Despite Beijing's objections and vocal demonstrations by various pro-unification groups, opinion surveys showed that most Taiwan people either strongly welcomed or did not object to the visit by the 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate's visit despite or because of Beijing's condemnation of the Dalai Lama as a "Tibetan independence splittist" or even "a jackal in monks's robes."

Nevertheless, there are worrying signs that the Ma administration is anxious to "beg forgiveness" for defying Beijing's will for the first time since taking office last May.

Wrong time for a party

First, according to local media reports, the ruling party plans to invite senior CCP officials to attend the ceremony of Ma's assumption of the KMT chairmanship Oct. 17.

The Ma government has properly canceled this year's "Double Ten" National Day celebration on Oct. 10 in memory of the hundreds of victims of Typhoon Morakot and it would be most inappropriate for the KMT to hold a special ceremony to mark its internal transfer of power at this time of national mourning.

Such a fete would be even more disgraceful if it was used to engage in a KMT-CCP "love fest" while the PRC still has well over a thousand missiles and other offensive weaponry targeted at our shores.

Another sign of further slavishness on the KMT's part is the foreign ministry's decision to entirely drop the annual campaign for the return of Taiwan to the United Nations which has been conducted in various ways since the early 1990s under former president Lee Teng-hui and former DPP President Chen Shui-bian.

The implications of this decision are disturbing precisely because Beijing regularly cites U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 of Oct. 25, 1971, which expelled the Republic of China ("the representatives of the Chiang Kai-shek clique") and rendered the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council seats for "China" to the CCP regime, as proof of worldwide approval of its claim that Taiwan belongs to the PRC under its "one China principle."

Whether as part of Ma's quixotic "diplomatic truce" or to placate Beijing for the Dalai Lama's visit, this decision marks a shameless self-denial of Taiwan's sovereignty and the right of the 23 million Taiwan people to have direct and equal representation in the U.N.

Another factor underlying Ma's slavishness may concerns his hopes to attend the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Singapore in November with his regained status as KMT chairman and meet with PRC State Chairman and CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao on a "party-to-party" basis.

However, the combined impact of the typhoon and Beijing's irrational response to the issuance of a visa to the Dalai Lama may have scuttled this dream and Ma may again have to appoint someone favored by Beijing, probably again KMT honorary chairman Lien Chan.

Time to take a stand

Ma also needs Beijing's cooperation in negotiating and signing of the so-called "Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement," despite strident objections from the opposition camp, whose analysts believe the ECFA is effectively an "eventual colonialization framework agreement" that will lock Taiwan's economy into the PRC orbit.

Certainly, the PRC has considerable leeway to compel Ma's fragile leadership to make more concessions in the wake of the plunge of his popularity to less than 20 percent after Typhoon Morakot, especially since Ma desperately needs to distract public dissatisfaction and media attention in the run-up to December's mayoral elections.

While a so-called "moderate line" continues to hold sway in the PRC Taiwan Affairs Office with Hu's approval, hawkish CCP leaders fear that Ma's incompetence may result in the KMT's ouster from power in 2012 and may push the PRC leader to "play hard ball" and ensure that Taiwan is firmly "locked" into PRC substantive suzerainty before Hu himself retires in 2012.

Ma's best course, for his own sake and for Taiwan's 23 million people, would be to stand firm on Taiwan's own national interest and basic values and refrain from committing the same mistakes he have made since taking office.

Through his obsession with so-called "cross-strait reconciliation," Ma has self-inflicted a possibly mortal political wound by failing to take into more account the needs of government effectiveness in fulfilling the substantial and urgent needs of the majority of the people.

What Ma needs to do most now is to strike a balance between his domestic governance, foreign policy and cross-strait relations.

If Ma continues to rely on the "China card" to distract attention from incompetent leadership, both he and Taiwan's sovereignty and democracy will suffer.