried to build democracy and constitutional reform, changing education system.This is a good strategy, to solid the Taiwanese democratic system and itsidentity. What does Ma do? Changing your textbooks’ facts, so you’re allChinese! Constitutional reform? Where’s the strategy? Apart from saying: “Let’sbe nice to China, they’ll be nice to us.” That’s not a strategy. He’s trying todeal with the pragmatic issues, economic issues… but we leave the politicalissues to the future. If you’re going to do that, you need a balancingstrategy. To release a much better foreign policy, domestic policy, politicalpolicy, cultural policy, education policy, and defence policy. All of thoseissues are a mess in Taiwan. Defence policy doesn’t exist. You’re trying todevelop volunteer services but it’s not working.
Trade is not the most importantthing to national security. You need a well function political system.Democratization in Taiwan is not finished in the past 30 years. Theconstitution is a mess. The elections are free elections, but they are not fairelections because of the party financing. While KMT has sufficient wealth, DPPhas very little. The last round of the political reform in the sea boundary wasvery unsatisfactory. It’s almost impossible for the DPP to win the elections.There are lots of problems still. Any democratic system needs reformconstantly. Taiwan has pretty serious problems with the democratic system. Justto have votes and elections is not really democracy, is it? It’s a very unevenplay in Taiwan, if you look at the party financing. Ultimately there’s theissue with the constitution because it’s a constitution written for China, notfor Taiwan. Obviously it’s hard to change that, but it’s possible to find ways,like additional articles. Every time there’s a change, like finance orpresidential elections, China threatens with attack but they didn’t.
As for the social situation, Idon’t think it’s a strong society if everyone has to work very hard all thetime, to pass the exams, to try to be productive and efficient but not allowedto do anything political at all. This is not a strong society. It may lookstrong on the surface but it’s very weak underneath. And Taiwan has a lot ofstrength building up its society, this was the consensus until recently. Andit’s a shame if your generation feels that it’s making it weaker. I wouldn’tmake judgment myself, but you’re from Taiwan, you should judge. I was justsaying you have to be careful to make that judgment. I guess you could compareTaiwan with the US, the people there are more lazy, and more wasteful. And theyspend even more time on politics, but they have very efficient economy, veryproductive.
Taiwan is at a different stage ofdevelopment. One of the big problem still experience 1980s and 1990s. Theeconomic growth very fast, just like in China now, people felt richer andricher every week. No economy can carry on like that for more than a period oftime. Taiwan has passed that stage. What Taiwan is focused on is the servicesector, like tourism, art and culture. And creative industry, which means alsotechnology, and creating environment in which brilliant young scientist canreally have the freedom to innovate and to make mistakes and do stupid thingsas well as things that are successful. That’s what Americans do. And we try todo it here, but in China it’s not like that.
How many inventions come fromChina? The one thing China is good at is getting foreign investment andproducing large quantity of goods, quite high quality. Research and developmentis not good. It’s getting better but it’s still nothing like the US and Japanor Europe. Anyone who is a great scientist would immediately leave China and gosomewhere else. First of all, he can’t breathe. Media freedom, democracy all gotogether. Scientists are human beings, too. They don’t always stay in thelaboratory in the evening. They might want to go to a play, some music, go fora walk and get some fresh air. Children can grow up in a healthy environment.Beijing’s not like that. No matter how much money China invests in R&D,there’s no result. Now Taiwan is one of the best places to live in Asia. Anyforeigner, businessmen, diplomats, wants to live in Taiwan because of the safeenvironment. You don’t have this communist party looking at you.Multi-nationalists prefer to live in Taiwan for their R&B, and that’s whatTaiwan needs to build.
DPP has not been in power since2008, and it’s not normal, so they still need to do a lot of work. The normalcourses are distorted by the China factor. The tide is not on Taiwan’s side. Ifone party is in power for a long time, we can live with it. It’s not reallyhealthy, but we can live with it, you know, some of the other parties will comeback in. In Taiwan, with this China factor constantly distorting, one party isout for a long time. It develops different kinds of problems, so that makes a difference.So this is hard for Taiwanese democracy to function properly. The Chineseeffect distorts everything. It requires very creative thinking to change thesituation. Not going too far, but… not just giving in, and having no strategyat all. It’s very unclear what Ma’s strategy is, where his heart is, or whathis intentions are, if he has any.
