It may be impossible for President Lee Teng-hui (
In his speech to a group of some 400 members of the group, Lee focused not so much on the distance between Taipei and Washington, but how closely US interests are linked to Taiwan and how they have contributed to the island's growth.
US support for Taiwan's security has been an important factor in Taiwan's liberalization, democratization and economic development, Lee said.
"The formulation and implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act, the US supply of defensive weapons to Taiwan and the decisive move of deploying two aircraft carriers to the seas near Taiwan during the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis are all substantial expressions of the commitment the US has made to maintain the security of Taiwan," he said.
Lee's speech, even in its video form, did not come without opposition from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, and on this point, Lee tried to set straight the Beijing government.
"The ROC is situated at the gateway of the Asia-Pacific, a strategic position for the US. It is closely linked to US interests in the region and has been America's strategic partner in maintaining the peace and stability of this region," Lee said.
China's strong opposition to any attempt by Lee to reach an international audience is not uncommon.
Following Lee's highly publicized visit to his alma mater Cornell University in 1995, China slammed the door on developing cross-strait negotiations, using threats of a military attack and live missile firings to try to coerce Taiwan's voters to steer clear of Lee.
The threats didn't work. In the end, the US and Japan stepped up security measures in the region.
China has apparently not given up. At the beginning of January, Chinese foreign ministry officials said that Japan, the US and other unspecified countries should bar Lee from visiting after he steps down in May.
In his speech yesterday, Lee expressed his hope that China would move toward democracy and away from repression as Taiwan has done -- shifting over the past 13 years from authoritarian rule to democracy, with very little bloodshed and civil unrest.
"The [1996] ROC presidential election not only serves as a model of democratic development for the Chinese mainland, but also topples the myth of `Asian values' being incompatible with democracy," Lee said.
"In sharp contrast to Taiwan is the People's Republic of China, with its totalitarian rule, insistence on one-party rule, arrest and imprisonment of dissidents and suppression of human rights and religious freedom, including the Tibetan religion and the Falun Gong sect," he said.
On this issue, Lee took the opportunity to point out that it was in the common interest of both Taiwan and the US that China one day democratize.
Lee said: "We hope that in the future, all Chinese on the Chinese mainland will enjoy full religious and political freedoms, as well as the prosperity and benefits brought by a market economy."
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