Faleomavaega’s fuzzy history
The latest letter from Eni Faleomavaega, Representative from American Samoa and Chair of the US House Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, shows the kind of champion chutzpah that separates the truly pathetic from the happily ignorant.
In his revisions to the language of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) resolution, and his first letter to the Taipei Times, Faleomavaega wrote: “The following language, which I added, is also straight from the TRA: It is the policy of the United States ‘to preserve and promote extensive, close and friendly commercial, cultural and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan, as well as the people on the China mainland.’”
Note how this construction makes it look as if the TRA exists to promote China-Taiwan relations. Not! In his second letter, he included the entire line without the misleading ending: “This is why the TRA plainly states that it is the policy of the United States ‘to preserve and promote extensive, close, and friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan, as well as the people on the China mainland and all other peoples of the Western Pacific area.’”
That language clearly includes China with all the other peoples of the western Pacific, something his original edit of the TRA did not make clear.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time Faleomavaega has displayed an unseemly ignorance on the TRA, Taiwan and US policy toward Taiwan. Last year, as the Taipei Times noted in an earlier editorial, he attempted to have language that said China threatens Taiwan removed from a resolution on the last Taiwan presidential election. In 2007, Chris Nelson of the well-known Washington insider sheet The Nelson Report said that “Faleomavaega stated that it was US policy to agree to ‘one China,’ and he stated it in ways that tracked the PRC [People’s Republic of China] position. In fact, the official US position does not accept China’s definition, but rather straddles the issue with deliberate ambiguity.” Nelson was one of the Democratic staffers on the drafting of the TRA.
Eighteen months later, as this latest tiff shows, Faleomavaega still has not learned that Washington and Beijing have different “one China” policies.
Nelson was referring to a letter dated Sept. 26, 2007, in which Faleomavaega displayed an astonishing ignorance of history. In it he recorded: “One of the two major parties advocates peaceful coexistence with the PRC. The other major party and its leaders keep pushing the envelope to the point of forcing Beijing’s hand, which led to [former US] President [Bill] Clinton having to send two naval battle groups to the Taiwan Straits [in 1996] and almost led to a nuclear confrontation with Beijing.”
Of course, the president at that time was Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who was of the party that Faleomavaega implied “advocates peaceful coexistence with the PRC.” The DPP wasn’t an issue in that incident. Observe also that Faleomavaega simply regurgitates Beijing’s propaganda on the DPP — a party that also desires peaceful coexistence with Beijing, just not as a vassal of the Communist giant, as the KMT desires. Also, Faleomavaega’s construction of the incident leaves out the vital fact that Beijing fired off missiles to intimidate Taiwan, an obvious pro-China omission.
In that same letter Faleomavaega wrote: “... millions of Taiwanese have also been able to freely travel to Beijing to be reunited with their families and friends.” Yes, in Faleomavaega-world, “millions” have been reunited with their families: in Beijing.
That was in a letter in which Faleomavaega was arguing that House Resolution 676, resolving that the US should sell arms to Taiwan under the TRA (in conjunction with a request for F-16s last year), was completely unnecessary and may influence Taiwanese elections. Even in the unlikely event that it could influence the elections, it could only help the DPP. It is thus clear which side Faleomavaega is supporting: the same side as Beijing.
It is high time that the US had for itself a Chair of the Asia Subcommittee who evinces a robust and nuanced understanding of US commitments in Asia, US policy toward China and who can tell the difference between an ally and an opponent of the US.
MICHAEL TURTON
Tanzi, Taichung County
Samoa mirrors Taiwan
The insular territory of American Samoa is a very conservative and proud culture in the Pacific. US Representative Eni Faleomavaega, from American Samoa, has stated his public dissatisfaction with the Taiwan lobby and has also sought to protect US soldiers from becoming the political pawns of Taiwan independence politicians. American Samoa has enjoyed a high degree of political autonomy under the US’ Insular Cases of 1900 and the Pacific island has not been forced into the melting pot of US culture on the US mainland. It is a multicultural defense mechanism that has been very successful for the residents of American Samoa. The repressive tools of imperialism were retooled by the US government to protect the island’s culture from the assimilative pressures of US culture.
American Samoa is even allowed to control its own immigration policy, including exclusion of other US citizens, if so desired. American Samoans are also allowed to travel on US passports, but they must eventually naturalize under laws like any US permanent resident if they wish to vote in the elections of the US federal government.
The people of Taiwan are entitled to an “enhancement” of their TRA human rights protection. The San Francisco Peace Treaty is the legal basis of these “undefined” civil rights, which are the very same civil rights enjoyed by the people of American Samoa. The federal case of Roger Lin v. United States of America is a pending legal challenge to secure these “undefined” civil rights. The people of Taiwan are entitled to their inalienable civil rights under the treaty.
The Washington court must determine if Taiwan is an insular territory under the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty and Insular Cases of 1900. The 23 million people of Taiwan are stateless persons under the TRA, and they deserve US government protection. This case is a very grave issue and exposes the lies of the Republuc of China on Taiwan.
Thank you for your continued interest in our effort to secure these civil rights for the people of Taiwan.
JEFF GEER
Chief Financial Officer, Taiwan Civil Rights
Litigation Organization,
Olympia, Washington
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
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
RSS