Perhapsyou should be telling me what’s going on in Taiwan. You’re from Taiwan. Youknow much about it than I do. And it’s about your generation. What’s going tohappen in your generation?
(二)林孟潔的翻譯
去年夏天我受邀至台灣的政府部門討論服貿協議,為其草率感到相當震驚,因為許多涉及重要且敏感的部門並沒有經過審慎的調查與評估,政府並沒有更仔細的檢視這個協議一旦通過所帶來經濟上隱含的意義和後果。
這讓我想起了ECFA。台灣的問題其實並不完全如政府所說的是在經濟上,而是馬政府從以前到現在所指稱的,如果不簽經濟協定,台灣就會落後南韓,這並不是全部的事實。馬政府從未真正提出一個對策和足以服人的論點來說服人民。
這些如果不簽就會導致失去競爭力的說法,其實只是讓政府找到藉口轉移注意力,不去正視問題的核心──台灣真正的問題是在國內的產業結構與財經部門並沒有很好的運作,亦缺乏對研發與創新部門的投資。當台灣的企業在過去很輕易的就得以登陸使用他們廉價的勞工和土地等,那長期下來其實並不太可能提供台灣自身產業創新的誘因,台灣正逐漸失去在科技和創新產業上所掌握的技術。其實台灣並不是沒有優勢,只是政府應該正視並對國內產業結構與整體環境進行調整,提出實際應對的政策。
馬政府上台後更加深對中國的經濟依賴,而不去考量到台灣的其他可能性,例如,更加強與歐盟或美國的經貿合作,或者把台灣放入全球化的脈絡來思考其他的可能性。唯一強調的就是中國。所以現在的服貿協議,必須要問的問題是,到底為什麼需要這個,台灣真的需要嗎?誰會從中獲益?誰是贏家誰是輸家?這又牽涉到政治層面的問題,到底服貿協議隱含了怎樣的政治意涵。當台灣過度依賴中國這個經濟體,後果將會從經濟層面滲透到政治與社會,包含媒體、學術自由等。台灣有沒有可能變成第二個香港?
馬政府一廂情願地認為,只要我們對中國好,他們就會對我們好。然而事實上卻不是這個樣子。不可能將經濟政策的影響與政治上的影響切割開來,因為中國很顯然地就是在使用它的經濟影響力去達成它的政治目的,這是個公開的政策而非秘密。但問題在於,台灣如何去面對?你不可能假裝經濟歸經濟政治歸政治,兩者不相互影響,北京不是這樣想的。對他們而言,政治和經濟是同一件事。
台灣仍然有機會在中國的干預下與其他國家仍然有所連結,然而馬政府連嘗試都不願意。如果你看他的政策,其實很多源自2005年連戰胡錦濤會面時的討論框架。在2008年馬的競選中他單單聚焦於兩岸關係,事實上,對一個國家而言,這絕非真正的外交政策。經濟合作並非解決所有問題的萬靈丹。他總是認為,只要和北京保持良好經濟關係,取得其信任,那就可以漸漸爭取到更多在國際上發言的空間,但事實上這兩件事情並沒有關聯,永遠不可能知道北京是怎麼想的。
貿易並不是對於一個國家的生存而言唯一重要的事情。一個國家還需要良好運作的政治系統,台灣的民主化尚未完成,憲政秩序也一團糟。因於政黨在競選過程中募資能力的不同,選舉雖說是自由的,但並非公平。台灣的民主政治還有很多尚待解決的問題,單單是可以自由選舉、投票並非真正的民主,任何的民主政治系統都需要持續性的改革。
至於在社會現狀的層次,我不認為一個真正體質健全的社會是你永遠超時工作,非常有效率有生產力,認真讀書通過考試,但關心政治是不被允許的,當人們不太關心自己所身處的社會時,例如在中國,那並不是一個真正完善的公民社會。或許它表面上看起來是個很強大的社會,但事實上並不然。台灣近幾年達成了一個公民社會的共識,是民主化的過程讓台灣社會有達致這種社會共識的能力。
