Taiwan depends on US support

US President George W. Bush administration, when it first came to power, regarded China as a strategic competitor. A policy of embracing containment and exchange was adopted to guard against the possibility of China rising to align with hostile regimes and challenging the US. After a Chinese fighter jet collided with a US Navy surveillance plane south of Hainan Island on April 1, 2001, relations between the two countries hit rock bottom. In contrast, the Bush administration's goodwill toward Taiwan has been constantly on display.

The US agreed to sell us the naval vessels that we had been trying to get for many years. Bush signed a bill supporting observer status for Taiwan at the WHO. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson also openly and explicitly supported us in that bid.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was allowed to make a stopover in New York where he was accorded unprecedented levels of respect. Secretary of State Colin Powell praised Taiwan's success story. Bush even stated that the US would do whatever it takes to defend Taiwan. As a result, some American academics think that US policy on the cross-strait issue has already changed from ambiguity to the clear position that the US will defend Taiwan against possible Chinese aggression.

The Sept. 11 attacks changed the strategic focus of the US. Territorial defense and anti-terrorism became the priority of national security. The Middle East and Central Asia became the focus of the greatest attention from the US. The attacks certainly provided a turning point for China to mend her relations with the US.

On the one hand, they eased US pressure on China for a while. On the other hand, the US needed China's support in the war against terror, the Iraqi problem and, more recently, the nuclear threat from North Korea. As a result, relations between the two countries have picked. But, the relationship is far from the closeness by which it was characterized during the second term of the Clinton administration.

In October 1997, then-president Bill Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) held a summit and issued a joint-statement of their intention to build a "constructive strategic partnership." The partnership called for three levels of dialogue between the US and China. The president of each country was to make regular visits to the other's capital. A presidential communication link was to be set up between Beijing and Washington to facilitate direct contact. Finally, officials from the cabinet down were to have regular exchanges and visits to discuss political, military, security and arms-control issues.

In the spirit of the statement, China and the US Department of Defense held regular visits to exchange opinions on international and regional security. But, when Bush came to power, the "constructive strategic partnership" became history. The US no longer sees Beijing as a partner, although it has stated that China is not its adversary and that the US wants to maintain friendly relations. The US, at best, defines the relationship between the two countries as a constructive one.

Basically, there are obstacles to harmonious Sino-US relations. The US is disappointed, for example, in China's lack of progress in democratization during the 13 years under Jiang's leadership. The Tibet problem, the export of missile and nuclear technologies to rogue states and regions of potential conflict and violations of human rights such as the repression of the Falun Gong movement are some of the obstacles. In addition, the two countries often clash over conflicts of national interest and related problems at the bilateral, regional and global levels.