BILL CLINTON HAS been replaced by George W. Bush as master of the White House and the executive powers and machineries in the US have been transferred from the Democrats to the Republicans.
However, the changes that have been taking place involve and effect a lot more than just one individual or a single party. For our part, we should carefully monitor what matters to us the most, that is, whether there will be any fundamental changes in the US' strategic policy.
In particular, is a new "confrontation" gradually brewing between East and West? Further, is it possible for China and Russia to cooperate with each other to stand up against the "US Empire (美帝)?"
Of course, the alignment of international relations in the 21st century may differ from that of the 20th century.
Even though "confrontations" have taken place between different nations today, these "confrontations" are in all likelihood very different from past "confrontations," given the significant degree of globalization (
So, just what does the new global political structure look like? The new Bush administration has clearly demonstrated differences from the previous Clinton administration on the cross-strait issue. Although we can't exactly describe Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen's (錢其琛) recent visit to the US as a "trip in vain," it was plainly less than successful.
Especially on the issue of US arms sales to Taiwan, not only did the Bush administration stress that the US government will not negotiate with Beijing on the arms sales, Bush himself also directly indicated that he and his administration would firmly abide by the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA,
Whether the US will sell four AEGIS-equipped destroyers to Taiwan is certainly a key indicator to the development of Taiwan-US relations. The decision-making process of the US on the arms sales, is therefore worthy of our attention.
Another noteworthy development for observers is Beijing's unusual attitude these days. For example, during Qian's recent visit to the US, he publicly declared that the PRC does not rule out the possibility of launching a pre-emptive strike against Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) also told the Washington Post that Beijing would not give up the option of resolving the "Taiwan issue" by military force. Thus, the PRC government has apparently returned to an extremely tough "one China" stance (一中路線). Beijing has even turned down KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) proposal for a system of "confederation" (邦聯制) between China and Taiwan. China's leaders, who exercised considerable restraint ever since President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) took office, have recently started to criticize Chen. I believe China's recent actions is a mirror to us. What the mirror reflects, however, is not strained cross-strait relations but tense Sino-US relations.
Chin Heng-wei is editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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