台灣錢淹腳目的年代已經不復存在,1980-90年代有一段時間我人在台灣,甚至連我這樣的局外人,都得以在當時高度經濟發展的台灣社會分一杯羹。每天每天人們變的更加富有,而那個在過去的台灣,經濟高速成長的時代是現在中國正在經歷的。台灣早已過了那樣的高速經濟發展階段,不可能再重返。然而,必須注意的是,在追求經濟發展的同時,執政者不能只將政策聚焦於經濟成長本身,而必須注意許多層次,所有可以讓生活變得更好的地方:服務業、旅遊、藝術、文化等產業,凡舉此些具備創造性(creativeindustry)的產業,需要政府去經營一個良好的環境,吸引真正有創新能力的人才,必須要有自由的環境,可以不斷的嘗試錯誤和失敗,之後才能有機會成功而達致創新,創新才是讓經濟向前的核心動力。這是美國所提供的環境。
但中國並不是這樣的地方,你能夠數出多少真正具有原創性和創新的產品/技術是完全源自中國?中國擅長的地方,是吸引外資,以及量產(非原創性)商品,研究發展部門(Research and Development)是羸弱的,雖然在近些年有好轉,但仍然遠遠不及美國、日本與歐洲。但好的人才、有能力創新的人才,大部分都不願意留在中國,他們都去了別的地方。為什麼要留在中國?很重要的一點是,對於那些有創新能力的人才而言,他們甚至不能夠自由的呼吸。媒體、言論、民主等自由是不可能置外於追求經濟創新的整體環境的。例如,科學家也不是總是待在實驗室裡,晚上他們可能會想去散步、去看戲去聽音樂會、呼吸新鮮空氣,希望他們的孩子在安全的環境下長大。並不是單單把錢砸在研究機構裡就可以。中國砸了多少錢在研發創新部門但卻不能夠達致相對應的成效,關鍵便是肇因於此。
台灣是在亞洲最適合居住的城市之一,很多從事商業或外交等的外國人,或具備創新能動性的外國人才,會十分傾向留在台灣。然而,我並看不出來馬政府有任何更具體的策略去營造把人才留在台灣的環境。
在台灣另一個令人憂心的問題是嚴重的藍綠惡鬥。在美國,縱然民主黨與共和黨視對方為競爭對手,但仍然是可以相互溝通甚至握手言和的。因其歷史淵源,或許民進黨仇視國民黨是比較可以理解的,但雙方依舊是為了反對而反對。李登輝時代降低了兩黨間的分歧,推動憲政改革,發展出基本的共識。據我所知中國和部分國民黨人士並不喜歡他。但如果仔細評估李登輝時代所替台灣做到的許多事情,是不可以輕忽其貢獻的。
民進黨的問題在於它深陷於過去的歷史,沉浸在80、90年代的民主運動的氛圍和脈絡裡,那很重要沒有錯,但我並不清楚,那些沉重的過去對你們這個世代到底有多重要,年輕的世代與上個世代並不同,你們並沒有活過那樣的年代,你們思考更現實的問題,關於如何找到工作、獲得多少薪水、或者追求自己生存的基本保障等。如果檢視民進黨的權力結構,很大一部分仍然為五六十歲的人所掌控,糾葛於自身過去的歷史與記憶。民進黨需要更多年輕世代真正進入權力結構的中心,它需要改變,需要往前走而非總是糾纏在過去的民主運動史的記憶與經驗之中。
全世界的民主國家都正在面臨一個問題:年輕人並不關心政治。這也是為什麼在許多國家選舉時,候選人偏好提出利於老年的政策和預算偏向,因為他們知道,年輕人不投票,再爭取也只是枉然。年輕世代應該尋求更大程度的政治參與,民進黨需要年輕世代的意見,國民黨也同樣需要年輕人的參與,以擺脫其中許多根深蒂固的中國國族主義的影響。政黨政治的循環是這樣,以英國為例,在1997年工黨勝選以前,保守黨執政了十八年,有可能十五到二十年權力皆為同一個政黨所掌控,這並不是罕見的現象,輪替是一個痛苦的過程,會迫使一個政黨仔細檢視它在政策運作、領導權力結構上的缺失。在下一次選舉時再尋求改進。
台灣的問題在於,無法置外於中國因素(China Factor)的影響,它扭曲了正常的政黨政治和民主程序。在政黨政治較為良好運作的國家,我們可以確信,就算一黨掌握了相當長時間的政治權力,總有一天,它若不夠兢兢業業,必然會有失勢的一天。然而,時間的優勢並不在台灣這一邊,台灣並沒有這樣的奢侈可以想要擁有多少時間就擁有多少時間去妥善處理中國因素。政府又提不出一個更具體的方案來妥善處理現況。民主要良好的運作對台灣而言是艱難的,因為中國因素過份地影響了台灣的政黨政治。需要非常有創造力的思考和應對,才能尋求新的出路和可能。然而現在的政府看起來是全然地放棄,根本毫無任何誰知道台灣的下一個世代會變得怎麼樣?
