This type of request hasn't gone far in the past:
"If the Chinese side wants to show goodwill, it actually can voluntarily remove the missiles. This does not require cross-strait negotiations," Wang Yu-chi, Taiwan's top China policy maker, said at a parliamentary session. ...
Taiwanese experts estimate the People's Liberation Army has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the island.
Let me repeat what I wrote in 2009. One, was this just a request to move the missiles out of range of Taiwan or a request to scrap the missiles? That's a major difference.
Taiwan can certainly ask China to move the missiles out of range as a sign of good will, but Taiwan should not bargain over that outcome. Anything that Taiwan gives up to simply move the missiles is a gift to China, because China can move the missiles back. Can Taiwan restore whatever capabilities they give up as quickly?
So if Taiwan feels like bargaining, the issue should be the scrapping of those threatening missiles. I don't care what the state of China's charm offensive is, those missiles speak loudly, don't they?
