Taiwan should step up efforts to prove it can be a useful partner in the US’ foreign policy in Asia, but refrain from implementing any radical changes that could unsettle cross-strait relations, Hudson Institute director of Chinese strategy Michael Pillsbury said.
Pillsbury, a former US assistant undersecretary of defense for policy planning, was speaking at a forum titled “Beijing’s Strategy of Unification toward Taiwan and the US Response” at the legislature in Taipei yesterday morning.
The event was organized by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Mark Chen (陳唐山), who served as foreign minister during former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration. It was attended by several Taiwanese academics and foreign affairs experts.
Speaking in fluent Mandarin, Pillsbury said none of the US’ high-ranking officials have openly revealed whether Taiwan is included in its “rebalancing” toward Asia, but the policy is expected to continue regardless of who is the next US president.
“That is why Taiwanese people, both in the political or academic industries, are urged to put forward tangible rather than vague suggestions regarding the US’ Asia pivot and clearly express their nation’s aspiration to be a part of it,” Pillsbury said.
To address its international and regional exclusion amid growing ties between the US and China, Pillsbury said there are several measures Taiwan can take to undermine Washington-Beijing relations.
“It could change the name designation for Taiwan, issue a different passport, or scrap its current national flag that reminds most people of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s party flag,” Pillsbury said. “However, these actions would inevitably been seen as crossing the red line by China’s People’s Liberation Army ... and I personally do not think Taiwan has to go down that road.”
Alternatively, Pillsbury said Taipei can surrender to Beijing and announce itself a part of the so-called “motherland,” but the move would most likely unnerve the US as it is the least favorable option among its citizens.
That leaves the nation with one last option: That Taiwanese intelligentsia endeavor to work out a way to allow Taipei to be a helpful partner in Washington’s rebalancing policy without aggravating the Chinese government, Pillsbury said.
Pillsbury’s remarks were dismissed by a male participant at the forum, who criticized the US’ opposition of renaming Taiwan as an oppression of the nation.
“I did not say Taiwan cannot change its name, I am saying that the US policy of protecting Taiwan’s security is not without limit. It does not mean Taiwan can do whatever it desires and we still have to protect it …. The policy is not a blank check,” Pillsbury said.
Former minister of national defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) urged the US to permit Taiwan to participate in meetings and cooperative organizations related to its regional security, and respect the nation’s public opinion and development.
“The US should not facilitate its ties with China at the expense of Taiwan’s sovereignty and its people’s interests,” said Tsai, who also doubles as the director-general of the Taiwan Defense Policy and Strategy Research Institute.
Taiwan Institute for Political, Economic and Strategic Studies president Parris Chang (張旭成) praised the US’ efforts to collaborate with other Asian countries to inhibit China’s growing aggressiveness.
Nevertheless, the US’ Asia pivot must not omit Taiwan and both parties should jointly work towards closer cooperation, Chang said.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) yesterday apologized after the suicide of a civil servant earlier this month and announced that a supervisor accused of workplace bullying would be demoted. On Nov. 4, a 39-year-old information analyst at the Workforce Development Agency’s (WDA) northern branch, which covers greater Taipei and Keelung, as well as Yilan, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, was found dead in their office. WDA northern branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who has been accused of involvement in workplace bullying, would be demoted to a nonsupervisory position, Ho told a news conference in Taipei. WDA Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said he would
RSS