更好或更壞,這就交給年輕世代來處理和面對。
這秩序繽紛的世界/就留給你整理。
(三)Tiffany的翻譯
去年,我來台北參加了一場研討會,研討會內的所談論的細節我沒有什麼印象,但我記得,席間關於ECFA有許多討論。對於ECFA,我持質疑態度─ ECFA勢在必行嗎?對於ECFA有需求、真的需要嗎?即便從國民黨的觀點來看ECFA,其對於國民平均所得的影響也比預期小得多。除此之外,也有許多針對ECFA的政治辯論:在我看來,不論對於ECFA贊成與否,這些聲音涉及政治層面是多於經濟層面的。為了要得到陸方的支持,馬政府得有一些進展。馬政府以我們要與南韓競爭為論述;但這根本不能算是個論點─如果要與南韓競爭,應該會是在高科技方面。既然這已經在世界貿易組織的涵蓋範疇,台灣所面臨的問題不在經濟面向。
我不是經濟學家,但我是從經濟觀點來看這件事情。我不是台灣人,你們對於台灣的了解比我多。台灣的問題在於自身:台灣產業的結構、商業習慣、與財政部門。事實上,對於台灣產業而言,利用大陸便宜的勞工與土地,是很簡單的。這意味著,改良台灣產業的動力不存在,所以在大陸貿易量越高,真正重組台灣內部產業的動力就越低。因此實際上,台灣正逐漸失去在產品發展方面的技術。而在語言及其他方面的優勢,使得台灣人在大陸工作遠比在南韓工作簡單多了。
所以說,馬政府所主張─南韓與大陸間有貿易協定,倘若兩岸不簽署這樣的協議,我們會沒有立足點;這樣的論點我個人覺得並不成立,因為我認為這是有政治意涵的。前述主張,是馬政府對於ECFA所不停做出的論證。在2008年的選舉中,馬陣營的政見中,很大部分著重在南韓已經與大陸堅定自由貿易協定(FTA),使得南韓進入大陸市場相對容易許多,而我們在東南亞將會被凍結。我個人認為這是政治上考量,而非經濟上的考量─真正的問題在於台灣本身,而它將焦點從此問題中移開。本土、製造、研發,與財政部門,都沒有妥適重組。
如果你這些議題,台灣一度有許多優勢。但涉及大陸,經濟(原文:Still, with china, the economy.)。回到剛剛…這一切的始作俑者並不是國民黨,而是民進黨。民進黨對於大陸經濟有很多公開喊話。這非常容易呀,我是說這又不可能錯,我想連我都可以這樣經營。因而,在某些方面,這對台灣經濟是好的,但這未免也太容易。這讓台灣經濟太過依賴大陸,而沒有在全球面(跟美國、跟歐盟)相付出足夠的努力,一切都重心就是大陸、大陸、大陸。而這也導致經濟上的依賴與扭曲。
現在談到服務貿易協定,你要問的問題是:要它存在的需求是?會造福誰?誰會是贏家、誰會是輸家?但它也傳達出政治議題…對台灣的政治影響何在?談到這裡,當然我們會想到香港。從香港的經驗,可以看到若依賴大陸經濟,會有何影響。這是從政治影響力來看─壓迫自由、控制媒體與學術自由等,強大的經濟影響力反應出這些情形。
[以下是問與答]
問:服貿協議通過後,台灣有可能成為第二個香港嗎?
