Taiwan on Sunday was greeted with the sad news that former US senator and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole had passed away. An important friend and fervent supporter of Taiwan, Dole was a key promoter of the Taiwan Relations Act, and vociferously pushed for the sale of F-16 jets to Taiwan.
According to a report in the New York Times, Dole played an important role behind the scenes in the landmark phone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and then-US president-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 2, 2016.
Following Dole’s passing, condolences and obituaries have poured in from across the US political spectrum, a testament to Dole’s unique character and style of politics.
US President Joe Biden warmly praised Dole as a “war hero,” “dear friend” and “an American statesman like few in our history” in a statement released on Sunday, also describing Dole as a man with “an unerring sense of integrity and honor.”
In a statement, former US president George W. Bush wrote: “This good man represented the finest of American values.”
Former US president Barack Obama also released a statement in which he described Dole as “a war hero, a political leader, and a statesman — with a career and demeanor harkening back to a day when members of the greatest generation abided by a certain code, putting country over party.”
Trump, whose 2016 presidential campaign received Dole’s endorsement, also paid tribute, calling him a “true patriot” and an “American war hero.”
That Biden and others called Dole a member of the “greatest generation” was for good reason. US journalist Tom Brokaw in 1998 wrote in The Greatest Generation that Americans born at the beginning of the 20th century and who fought in World War II were “the greatest generation any society has ever produced.”
Often referred to as the “GI Generation,” they came of age during the Great Depression and went on to fight for their country, men and women alike. Whether risking life and limb on the front lines or providing logistical support, they made great sacrifices — sometimes paying the ultimate sacrifice — for their country and for society.
During fighting in Italy, Dole was hit by a shell that left his right arm partially paralyzed, and was decorated with two Purple Hearts. In 2018, a 95-year-old Dole paid a moving tribute to former US president and fellow war veteran George H.W. Bush. With assistance, Dole stood up from his wheelchair and saluted the casket of Bush lying in state at the Capitol rotunda.
Dole’s generation experienced many hardships, which they bore with extraordinary fortitude and courage — and he was no exception.
After the war, Dole continued to make unremitting efforts to instill the societal values of personal responsibility, duty, honor and trust in the “baby boomer” generation, and ensure liberty and prosperity for future generations of Americans.
Perhaps even more praiseworthy was the humility of Dole’s generation. Despite their enormous sacrifices and achievements, and the political, economic and cultural benefits that they bestowed the next generation, they were neither arrogant nor saw themselves as superior.
Notable figures from the “GI Generation” included former US presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, along with Washington Post columnist Arthur Buchwald, Christian evangelist Billy Graham and US Major League Baseball star Joe DiMaggio.
Dole spent 27 years in the US Congress — first as a representative and then a senator — and stood as a presidential and vice presidential candidate for the Republican Party. He served as US Senate majority leader from 1985 until 1996.
Politically Dole was a Republican, but he was a pragmatist through and through.
When Taiwan was in its hour of need, Dole had the courage to put his head above the parapet and support the nation. Prior to former US president Jimmy Carter’s severing of diplomatic ties with the Republic of China in 1978, Dole joined forces with former Democratic US senator Richard Stone to propose a bill that called on the US government to fully consult with Congress on changes to the US’ Taiwan policy.
The Carter administration blocked Congress from receiving information from the US Department of State. However, Dole and Stone mobilized a bipartisan grouping of representatives and senators who resolutely opposed any attempt by the department to dilute resolutions, and ensured that interaction with Taiwan could continue.
Dole and Stone also shepherded the Taiwan Relations Act through Congress, which recognized the importance of continuing US-Taiwan relations, provided for continued arms sales to Taiwan, and established a new bilateral mechanism for an economic and trade relationship with Taiwan.
After retiring from politics, Dole used his influence as a former member of congress to continue to support Taiwan. In addition to maintaining interaction with Taiwan’s representative office in Washington, Dole further strengthened a relationship with Taiwan through repeated visits, and he wrote articles calling on the US government to sell Taiwan submarines, weapons and other advanced military equipment. During these years, Dole set up contacts and meetings between Taiwan’s representatives to the US and key officials in Washington.
As reported in the New York Times, with Dole taking decisive action behind the scenes and using a law firm as an intermediary, Taiwanese diplomats worked for six months to establish contact at a high level within the Trump election campaign team and presidential transition team, which culminated in the phone call between Tsai and Trump.
Taiwanese are extremely thankful to Dole for his unswerving support and friendship toward Taiwan. Although Taiwan’s relationship with the US has been bumpy at times, with former US presidents Richard Nixon, Carter and former US national security adviser Henry Kissinger abandoning Taiwan to cozy up with China, thankfully there have always been principled politicians such as Dole, Reagan and former US senator Barry Goldwater, who have supported Taiwan and defied the Beijing bullies.
Thanks to their untiring efforts, there exists a firm bipartisan consensus in Washington to give Taiwan the support it needs to effectively defend itself.
Conversely, it is here in Taiwan that division exists. Certain sections of the media and the political class habitually parrot propaganda from across the Taiwan Strait and use every trick in the book to pull Taiwan closer into China’s orbit and scupper the blossoming of ties with the US.
One of the upcoming referendum questions on the ballot on Saturday next week is ostensibly about health-related opposition to imports of US pork containing traces of the leanness-enhancing agent ractopamine.
In reality, the referendum question is an anti-US plebiscite. Voters must use their common sense and take care not to be taken in by the pseudo-science served up by Taiwan’s anti-US, pro-Beijing lobby.
Like Dole’s “greatest generation,” Taiwan also produced a similarly accomplished generation — those who were educated under the Japanese system, and are known as the “Doosan generation” (多桑世代).
This generation straddled the Japanese colonial era and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) era. They lived through war and authoritarian suppression, and suffered persecution. They were also unyielding in their will and rose up to produce not only a post-war economic miracle, but also brought democracy to Taiwan.
The “Doosan generation” gave birth to the nation’s first generation of industrialists and entrepreneurs, and ushered in the nation’s first directly elected president. Their efforts across multiple industries and in the political sphere built up Taiwan’s post-war economy and made the country the envy of its neighbors.
The youngest members of the “Doosan generation” are beginning to pass away. As the US mourns the passing of one of its “greatest generation,” Taiwanese should cherish their own “greatest generation” and draw inspiration from their indomitable “can do” spirit.
Translated by Edward Jones
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