Taiwanese academics yesterday said that US policy toward China has returned to the "containment principle," and that Washington does not want to see Taiwan and China reconcile too quickly in the wake of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
"A hasty reconciliation between Taiwan and China does not match US interests in East Asia, so Washington may become more deeply involved in Taiwan's policy toward China," said Philip Hsu (徐斯勤), an assistant professor of political science at National Taiwan University.
The remarks were made at a seminar held on cross-strait relations yesterday.
Hsu said he observed that US policy toward Taiwan has become increasingly intrusive.
He said that although the US opposed Taiwan's holding of a referendum during the presidential election in March of last year, the referendum still took place. Thus, Hsu said, the US learned that "pre-emptive diplomacy" was not sufficient to influence cross-strait relations, and US policymakers had since decided to take a more active approach in the Taiwan Strait.
As a result, the US is playing a more active role on Taiwan's domestic politics, Hsu said.
Hsu also accused the US government of clandestinely encouraging President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to sign a 10-point consensus with People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) -- a move regarded as curbing Taiwan's independence forces.
The US even publicly "directed" Chen to act moderately and reasonably while attending the March 26 demonstration against China's "Anti-Secession" Law, Hsu said.
On the other hand, as the US "war on terrorism" has generally eased, Washington's focus has been shifted back to Asia. The Bush administration sees China as its biggest challenger in this century, and as such, a kind of containment policy is being brought to the fore, Hsu said.
Hsu also noted that as China prepared to enact the Anti-Secession Law, Washington and Tokyo announced in February that the Taiwan Strait was a "common strategic objective."
In addition, the US has strongly opposed the EU's plan to lift its arms embargo against China. The US made it clear to the EU that it does not want to see China use European-made weapons to kill Americans one day, Hsu said.
He added, however, that as the US adjusted its policy to "contain" China, Taiwan's opposition leaders complicated matters by accepting invitations to visit high-ranking officials in Beijing.
Hao Pei-chih (郝培芝), an assistant professor of public administration and policy at National Taipei University, said the issue of containment is at the core of US-China relations.
According to Hao's version of the containment theory, powerful countries build economic, diplomatic and sometimes even military walls around their rivals, but also leave a door for negotiations.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated