Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) initiated a referendum on joining the UN using the name "Taiwan," Washington has strongly voiced its opposition to the plan.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week criticized the DPP government's UN referendum as a "provocative policy" that "unnecessarily raises tensions in the Taiwan Strait and ... promises no real benefits for the people of Taiwan on the international stage."
She was the highest ranking US official to express disapproval.
Lin Cheng-yi (林正義), a research fellow at Academia Sinica's Institute of European and American Studies, said he expected to see overall Taiwan-US relations return to normal next year after the country chooses a new leader.
He did not think the US opposition would deliver a significant blow to the DPP, unless the KMT uses it as a political tool and encourages its supporters to sink the proposal.
He said he also did not think the DPP would take advantage of US opposition to stir up public resentment against Washington because the DPP is well aware that most Taiwanese are not anti-American and it is relatively easier to whip up anti-China sentiment than anti-American feeling.
"Beijing is smart enough to realize that they do not need to be vocal about Taiwan's UN referendum because they can hide behind Washington's back and use them to oppose the campaign," he said.
Lin said Washington's disapproval has come at Beijing's request, but he also pointed out that while voicing opposition to Taiwan's UN referendum, Rice reiterated the US position that they do not want to see Beijing unilaterally change the "status quo" in the Taiwan Strait or use any non-peaceful means against Taiwan.
It is significant that the people of Taiwan send out a strong message to the world that they want to participate in the international community, he said, adding that the best-case scenario would be that both referendum proposals pass, because that would only strengthen the message and be in the best interests of the country.
Former presidential adviser Wu Li-pei (
One thing that seems apparent, however.
"It seems the shortest distance between Beijing and Taiwan is through Washington," Wu said.
While Beijing has kept relatively quiet on the referendum proposal, Wu said Washington was vociferous about it mainly because they did not want to see tensions rise in the Taiwan Strait and they wanted to placate China, who firmly believes that the referendum is a step toward Taiwan's de jure independence.
"If the US fails to stop Taiwan from holding the referendum, I suspect China will jump into the driver's seat and take matters into its own hands," he said. "It remains to be seen what impact that will have on Taiwan."
Wu said that it is wishful thinking to believe that the US would support Taiwan at this time because US interests in China are much greater than its interests in Taiwan.
"There is only interest in a diplomatic community," he said. "There is no such thing as right or wrong."
To break Taiwan's isolation in the international community, Wu proposed an appeal to the American public, including connecting with grassroots organizations and diverting diplomatic funding for the country's diplomatic allies to the US in a bid to secure broader understanding across the US of the situation here.
Jerome Keating, a Taiwan-based commentator, said he believed the US State Department was indulging in overkill and that its response to the UN referendum was excessive in the context of a bona fide plebiscite.
"They have made a commitment [to China] to hold back Taiwan without making it public," he said.
Keating said the US has consistently been misinformed on events on the ground in Taiwan.
"They are reaping the results of what they have sown by purposely keeping the position on Taiwan vague for over 50 years," he said.
To describe Rice's statement as "unfair" may not be the right word, Keating said, but rather "inappropriate" or "embarrassing."
"Here is the Secretary of State caught having to defend the indefensible. This all happens when at the same time the US is backing the independence of Kosovo against Russian influence," he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by