As staunch supporters of your policies and your administration, we have high hopes for your forthcoming meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
We hope you will continue to stress the issue of human rights and reaffirm your commitment and unwavering conviction in spite of the difficult and delicate situation the US is currently facing.
Your speech delivered at Tsinghua University three years ago was salutary and enlightening for the Chinese people; it sent a clear message to the whole world over what you stand for -- a defining moment of your presidency.
Engaging the egregious regime in dialogue is essential to help maintain regional stability and the prosperity of the world, especially at a time when the US has slipped into a symbiotic relationship with a rising power that is neither free nor democratic.
However, the stark reality we are facing now is that these two global powers are clearly on a conflicting course and, potentially, a confrontational one. The rise of China is not a peaceful one, as Beijing insists.
History has shown that the rapid rise of a national power tends to give rise to bloody confrontation with its rivals; a totalitarian regime invariably uses nationalism and patriotic sentiment to bolster its legitimacy.
Playing to patriotic sentiment and rapidly expanding its military strength -- ominously unjustifiable for more than a decade -- are the characteristics of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) foreign policy.
It's well known that the PRC harbors a host of serious internal problems that might erupt at any time. Clearly, the regime is trying to shift the resentments of its people against its bankrupt communist ideology to hold on to its entrenched power.
Its belligerent stance in dealing with Taiwan is threatening the stability and peace of the Pacific region. Specifically, Beijing's "Anti-Secession" Law rapes the wishes and will of the Taiwanese people; it's an affront to the cardinal principle of the UN and a mockery of the bedrock values that the US cherishes and upholds -- freedom, democracy and human rights.
We all fervently hope and pray that China will undergo a benign metamorphosis and become a "stakeholder" that contributes to the peace and prosperity of the world.
We also believe that a free and democratic Taiwan serves as inspiration for the Chinese people; it's a shining example of a remarkable evolution -- from an erstwhile despotic regime from the Chinese mainland to a freely elected democratic nation for the 23 million native Taiwanese -- in the Western Pacific.
Clearly, a viable democratic Taiwan is a linchpin for the security and stability of Asia. However, Taiwan has been for years unfairly ignored and shut off from the international community. It's the disgrace and injustice of the century.
As the leader of the free world and a champion of freedom and democracy, the US should not close its eyes to cruel reality by betraying a democratic nation and the people who have been left in the lurch by the international community; it would be tantamount to shelving the principles the US stands for.
Most Taiwanese Americans came to the US to seek opportunities and, above all, freedom. We Taiwanese Americans admire the commitment you have made and sacrifices that this great country is making in order to spread democracy and freedom throughout the world. Taiwan is one of the miraculous success stories in East Asia that has embodied this lofty principle.
Over the last few months we have been dismayed by the denigrating remarks made by some US officials in order to appease China. Mr. President, please do not let Taiwan down.
We all applaud your praise of Taiwan as a model democracy with an open economy on your recent trip to Asia. We hope you will continue to stress the theme when Hu visits you this week.
Furthermore, we hope Taiwan's leaders can be accorded more dignified treatment when they visit the US. Please allow the democratic nation of Taiwan dignity -- no more and no less -- according to the common practice and protocol of the international society.
Thank you.
Andrew Chang
Professor emeritus, Thunderbird
Glendale, Arizona
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