The US embodies the ideals of freedom and justice that are the cores of democracy. The power of the democratic idea has evoked some of history’s most profound and moving expressions of human will and intellect, from Pericles in ancient Athens to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence in 1776.
The promise of democracy has mobilized people throughout the world and the international community looks to the US for leadership that serves liberty and justice.
As a country that practices the values of democracy and freedom, Taiwan deserves to be recognized as a member of the international community. Serving as an essential link in the chain of democratic nations along the Pacific Rim over the past two decades, Taiwan has evolved as an important player within the region, with a stakeholder interest in political and economic stability. Despite its impressive democratic achievements and high level of economic prosperity and development, Taiwan is barred from fully participating in the global arena.
Taiwan’s continued exclusion from the international stage is in direct contradiction with international law and the civilized world’s moral progression. Nations of the world look to the US to develop a straightforward, courageous and unambiguous policy that deals with today’s new political realities. It is time for the US to acknowledge Taiwan’s rightful place in the international community by establishing a “one China, one Taiwan” policy that grants full diplomatic recognition to Taiwan.
US STAKE IN ASIA
Taiwan is important to the US and the international community because of its vital role in spreading democracy in East Asia, its strategic importance to promoting peace in the Pacific region and its indispensable position in the prosperity of the global economy. The US has an immense economic and strategic stake in the Asia-Pacific region and Taiwan is essential to those objectives.
The US has helped Taiwan become a successful model of Asian democracy with competitive and transparent elections and high voter turnout. The Taiwanese people enjoy unbridled personal liberties, including freedom of speech, press and association.
Taiwan is also a critical player in the international economy. The country is the world’s third-largest holder of foreign currency reserves, the US’ eighth-largest trading partner and the world’s 17th-largest economy. Taiwan’s free-market economy is the epicenter of high technology R&D, manufacturing and distribution, with a dominant market presence in semiconductors, microchips and next-generation communications devices. The world relies on Taiwan’s ability to deliver products and innovation in these industries.
Beyond its significant economic ties with Taiwan, the US’ relations with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region are also linked to Taiwan’s security. A failure by the US to meet its security commitments to Taiwan, as vested in the Taiwan Relations Act and elsewhere, would potentially undermine the US’ ties with other allies in the region, such as Japan and South Korea, and perhaps even ripple beyond Asia to Europe and NATO.
UNRESOLVED STATUS
Taiwan has profound strategic implications for the US and the Asia-Pacific region, yet for 60 years the US has taken an ambivalent official stance on Taiwan’s status, neither recognizing the sovereignty of Taiwan nor recognizing China’s claim to sovereignty over the island. Recently, Susan Brenner, Deputy Taiwan Coordination Adviser at the US Department of State, reiterated this view when she said that the US has “not formally recognized Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan and [has] not made any determination as to Taiwan’s political status.”
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