In response to B. Charles Bramlet's "Communique misinterpreted" (Letters, March 27, page 8), I would like to point out that the summary section of the CRS Report for Congress of July 9, 2007, titled "China/Taiwan: Evolution of the `One China' Policy," makes five points. The three most important are:
1. The US did not explicitly state the sovereign status of Taiwan in the three US-People's Republic of China (PRC) Joint Communiques of 1972, 1979 and 1982;
2. The US "acknowledged" the "one China" position of both sides of the Taiwan Strait; and
3. US policy has not recognized the PRC's sovereignty over Taiwan.
I strongly suggest that advocates of Taiwanese independence, including the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, stress the above in their dealings with US government officials. Continuing to vigorously protest the "one China" policy as being incorrect, unjust, unfair, etc, ignores the reality that the US executive never recognized the alleged incorporation of Taiwan into Chinese territory.
Roger C.S. Lin
Taipei
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