After World War II, Taiwan and Penghu fell into the hands of the Allied forces and came under the legal control of the US. At the time, however, Washington delegated control of the territories to the Republic of China (ROC) government of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).
The way events transpired, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government was allowed to remain on Taiwan and Penghu unchallenged, and the people living there were subjected to brainwashing at the hands of the ROC. From an historical perspective, Taiwan was not governed by an “alternative China,” but rather the Taiwan Authority — the same “governing authorities on Taiwan” referred to in the US’ Taiwan Relations Act.
Since this time, China has developed unquestioned economic clout, while the Taiwan question has remained unresolved. It was this Gordian knot that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) addressed during a speech titled, “Taiwan’s national security challenges and strategies in the next decade,” at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
Tsai scrutinized the relationships between Washington, Taiwan and Penghu, Beijing and the Western Pacific region. Not only is she aware of the Achilles’ heel of Washington and Beijing, she also knows how to use it to her advantage.
Tsai expressed hope that both Washington and Beijing would understand and respect the choice of the people of Taiwan and Penghu, and said that the best strategy for all concerned would be for them to respect Taiwan’s right to live a free and democratic existence.
Tsai not only discussed the challenges, she also expressed her resolve to address them. One challenge she discussed was the need to ensure regional peace and stability. To achieve this, Taiwan needs to expand cooperation and coordination with other countries in the region, particularly with the US and its allies, she said.
The current situation in the Western Pacific region, and especially the complex nature of the Taiwan Strait, cannot be resolved by relying simply on national identity and a political stance.
On the matter of the South China Sea, Tsai said the DPP support freedom of navigation and the settlement of disputes within a multilateral framework and through international law.
More importantly, she said that there has never been animosity between Taiwanese and Chinese, but that historically there were “wars and conflicts between the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] and the KMT.”
Tsai intends to save Taiwan from the animosity between the KMT and the CCP and seek out a place for the nation within the stable framework of the West Pacific region.
The paradigm shift she is proposing has the potential to finally lift the people of Taiwan and Penghu out of the independence/ unification trap devised by politicians from the KMT and CCP. After all, these two parties remain embroiled in the same endless dispute, an argument that has got absolutely nothing to do with Taiwan and Penghu.
Joshua Tin is an economist.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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