答:我能想像這是那些學生們懊惱或擔心的原因,他們之所以如此也是由許多原因造成。台灣方面應該確保服貿協議在安全範圍內,是妥當簽署的。我也覺得在這方面,可以信任馬政府。我的意思是,他們的意圖為何?他真正要的是甚麼?他身邊有很多人提供意見。
(我在台灣的時候)協議還沒通過,但對此有所討論。我每年都會到台灣、到大陸做研究,好觀察雙方。
經濟影響是沒有辦法從政治影響分離的,因為大陸的政策很明顯的就是要利用經濟影響達成政治目的。這是個攤在陽光底下的公共政策,沒有任何隱藏。所以是不可能分離來看的。問題是:台灣要怎麼應對?是要假裝「他們是可以分離的呀,這單純是務實的經濟議題,我們不用把他跟政治綁在一起」嗎?這樣的陳述中,完全看不見北京怎麼看。對他們來說,經濟跟政治是可以畫上等號的,而這可以追溯到中國共產黨。
問:有可能跟大陸以外的國家有所連結?
答:我個人認為不但有可能,也值得嘗試;但馬政府連試沒有試。從頭到尾,他們的政策…2005年的胡連會達成了一個協議,從那時候就可以觀察馬政府的政策,而這也是現狀的開端。馬政府在2008年競選時的政策單單著眼在兩岸關係,並沒有其他針對外國的政策。只有一頁,在說要跟美國完成一些事情,但那其實根本甚麼都不是。如果把兩岸關係處理好,經濟整合會為所有問題找到解決之道。而這正是他們所認為、投票結果所顯示的……要嘗試看看。整個想法是:如果我們有良好的經濟關係,與北京就可以搭起信任的橋樑,逐漸地我們在國際上會有更多舞台,但從來都沒有解釋如何達成,或北京方面如何會照著計劃走。這一切其實是來自胡連會所建立的信任。
很多人信這套,而這個方法在短期內的確也達成果效,削減了些許對台灣的壓力。但這並非長久之計。這缺乏國際政策、沒有防禦政策…也沒也真正的─我的意思是,民主何在?如果你人在倫敦,台灣代表處所為何事?他們會有討論清朝的聚會,有趣的是他們從不論及台灣。
我們知道所有的限制。英國不會承認台灣是一個國家,我希望我們能夠,但我們不會,因為大陸會插手阻止。但台灣在過去是可以在許多灰色地帶達成、取得國際舞台的─不是指政治承認,而是加入國際組織。很多時候,這確實是需要勇敢的外交,但也需要對北京虛張聲勢一番。北京方面永遠都以開戰威脅,但那時候台灣也沒有退讓。
隨著兩岸關係改善,也得到了一些國際空間。1990年代有李登輝的政策。至於陳水扁,他們(編按:大陸方面)永遠不可能信任他任何作為,他也嘗試過這樣的策略,但他們不相信他。但當馬英九於2008年執政,因為他所作所為,他是很有機會做更多的,因為北京方面最深層的恐懼是民進黨重拾政權。他(編按:馬英九)可以多加把勁兒而有更多國際舞台,他可以…但他沒有嘗試,並沒有對外政策。我認為,因為他,台灣失去了機會。他原本可以採納如同李登輝的政策。對民進黨來說一切都很難,因為北京方面就是不相信他們,之所以如此,是因為民進黨奉為圭臬的台獨黨綱。這一切在未來可能改變,我們不知道2016年會有怎麼樣的結果。如果馬政府跟國民黨是為台灣利益而努力,他們就應該把眼光拉遠,他們就會想要藉由達成政黨共識、國內共識而聚焦在台灣的利益,但我並沒有觀察到這些。我看到的政策只從一點出發,那就是不要讓民進黨參與,未達此不擇手段。
另外一個讓我憂心的是,很多國民黨的人其實是中國人,他們心繫統一與中國,而這些人在國民黨很活躍。因之而來的另外一個議題是:他們意圖為何?他只是沒有能力嗎?這是為什麼他沒有好好利用這個機會嗎?還是他真正的目的是在與習近平達成協議?因為統一得到諾貝爾獎嗎?我所參加的研討會並沒有反映台灣輿論。上一代的人仍有這樣的心態;他們影響力有多大?據我了解,有一些年輕人跟他們不同…還有與大陸的私人聯繫,以及他們在那兒過了多少日子、他們跟誰聊天…這也有一個網絡。聚光燈打在大陸身上,這也是從1979年以來大陸政策的產物。
