There was not much in Chen Shui-bian's
In the past, the DPP had to break free of the KMT's hold on power in order to establish demo-cracy. Democracy has allowed Taiwan to "stand up" to China, similar to the way "the Chinese people stood up" to end humiliation by foreigners in 1949. The US has purposefully ignored the portions of Chen's speech on "Tai-wan's subjectivity," instead encouraging and supporting Chen's olive branch to China.
The focus of US congressional support for Taiwan's democracy has smoothly shifted from Lee Teng-hui
President Bill Clinton, however, has been more concerned about the possible instability the new administration could bring to cross-strait issues. Since his election, Chen has continued to make gestures of peace to China while generally downplaying the issues.
For the US, Chen's speech will not erase the tensions in cross-strait relations, but may ease the strain. Similarly, the speech will not dispel all of Washington's doubts about Chen, but should ensure a feeling in Washington that the new administration is a responsible one.
Chen mentioned "war" three times when he was talking about cross-strait issues, revealing his administration's fear that such issues are unlikely be resolved peacefully. This was perhaps the most serious danger of Chen's address. He did not directly ask China to forsake the use of military force, but ambiguously said that Taiwan will not declare independence, "as long as the Chinese Communist Party regime has no intention to use military force against Taiwan."
This seems to prove that Taiwan will not flagrantly go against China's wishes. The linkage of these points is very similar to the US response to cross-strait issues. The US has tied Beijing's agreement to settle cross-strait issues peacefully as a condition for US support for the "one China" principle.
Relations between China, the US and Taiwan were thrown into confusion after former President Lee Teng-hui
Chen called upon China and Taiwan to "jointly create an era of reconciliation" because "now is a new opportunity." Chen also proposed bilateral talks. This dovetails with US hopes for talks with no set limits. Washington still wants China to renounce the use of military force against Taiwan, while asking Taiwan to keep to the "one-China" policy.
Both China and the US will continue to pressure Taiwan to take a stand on "one-China" now that Taiwan has stated it will not pursue de jure independence. But the two countries have differing interpretations of the principle. The US believes that "peaceful resolution" is a precondition to the principle, while Beijing wants Taiwan to accept "one-China" unconditionally.
The US' "three nos" policy toward Taiwan drove Lee to find ways to escape "one-China." Now Washington wants Chen to accept "one China," although both he and the DPP are advocates of independence. Beijing accused Chen of trying to evade the issue and of lacking sincerity, but Washington took note of Chen's call for the leaders of both sides to "jointly deal with the question of a future `one China.'"
Chen's mentioning "one China" in his speech was a way of maintaining Taiwan's integrity and saving China's face.
US officials said that Chen's speech was "practical and constructive" and raised the prospects of renewed negotiations. Beijing's swift response helped to put the lid on hard-line criticism from Hong Kong and other Chinese areas and should be beneficial to cross-strait relations. The US hopes that Chen's speech will be the foundation for direct talks and is pleased with China's positive response.
Both the US and China heaved a sigh of relief after Chen's speech, which won the the support of 70 percent of the Taiwanese people. Chen has passed his first test.
Lin Cheng-yi is the director of European and American Studies at the Academia Sinica.
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