By Jerome A. Cohen
Here’s a strong piece from Chris Patten in the Financial Times. It supports some of the suggestions that have been presented in the past few days and mentions the forthcoming G-7 meeting.
But I am disappointed that Chris does not spell out what the G-7, which I mentioned the other day in my blog, should actually do. In response to my blog, a brilliant European scholar has asked whether the G-7 might invite Taiwan to attend as an observer. Too provocative to Beijing? Too dangerous for Taiwan? After the unfair exclusion of Taiwan from the recent World Health Assembly (WHA), observer status at the G-7 would be a nice touch. Even if G-7 does not customarily invite observers, it surely can, and such an innovation would add emphasis to the importance of the invitation.
Moreover, Patten is in a good position to urge some dramatic diplomatic responses that the UK should independently make in view of the PRC’s newest distortion of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Even if a UK request for bilateral discussions with Beijing to correct its distortion of the treaty is scorned, even if a UK effort to take the issues of treaty interpretation to the International Court of Justice is certain to be rejected by the PRC, these measures should be visibly attempted in order to focus world attention on what is happening.