While most discussion centers on whether or not the successful re-election of US President George W. Bush is beneficial to Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian (
Although US Secretary of State Colin Powell caused a stir by saying "Taiwan is not independent, it does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation," and that both sides of the Taiwan Strait should "move forward ... to that day when we will see a peaceful unification," the Bush administration took steps to clarify its policy in the Strait.
Taiwan faces an even more serious challenge now that Bush has been re-elected. The "Powell incident" should not be seen as simply a slip of tongue or a product of factional disputes within the Bush administration. Nor should Taiwan feel relaxed by Washington's assurances that their Taiwan policy has not changed. The core problem is the extent to which the triangular relationship between the US, Taiwan and China has evolved and how this transformation will influence Washington's policy.
Powell's description of cross-strait relations can be traced back to statements made by US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia James Kelly in April.
Amid concerns over how the DPP government would implement Chen's campaign promise to enact a new constitution, Kelly reminded Taiwan leaders of "uncomfortable realities" that could pose severe challenges to future US-Taiwan relations.
Those "uncomfortable realities," according to Kelly, are closely associated with growing gap in perception about Taiwan's status quo, an apparent lack of trust regarding Chen's next steps toward constitutional reform and concerns about the potential for military confrontation originating from a reckless move by Beijing.
Entangled with its own global fight against terrorism, its ill-considered war in Iraq and re-election, the last thing that Bush and his neoconservative team wanted was additional "trouble" in the Taiwan Strait.
Chen's repeated affirmation of the reality that Taiwan is an independent and sovereign state and his winning of a new mandate after March 20 election prompted decision-makers in Washington to draw a "red line" before Chen's May 20 inaugural address.
Not only has the Bush team emphasized that "the status quo of Taiwan should be defined by Washington," a clearer US policy stance has been elaborated as a way to set up a "preventative mechanism" to monitor Chen's moves toward reform. The moderate stance Chen took in his inaugural and National Day addresses are quite possibly the result of pressure from the US.
This was the context for Powell's perception of the cross-strait situation. Powell's statements thus constituted a continuation of Kelly's speech and should be read as revealing a possible reorientation of how the US intends to handle cross-strait affairs.
US worries about cross-strait tension stem from the perception that Beijing will make a "dangerous, objectionable, and foolish response" to Taiwan's continued affirmation of its sovereignty. Since China is less predictable than democratic Taiwan, it is a natural move for Washington to look to Taiwan first for restraint.
Chen's government urgently needs a new pattern of strategic thinking to reframe the Taiwan-US relationship. Chen must let the next Bush team understand the goals of his administration. He must also forge a stable and predictable relationship with his counterpart and intensify efforts to convince Washington that Taiwan is an asset -- rather than a liability -- in Washington's dealing with China. Only then can Taiwan's national interests be safeguarded and miscommunication be avoided.
Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under