With its national convention underway in Philadelphia, the US Republican Party has kicked off its 2000 election campaign. Apart from the formal nomination of the ticket of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, the passage of the party's election platform -- the Republican Platform 2000 -- is the focus of both national and international attention.
The most relevant parts of the Republican platform to Taiwan are the party's policies toward the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The platform gives Taiwan a positive nod for its all-round development. And while the platform acknowledges there is only one China, it does so on the premise that Beijing must not use force against Taiwan -- "... all issues regarding Taiwan's future must be resolved peacefully and must be agreeable to the people of Taiwan," and "... if China violates these principles and attacks Taiwan, then the US will respond appropriately in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act." All in all, the Republican Party appears fairly friendly toward Taiwan.
The party platform is not so friendly when it comes to China. The Republicans support Taiwan and China entering the WTO simultaneously, but the platform also points out that China may be "America's key challenge in Asia." The Clinton administration views China as a "strategic partner" militarily, but Republicans view it as "a strategic competitor of the United States."
On the diplomatic front, the Republican Party does not place China at the center of its Asia policy, even though the party shows an understanding of China's importance. Rather, it maintains that the US' Asia policy should focus on allies such as Japan, South Korea and Australia. The Republicans also hope to maintain peace, security and prosperity in the Pacific Rim region by expanding long-term friendly relations with Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand.
Taiwan then, can take some comfort from the fact that the Republican Party holds conspicuously different attitudes toward the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The Republican platform is a reflection of public opinion in the US, or at least a segment of it. That the American people, who have always supported democracy and human rights, are friendly to Taiwan is not a surprise. But the US government's executive branch must weigh complex political, commercial, military and diplomatic factors and pursue stable and consistent policies. Given the long-running tussle between the US Congress and the executive branch over the cross-strait issue, it is not difficult to understand the large gap between the US government and US political parties over the issue.
Before his election, Taiwan had high expectations of Ronald Reagan, who had long been friendly toward Taiwan. However, after he became president, Reagan's Taiwan policy underwent major changes. Election promises cannot be equated with post-election implementation -- something we here in Taiwan have seen so often as well. While there is much for Taiwan to be happy with in the Republican platform, there is no need to jump head over heels with joy.
From the viewpoint of the Taiwan government, the more support it gets from foreign countries, the better. However, foreign support is a changeable factor that is basically out of Taiwan's control. Depending too much on foreign factors can be deleterious to national security.
Only the joint efforts of Taiwan's government and people, in other words, the strengthening of our diplomacy and defense, can ensure Taiwan's national security.
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