US president-elect Donald Trump’s recent remarks about the US’ “one China” policy “could be a double-edged sword,” a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker said, while an opposition party lawmaker called on Taiwan to “think it through” before assuming Trump’s stance is good for Taiwan.
Trump, in an interview on Sunday, said that while he “fully” understands the US’ “one China” policy, he does not know why the US has to be “bound by the ‘one China’ policy unless [it makes] a deal with China.”
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) yesterday said Trump’s statement could be “a double-edged sword,” as on the one hand it means that the US does not necessarily have to accept its “one China” policy when its main aim is to get Beijing to the bargaining table, but on the other hand it also implies that the “one China” policy could be accepted, depending on the result of negotiations with China.
He added that Taiwan has never regarded the US’ “one China” position as a good policy, because the basis of Taiwan-US exchanges should not be restricted by the “one China” framework.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said that this is how Trump, a typical businessperson, bargains, which is to “use whatever means to force you to sit at the bargaining table for his purposes.”
It is obvious that what Trump really cares about is the economic and trade relationship between the US and China, and disapproves of China’s “currency manipulation” and the US-China trade deficit, so he would resort to all economic and noneconomic means possible to bolster the US’ bargaining power, and that certainly includes Taiwan, Chiang said.
In the short term, Taiwan might feel valued, as it seems that for Trump, Taiwan is a potential ally against Beijing, but in the long term, Taiwanese businesspeople would be negatively affected by changing US-China trade relations, lawmakers said
“So Taiwan should think it through whether it really has a say in the US-China negotiations or [it is] simply a bargaining chip to be used,” Chiang said.
People First Party caucus convener Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said until Trump is sworn into office, his comments are personal.
He hopes that Taiwan-US relations could develop after Trump takes office, but added that “Asia’s stability and peaceful cross-trait development should also be maintained.”
New Power Party caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said Trump’s statement poses a great challenge to the government’s policy of maintaining the “status quo.”
The government has to reflect on its policy of maintaining the “status quo,” which might be outdated, Hsu said.
It is no longer a question of whether Taiwan wishes to maintain the “status quo,” as it is now the US that is poised to make changes to the “status quo,” he said.
“The name of the [US’] ‘one China’ policy might stay the same, but the content has been altered; the telephone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Trump earlier this month was not improvised, but an offensive that was followed by another,” Hsu said.
The government should take this moment as a challenge and an opportunity, Hsu said, calling for a “new eastbound policy” as large corporations start to invest in the US, a move Trump might appreciate.
Regarding cross-strait relations, the question is no longer whether there is a so-called “1992 consensus,” but whether the US’ “one-China” policy would be changed and whether the government is prepared for that, he said.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a supposed understanding reached during cross-strait talks in 1992 that both Taiwan and China acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what that means.
Former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2000 admitted that he had made up the term “1992 consensus.”
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