Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Richard Bush said in Taipei yesterday that it is important to build a consensus in Taiwan about its core interests so that the country can face the challenges that lie ahead.
The former AIT head, who now serves as the director of the Center for Northeast Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, made the remark at an international conference titled “A Spectacular Century: The Republic of China (ROC) Centennial Democracy Forums.”
The two-day conference was organized by the Council for Cultural Affairs as part of a year-long celebration of the country’s 100th anniversary.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Speaking on his essay “The Republic of China in Historical Perspective,” he said that Taiwan’s status is appropriate for modern governance, but “we may also ask about its capacity.”
“Does Taiwan have a proper evaluation of the coercive threat posed by the People’s Liberation Army [PLA] that is seriously expanding its war-fighting capabilities?” he asked. “Does Taiwan’s defense establishment, which properly shifted its mission from offense to defense decades ago, need to find ways to strengthen deterrence?”
He said that Taiwan faces tough decisions, such as how to achieve the goals of prosperity, social welfare and security simultaneously.
The toughest challenge of all, he said, is how to cope with a China that seeks to complete its mission of unification.
A local professor asked Bush how he thought Taiwan should deal with China’s unification mission.
Bush replied that he is working on a new book about the relationship between Taipei and Beijing and does not wish to give away the conclusion of his book. However, he did divulge one piece of advice: “I would say it is important to build a consensus on the island about what is truly important for the future of the people on this island.”
He asked participants to think about “what are the things that Taiwan can defend at all costs.” He said without consensus between opinions from both the green and blue spectrum, it is much harder to face that challenge.
Bush also clarified his two-China statement made at a conference in Washington last month.
“There is a huge misunderstanding,” he said. “I in no way advocated the two-China formula as the basis for resolving the disputes between the two sides.”
He said his statement was created by imaginative reporters and the two Chinas he was referring to was the thinking that US officials have accepted over the last 60 years in addressing the challenge of keeping the ROC in the UN.
Former World Bank chairman Paul Wolfowitz also gave a speech at the conference, in which he said that Taiwan is a model of democracy for China and that its economy and politics have had effects on China’s development.
The conference was also attended by Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂), president of the Institute for National Policy Research, and a number of foreign academics including Roderick MacFarquhar of Harvard University, Thomas Gold of California University of Berkeley, and Diana Lary from Canada’s University of British Columbia.
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