Watson flying the flag for tiny state

Date: 23/01/03

TAIWAN'S crash-prone China Airlines is currently mulling over where to spend €700 million on engines for its sleek new fleet of aircraft.

Britain's Rolls-Royce is in a lobbying dogfight with America's General Electric to clinch the deal.

And, theoretically, that puts the European Parliament's Liberal leader Graham Watson in a tight spot.

The softly spoken Scot is Taiwan's staunchest ally in the European Parliament. Thousands of Rolls-Royce workers ply their trade in his very own constituency in the West of England.

Success could help to secure their futures. Failure could leave them one step nearer the dole queue.

Despite the high stakes, Watson insists he won't be pulling any strings - even though he admits he would be delighted if the airline buys British engines for its new Airbus short-haul and Boeing long-haul jets.

"I wish I had that much influence," laughs Watson, adding that his support for Taipei's battle for international recognition will go on regardless of who wins the engine deal.

"Democratic politicians should not get involved in business deals. It's the start of the slippery slope. It's incumbent on us to create the conditions for the laws of the market to prevail."

The engine fracas follows an even longer aerial battle to supply the airline with over €2 billion worth of planes.

When the Taiwanese originally plumped for an all-Airbus fleet, workers were dancing in the streets in Toulouse.

But then the Americans sent in the big political guns - to match the real ones the US sells to Taipei - and Taiwan changed its mind. Suddenly, the Champagne was set to bubble over in Seattle instead.

In the end, China Airlines opted for the 50-50 deal it claimed is based entirely on commercial criteria.

"What is important is that the Taiwanese have created the conditions in which that kind of trade can take place on a fair basis," says Watson.

"If we were talking about a similar deal with the People's Republic of China it would be entirely political."

Watson has campaigned tirelessly for Taiwan which - with a Liberal-affiliated party, the Democratic Progressive Party at the helm - he sees as an upholder of all the values he holds dear.

"The People's Republic is the last significant vile communist dictatorship - and I choose my words carefully. People are still tried for their religious beliefs and put in labour camps. Summary executions take place.

"At the same time, Taiwan has developed into a democracy in every sense of the word."

But, 30 years after then-US President Richard Nixon's infamous trip to Peking in 1972 signalled a new period of détente in Sino-American relations - sealed by a gift of two pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing - Taiwan is still treated as a pariah state and denied entry to international bodies such as the United Nations.

"The Taiwanese could have chosen to run a campaign against the hypocrisy and double standards. They have not," says Watson.

"They say we recognise your difficulties, we will work with you but, quite rightly, they expect integration into bodies of global governance."

External Relations Commissioner and former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten has attracted criticism for failing to match his beliefs with deeds during his stint at the EU executive.

Watson, who worked for HSBC Bank in Hong Kong in the 1980s, admits he also expected a more robust performance from Patten.

"What is the distinction between a politician and a statesman? I would argue that a statesman is someone who is prepared to move the debate forward when they see an opportunity."

Patten has had this opportunity, argues Watson, since he made the switch from Hong Kong to Brussels.

"But he has failed to seize it. Maybe he feels he got his fingers burned when he was in Hong Kong and he upset the Chinese."

However, Watson sees little point in Patten-bashing or attacking governments for being too timid.

Instead, he focuses on the work that his own institution, and members of national parliaments across the Union, can do.

His party has pushed through a raft of Parliament resolutions promoting the Taiwanese.

Most recently, he won support from MEPs to extend an official invitation to Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian last month. But whether or not Chen arrives in Strasbourg or Brussels will depend largely on the attitude of the French - who have made previous Taiwanese visitors less than welcome - and the Belgians.

If he does come, it would be a huge step forward for EU-Taiwan relations.

Nevertheless, Watson believes the best hope for Taiwan could come from encouraging China to embrace the same democratic ideals.

"Some of the leaders in the People's Republic regard me as an enemy of the state. But I am actually very much a friend," he insists, adding that if he got his way European schools and universities would teach Chinese (spoken by a fifth of the world's population), alongside English and Spanish.

As if to prove his convictions, he will take a group of MEPs on an official trip to China in April to try and bolster relations and plant a few democratic seeds.

"If through dialogue we can help the People's Republic of China to move gradually, but successfully, without having a French Revolution, then we will have achieved a lot. If China were to become a democracy then the tensions with Taiwan would be largely eased."

The European Parliament's Liberal leader Graham Watson is a staunch supporter of Taiwan's battle for international recognition.