There is constant debate over the "one China" policy. But readers worldwide should be reminded that there is a "Taiwan" and a "one Taiwan" policy. That seems to be the best way to counter the myth of "one China."
The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) has guided US-Taiwan relations since 1979. It is the essence of the "one Taiwan" policy. Any discussion between the PRC and the US governments cannot supersede the TRA, yet the TRA does not state that Taiwan is part of China.
The Shanghai Communique by the US and China states that "(Since) the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait believe there is one China, and Taiwan is part of China, (therefore) ...." However, the Taiwanese people do not believe in "one China" anymore. When former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), announced that the cross-strait relationship is a "special state-to-state" relationship in 1998, 74.9 percent of Taiwanese supported it.
It may be for the sake of "creative ambiguity" that the term "one China" was created. There exists both the "PRC" and the "ROC." Which is the "one China" under the "one China policy?"
An independent nation can be established based on people's ideals and beliefs, despite close blood ties with another nation. The US is the best example. The people of Taiwan have enjoyed freedom and democracy for decades, and been separated from China since 1895. Besides that, they have never paid taxes to Beijing since the birth of the PRC on Oct. 1, 1949, and PRC has never ruled Taiwan. The majority of people on Taiwan have subtly and firmly established their own ideals and beliefs. Perhaps there is "one China," but is Taiwan a part of it? No way.
The leadership of both the US and Taiwan should constantly keep history in mind. The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain negotiated "Peace in our time" with Hitler before World War II. Everybody knows the results of that blunder. Neither the US nor Taiwan should repeat Chamberlain's mistake by accepting China's unilateral claim over Taiwan for the sake of an illusory peace.
The key of real and sustainable peace is a realization that there is "one Taiwan" and that there is a "one Taiwan policy." Lee Ching-tai
Cincinnati, Ohio
Baffled by Hong
I found Legislator Hong Chi-chang's (洪奇昌) article ("Foreign policy and US campaigns," August 2, page 8) rather baffling.
First of all, the article is written entirely from an American point of view. Even if the one use of the first person ("in a democracy as pluralistic as ours," not apparently referring to Taiwan) might have been simply a mistake, the article's thesis, that the US should look out for its national interests in a rather selfish manner, would only make sense coming from a US commentator. When this is even extended to how the US should manage its involvement in the Taiwan Straits issue to its advantage ("the long-standing US commitment to a `one China' policy that leaves to a future date the resolution of the relations between Taiwan and Beijing is wise"), the article becomes downright bizarre.
The headline leads this reader to expect a discussion of how the Taiwan issue has played out in US presidential campaigns past and present, for example in the Republican Party platform, which the editorial that appeared next to Hong's article did quite solidly.
Even better, one might have hoped that Hong would have drawn on his extensive experience in Taiwan politics to give us some insight into how US domestic political maneuvering impacts on Taiwan's legislative and policy-making processes. As it stands, one is left wondering what Hong is trying to do.
Bo Tedards
Taipei
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