台灣如何平衡這些呢?在李登輝與陳水扁執政時代,他們嘗試建立民主改革與憲政改革、改變教育體制。這是很好的政策,因為藉此兼顧台灣民主體制及其地位。而馬政府呢?修改課本上的事實,讓你成為正港中國人!憲政改革呢?除了表達「對大陸釋出善意,他們也會對我們表達善意」之外(這算不上一個政策),還有政策嗎?他(編按:馬英九)試著解決務實議題、經濟議題…但把政治議題留到以後解決。如果你要這樣做,你得要有平衡的策略─宣布更好的對外政策、對內政策、政治政策、文化政策、教育政策,以及防禦政策。這些議題在台灣都是一團糟。防禦政策根本不存在。你想要建構募兵制,但行不通。
對國家安全來說,貿易不是最重要的事情。需要的是能完善運作的政治體系。在過去三十年間,民主化在台灣還沒劃下句點。憲政一團糟。選舉是民選,但因為政黨經濟實力不同,所以不是公平選舉。國民黨有足夠的資金,但民進黨卻不足。上一次在海上領土的政治重建結果不令人滿意。民進黨要贏得選舉幾近不可能。還存在著許多的問題。任何民主制度都是需要不斷的重建的,在這方面台灣有很嚴重的問題。只有投票跟選舉不能算是真正的民主吧?如果從政黨財產來看,這是場很不公平的遊戲。最後,還有憲法的問題,因為這是為大陸所制定的,不是為台灣。這是很難改變的,但仍可以找到方法呀─例如增修條文。每次只要有改變(如:財政或是總統大選),大陸威脅攻擊但他們並沒有付諸行動。
至於社會狀況,如果大家都要時時勤奮工作、通過考試、試著多產並且有效率,但卻沒有機會參與政治的話,我不認為這是一個強壯的社會。這樣的社會表面上看起來健全,實際上卻十分軟弱。台灣有許多力量可以強健社會,這也是一直到現在的共識。如果你的世代覺得自己讓這個社會更薄弱的話,這是令人羞愧的。我不會下定論,但你是台灣人,應該由你來判斷。我要表達的是,做判斷時得要非常謹慎。我想你可以把台灣跟美國放在一起比較,美國人比較懶散、比較浪費,他們也投注較多時間在政治上,但他們有較有效的經濟、高產能。
台灣在不同發展階段上。1980年代跟1990年代歷經大問題。經濟成長快速,如同現在的大陸、人們覺得越來越富有。在一段時間之後,沒有任何經濟可以持續如此,台灣已經過了這個期間。台灣現在焦點放在服務業,諸如旅遊、藝術、文化、創意產業,這意味著科技與創意環境是很成功的,因為年輕科學家有自由可以去創新、犯錯、做愚蠢的事,也能做很成功的事情。這就是美國人所做的。我們試著在這裡做同樣的事情,但在大陸事情並非如此。
有多少發明來自大陸?大陸唯一擅長的,就是吸引外資、量產高品質產品;研究與發展並沒有太多成就,雖然在改善,但卻沒辦法像美、日、歐一樣。任何優秀的科學家都會離開大陸,去別的地方。會造成這樣的結果有許多原因,其一,他沒有辦法呼吸─媒體自由、民主等等。科學家也是人,傍晚不都待在研究室,他們也會想找個地方玩玩、聽聽音樂、去散散步、呼吸新鮮空氣;他們也希望小孩能在健康的環境下長大,但北京跟他們所想的完全不同。不管大陸在研發投注多少資金,還是沒有成果。台灣是亞洲最適人居的地方之一。任何外國人、商務人士、外交官都想要住在這兒,因為環境安全。沒有共產黨盯著你。多重國籍人為了研發會想要住在台灣,這正是台灣所需要建立的。
民進黨自2008年就非執政黨,這不尋常,所以他們還有很多事情要做。正常的過程被大陸因素給扭曲了,情勢對台灣不利。如果一黨執政許久,我們可以接受;這樣不太健全,我們可以接受,因為你知道其他政黨會回來執政。在台灣,因為大陸因素持續的影響,有一個政黨已經很久沒執政了。這造成不同的問題,所以這情形不同。台灣民主很難正常運作。大陸的影響歪曲了所有事情。要改變現狀,得要有非常不同的見解。我不是要扯太遠,但……不是就讓步,而完全沒有政策。馬政府的政策為何、心在何地、目的為何,即便他一一表明,這都是模糊不清的。
或許應該是你告訴我這裡發生了甚麼事,因為你是台灣人。你知道的會比我多、這有跟你的世代有關。在你的世代,會發生甚麼事呢?