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It was supposed to have been a brilliant strategy employed by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou. Taiwan applied to participate in UN agencies on the General Assembly agenda. Ma thought he would succeed because Taiwan was not applying for UN membership this time round. Ambitions had been scaled down from the past 15 attempts to join the world body. Taiwan left the UN in 1971 and has since tried in vain to be readmitted. Taiwan's request for "meaningful participation" in UN activities in various specialised agencies still proved to be way too much for China. Beijing reiterated that Taiwan did not qualify to be part of the world body, citing UN Resolution 2758 from 1971 that treats Taiwan as part of China. In other words, Beijing still does not trust Taiwan, believing that any wrong signal would encourage independence.

At the moment, Ma has provided fertile ground for further bilateral relations. In the past six months, people-to-people contact between the two has increased through direct flights. It is hoped that regularly scheduled flights will commence and that people from opposite sides of the straits will be able to visit each other in greater numbers. Since the Kuomintang came to power in March, Taiwan has loosened its investment regulations to promote investment in China. Greater economic integration would certainly help stabilise bilateral ties.

As one of the world's most dynamic economies and democracies, Taiwan should have more space within the international community as well as be able to continue ongoing cooperation in tackling challenges such as climate change and food shortages. The island has the technical expertise and financial resources to participate actively in these fields. It would be a non-political matter. The Ma government has already called on China to display "wisdom and flexibility" to allow Taiwan to carve out its own international space.

After the great performance and success of the Beijing Olympics, China's leaders should have more confidence in their country's status within the world community.

They should allow Taiwan to take part in specific UN agencies, especially in the area of health. Taiwan has been trying to apply for membership of the World Health Organisation but has failed due to China's objection.

Unless it is able to widen its international space, the Ma government will certainly come under severe criticism from the opposition and media. Ma's predecessor, Chen Shui-bian made himself a political icon by promoting Taiwan independence and doing everything he could to upset China. Although his emphasis on "Taiwanness" won wide public support and was appealing to younger people, it failed to improve the cross-straits atmosphere. The island's people want stable ties that strengthen further economic links. Better economic cooperation with the mainland would help the island's economic growth, which has been lagging.

One positive step has been taken. The United States has supported Taiwan's less aggressive and practical approach. For Washington, the island's latest move tallies well with its own foreign policy. In the future, more and more countries could give further support and encourage China to be more flexible. President Ma still has a lot of work to do. He also needs to build up relations with the countries in the region, especially Asean. At the moment, Asean-China ties are in excellent shape. So far, any effort on the part of Taiwan to associate with Asean has been opposed by China. The island has made several failed attempts to become a sectoral partner of the grouping. There are still areas, especially in the humanitarian fields, in which Taiwan excels and has made significant contributions. Its relief and rescue teams during the 2004 tsunami and other lesser-known disasters were rapid and efficient.

Obviously, both China and Taiwan require further confidence-building measures. If Ma manages to stay on this course without wavering, he may succeed. Meanwhile Beijing will assess Taiwan's softer diplomacy very carefully to determine whether it warrants tangible support. A positive response from China will only come once it is certain that such an action will not come back to bite the country later on.