The US did the right thing in welcoming Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) offer of cross-strait talks as a "step in the right direction," even if Hu's precondition that Taiwan accept its "one China" vision was quickly rejected. The US was also correct to emphasize that "it is up to the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to decide the terms and conditions under which exchanges, dialogue and consultations occur."
Why doesn't the US go even further and admit Taiwan's right to ignore China if it wants to? What is stopping the US from insisting that China respect Taiwan's rights as a sovereign nation?
Like many countries during the age of imperialism from the 17th through 20th centuries, Taiwan was colonized by larger powers. But by now, most of the nations that once colonized Taiwan, including Japan, Spain and Portugal, have long lost their colonies.
Yet Taiwan remains a colony of China in the sense that the Republic of China (ROC), which lost control of its home territory in 1949, continues to govern the only colony -- in fact the only place at all -- that it occupies. As the victor in China over the ROC, the People's Republic of China believes Taiwan belongs to it. How do the people of the island feel about this? No one knows for sure; unlike the US territory of Puerto Rico, no one has ever asked them.
The US is not obligated under any treaty to view Taiwan as a colony. We are absolutely free under international law to play the role of champions of democracy.
But very few Americans think of the Taiwanese as victims of imperialism. It is not difficult to understand the confusion in the US over the issue of Taiwan. If Taiwan is the ROC, then it is part of a mob of warlords and crooks that had a horrendous record in China before being expelled. But if you see Taiwan as colonized by the ROC, it is also a victim of that mob, and it deserves our support.
Michael Falick
Colorado Springs, Colorado
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