Taiwan can't count on Washington

The president of China, Jiang Zemin (江澤民) recently visited Russia and signed a new friendship treaty. This highlights that a new atmosphere with no room for the US (or a united opposition towards the US) is currently forming in the international political and economic arena.

Looking at it from the point of view of China and Russia: even though President Vladimir Putin and US President George W. Bush met for talks in May, the Shanghai Six -- which consists of Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz-stan, Tajikistan and China -- is already taking shape. Reading between the lines, it can be seen who is closer to whom.

The "Bo'ao Forum for Asia" (博鰲亞洲論壇) arranged by China in May of this year also received support from some East Asian countries. Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, for example, said that the US-led IMF exacerbated the debt of developing countries during the Asian financial crisis. Mahathir is also a strong advocate of "Asia having the right to think for itself."

It was because a destroyed continent needed to breathe after World War II and because of the aggressiveness of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact that Europe was forced to look to the US. Today, however, the European-US harmony is long gone. The US actually had to stand back in by-elections for Western seats on the UN Human Rights Committee on three occasions at the beginning of this year. Not only did Bush fail to persuade the Europeans during his visit to the EU to promote the National Missile Defense system, but he also drew strong criticism for not implementing the Kyoto Protocol. The US can no longer do as it pleases.

Under the leadership of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and the other countries in Mercosur, even Latin America ignores US requests for the early establishment of the "American Free Trade Area." Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said "The American Free Trade Area is only a choice, but Mercosur is our destiny." The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, has said "All Latin America has been afflicted by the American neo-liberal poison."

This is also the reason why other regions actively strive for Latin American support. France, for example, wants to promote trade between Europe and Latin America. China has arranged the East Asia-Latin America Forum (東亞拉美論壇), with Jiang in attendance. They may not have exactly the same motivations, but the idea that the US is no longer the only player is the same.

Of course, the US is not saving its fuel, and is taking a more active part in international activities, such as starting the Kosovo War in 1999, and initiating the wave of rising oil prices in 2000. There are European scholars who say that the Kosovo war taking place just when the euro was being integrated, and the oil crisis coinciding with the revival of the European economy was no coincidence. The US started the war on the Balkan peninsula because it wanted to create political instability in Europe. It manipulated the rise in oil prices because it wanted to pressure the European Central Bank to use restrictive monetary policies in response to possible inflationary pressures. Both actions were aimed at threatening global capital preparing to move into Europe, resulting in a euro that today is still weaker than the US dollar. The US needs no other reason for such behavior: apart from shouting general values such as "national self-determination" and "economic liberalization," I would think that the reality is more about gaining advantages coinciding with American needs.