“He will get his honeymoon but then eventually... there is no question that the Chinese will ask for more, “ Theresa Shaheen told CNA.

“A lot of things that Ma said he will do won’t happen without the dissolution of sovereignty, “ she said, adding that “the problem that Ma is going to have is that the Chinese are going to give him a honeymoon period and they will say ‘now ante up.’”

Among other things, Ma has promised while campaigning to facilitate trade and investment across the Taiwan Strait.

Shaheen noted that she does not think Taiwan is ready, in terms of democracy, for a KMT president, especially after the KMT’s sweeping victory in January’s legislative elections.

“I don’t think it puts Taiwan in the right direction of really gaining full-fledged democracy,” she said, adding, however, that her stance is neutral and that she does not favor either candidate over the other.

Describing her analysis as being the broad geo-political strategic view, Shaheen said she does not think the trilateral tension among Taiwan, China and the United States will be reduced after the election.

“Fundamentally, the reason I said no is because the U.S. has gotten this mindset that it needs China,” she said, adding that the U.S., however, does not realize that it has created “a monster.”

“I feel bad for both of them because they are in the middle of this crushing here between the U.S. and China. They are just getting crushed,” she added, referring to Ma and his rival Frank Hsieh, who is representing the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the presidential election to be held March 22.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province and has faced off with the island since 1949, vowing to return it to mainland rule, by force if necessary.

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