In visiting China, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Statements made by the US State Department have generally taken an approving line about these visits, and US President George W. Bush has even suggested that Hu meet with Taiwan's legitimately elected President Chen Shui-bian (
The situation has developed in a manner that the US did not predict. This is largely due to the US' incorrect assessment of the KMT and the PFP. They believe that the KMT is still the same as it was under the two Chiangs or under Lee Teng-hui (
In order to cozy up to China, the two opposition parties have no choice but to adopt an anti-US position, for the principles and systems of the two countries are antithetical. Since the KMT lost power, its members and those of the PFP have sought to make trouble in the Taiwan-US relationship, even though Lien and Soong have not personally taken part in this process.
A constant stream of criticism has been directed at the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for relying too heavily on the US. The opposition parties have clearly shown themselves willing to sell out Taiwan, and to favor China over the US.
They have even obstructed the special arms procurement bill as a favor to China, endangering Taiwan's security and making themselves accomplices in China's expansionism.
It is unfortunate that the US government has been unaware of this. They see Taiwan's party politics as being the same as those in the US, forgetting that Taiwan's democracy is still in its infancy and that the KMT has yet to adapt itself to operating in a democratic system. Meanwhile the "China factor" is pulling the KMT toward a reliance on a dictatorial government to avoid a painful transition to democratic politics.
Now that the opposition has come out into the open about their policy to join with the CCP against Taiwan, it is only a matter of time before they make plain that they will join with the CCP against the US as well. The US needs to realize this.
Fortunately, the US is not totally unaware of the problem. Congress is monitoring the situation and has adopted some measures in response.
Representative Henry Hyde, chairman of the US House Committee on International Relations and 33 other members of Congress signed a strongly worded letter to Lien asking him to support the passage of the arms procurement bill that is currently being held up in the legislature.
Second, the US Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act requesting more latitude regarding the rank of military officers permitted to visit Taiwan. Currently, serving generals and deputy assistant secretaries of defense and above may not visit Taiwan.
Third, the US House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations approved an amendment in the 2006/2007 National Defense Authorization Act to allow the legitimately elected leader of Taiwan to visit the US without restrictions. This article states that direct contact with Taiwan's legitimate leaders including the president, vice-president, foreign minister and defense minister are beneficial to US interests.
Regarding arms procurement, American Institute in Taiwan Director Douglas Paal invited the three conveners of the legislature's National Defense Committee to discuss the issue privately, but his invitation has already been refused by some of those invited. After all, the pan-blue camp has only just "broken the ice" with China. If they passed the arms procurement bill at the US' request, wouldn't all their effort to cozy up to China come to nothing?
As to the letter from the 33 US Congress members, the KMT has simply sought to avoid the issue. Prior to categorically turning against the US, they clearly want to keep up appearances.
As for the second and third proposals, these are a long way from being formal policy, but their significance should not be totally discounted. For the sake of US interests and world peace, this is clearly the way to go.
This could even be taken one step further: The three outdated joint US-China communiques could be discussed to free up US policy in the Taiwan Strait and allow it to introduce more necessary measures.
For example, if the US were to elevate Taiwan's international status as a means to counter China, and if other countries followed suit, this would greatly assist in ensuring peace in the Strait.
Ultimately, in the battle between democratic Taiwan and tyrannical China, the US should not see itself as a referee, but should actively take sides and participate.
Paul Lin is a freelance writer based in New York.
Translated by Ian Bartholomew
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
RSS