Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Richard Bush on Friday said that the US was likely to try to “influence” Taiwan’s 2016 presidential elections.
While he did not speculate about what might happen, Bush indicated that Washington would declare a preference for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate because there were lingering doubts about the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) cross-strait policies.
This is possibly the first time a former US official of Bush’s standing has spoken about Washington’s purported involvement in Taiwanese politics.
Bush, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told a conference on cross-strait relations that the 2016 election could change the role the nation plays in the way the US and China interact, and alter the nature of Taiwan-US-China relations.
It would depend on which party won the presidency, and on the politics and policies the new president would pursue, he said.
Bush said that it was too early to predict results and that current polls were probably meaningless.
Taiwan is seen, particularly by Chinese, as an integral part of Washington’s efforts to contain, restrain and obstruct Beijing, Bush said.
“An important point is that while Taiwan might have been a passive actor in this, it is not a passive actor anymore,” Bush said, adding that the nation had been “an active participant” for the past two decades and that through its actions, Taipei shaped many of the conclusions that Washington and Beijing reached.
The question to be considered is what Taiwan might do to shape these conclusions, Bush said.
He said that for the next couple of years cross-strait relations would be quiet, but they could change with the 2016 election.
“What I am prepared to say with some confidence is that the US government at some time and in some way will express itself about the implications of the 2016 election for US interests,” Bush said.
“I recognize ... that Washington is caught in a bit of a dilemma here,” he said. “On the one hand, we have the general principle that it is the voters of friendly democratic countries who should be the ones to pick their leaders at the ballot box, and the US should not try to influence their votes by questioning one candidate or the other; but on the other hand, the United States has interests in the policies of any leadership, whether it is Taiwan or any other place.”
“In spite of this dilemma, Washington has not been quiet,” Bush said.
He said that in 1996, the administration of then-US president Bill Clinton influenced Taiwanese elections by making statements and did so again in December 1999.
“I myself made a public statement in Taiwan where I laid out our view about Taiwan’s democratic election,” Bush said.
At that time, Bush was chairman and managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan.
He said that almost exactly four years after his statement, the White House made an announcement that was clearly critical of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) policies and that in September 2007 there was another “long and detailed” critique of the Chen administration’s policies issued in advance of the 2008 election.
Then, four years later, in September 2011, the administration of US President Barack Obama let its views be known by having an anonymous official give an interview to the Financial Times, Bush said.
“So this is something we do,” Bush said. “We feel there is a need for us to express our views on how our interests will be affected by Taiwan’s elections.”
To “say nothing” as some in Taiwan might want, would actually be like making a statement anyway, he said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
RSS