Much attention has been given to the many changes that have taken place around the world these last few years. Sadly, the cross-strait issue is not one of them, although it continues to be an important and sensitive issue. For the US and its relationship with Taiwan, this year and next will be an unusually sensitive time -- one that would need stronger and more careful attention than in the past.
The relationship between the US and Taiwan after World War II through 1972 was relatively quiet. When it was clear that the US needed to change its position on the People's Republic of China (PRC), the US offered to help the Republic of China (ROC) gain a separate membership in the UN. Despite proposals by some of the ROC's top officials to join the world body under a different name, such as the "Chinese Republic of Taiwan," Chiang refused.
In 1979, the US switched diplomatic recognition to the PRC.
The US Congress, furious at the executive branch's failure to fulfill its promise of notifying Congress beforehand, passed the Taiwan Relations Act to allow the US to continue to offer security support to Taiwan. Congress, however, agreed to have the executive branch establish rules on how to continue working with Taiwan.
The US thereafter encouraged Taiwan to establish a democratic system. In 1988 the first Taiwanese president took office in Taiwan and oversaw the nation's transformation into a democracy. Taiwan has continued to experience vast changes that have been challenged by some quarters both within the nation and in China.
Unfortunately, expectations that democratization would be a guarantee of stronger support from the US were doomed to fail. One reason is US concern -- some might say "over-concern" -- about Chinese sensitivities. Developing policies that are important for Taiwan's governance, but which may disappoint China, should not necessarily be verboten, as we have witnessed.
Taiwan's transition into a democracy saw the rise of a Taiwanese president -- something thought to be unlikely at the time.
This was followed by other revolutionary changes -- including the appointment of a Taiwanese premier and abolition of the Taiwan provincial government -- that happened peacefully. The change to open elections for the president and legislators did cause a serious problem, though it hurt China more than the US.
Changes have continued to take place since 2000 -- when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime lost to the Democratic Progressive Party with the election of President Chen Shui-bian (
A much larger number of individuals now consider themselves Taiwanese, politicians have also become bolder in pursuing their objectives (good or bad), and keeping a low profile on political matters has ceased to be the norm -- all of which may be cumbersome but has strengthened Taiwan's democracy.
Faced with this growing democracy, the US gave an expanded policy brief on Taiwan to Congress in 2004. It was useful, but there was little that was new and which to this day remains the same. While Taiwan has changed from an authoritarian government to a democracy in little more than a decade, US policy has changed little -- and mostly on unimportant issues.
Time has brought some changes. Despite its preference not to intervene, the US has found that dealing with a free democracy isn't always easy. The US sees some differences: credibility, unclear communication, constitutional reform, the meaning of status quo and the lack of military support, to name a few.
Taiwan also sees differences: a lack of transparency, the US' unilaterally established rule of engagement with Taiwan and a lack of high-level meetings, among others.
All of these require discussions on a regular basis.
A couple of decades ago, the US called the ROC a "Free China" and supported it strongly. Now that Taiwan is a democracy, we hear Congress saying Taiwan should not cause "another problem," and the executive branch admonishes both China and Taiwan to focus on defensive security while letting China's authoritarian government chip away at a democratic Taiwan's efforts to remain so.
From now through next year, we will see Taiwan hold its legislative elections on Dec. 11 and its presidential election in March, while the US will hold its congressional and presidential elections in November next year. In Taiwan, the major parties -- each with an almost completely different objective for their country -- will exert a strong effort to win voters to their side, with high stakes for both China and the US. The US elections that follow will be equally of great interest to both China and Taiwan.
The political changes in Taiwan are already beginning. The US is weighing which of the two parties in Taiwan will win in the legislature and the presidency, and what impact the result will have on US interests with China and other East Asian countries. Some better form of dialogue between the US and Taiwan has long been needed, and it will be needed in the years ahead.
The US State Department made an effort to produce a Taiwan Policy Review focused on US rules on dealing with Taiwan in late 1992. However, given a lack of support, it was never completed as there was a change in government in Washington.
The new administration took over the effort and the policy was completed in early 1995, although the results may have differed from what its creators had in mind. With people who know today's Taiwan and the need for better dialogue between the US and Taiwan, it would be a pity if the administration failed to take greater efforts to promote more effective communication.
Nat Bellocchi is a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan and is now a special adviser to the Liberty Times Group. The views expressed in this article are his own.
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