Cross-strait unification is not in the US’ interests and the US government should make it clear that it would not support unification unless Taiwanese welcomed such a change after China becomes democratic, Former American Institute in Taiwan director William Stanton said yesterday.
Stanton made the remarks during his keynote speech at a conference held by the Taiwan New Constitution Foundation to mark the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
He gave an overview of the Three Joint Communiques between the US and China, saying that the US signed them based on expectations that were later proved to be “totally wrong.”
Photo: CNA
The expectations included that the US would be able to build a long-term relationship with China that would result in mutually beneficial cooperation on political, economic and strategic matters, and that Taiwan, then under the autocratic leadership of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), would soon become part of greater China, he said.
The communiques are “relics of the Cold War” and are “factually inaccurate,” he said.
For example, the 1972 Shanghai Communique’s central claim — that the US acknowledges that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but “one China” and that “Taiwan is a part of China” — “has no factual basis,” he said.
While that might be true to Mao Zedong (毛澤東) and Chiang, nobody asked the people on either side of the Strait, he said.
The second communique, signed in 1979, states in a similarly fuzzy manner that the US acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but “one China” and that “Taiwan is a part of China,” he said.
“I may acknowledge that you think I am crazy, but that does not mean I agree with you,” he said.
However, “if the first two communiques are flawed, the third communique is just totally wrong,” he said.
While the communique signed in 1982 states that the US would gradually reduce arms sales to Taiwan, it never did, he said.
Then-US president Ronald Reagan was unhappy with the communique and partly as a result fired then-US secretary of state Alexander Haig and agreed to the “six assurances,” Stanton said.
The US’ policy on and agreements with Taiwan are complex, he said, adding that they cannot be neatly summed up by Beijing’s “one China” principle.
As the US seeks to maintain non-official relations with Taiwan, it has imposed on itself a number of restrictions, but there are simple measures that it could adopt to improve relations, he said.
For example, it could avoid referencing the term “one China” and the Three Joint Communiques, while referring to the TRA and the “six assurances” more often, he said.
It should also adjust a policy then-US president Bill Clinton announced in 1998 that the US would not support the admission of Taiwan into any organization where statehood is required, he said, adding that it contravenes the TRA.
It should also strengthen cooperation with Taiwan in regional security and trade, he said.
The US has become more realistic about what China is and has more understanding of Taiwan’s importance, he said.
He would like to see “a clear statement” from the US that it does not support unification “unless and until China becomes a free and democratic country where the rule of the law and respect for human rights are fundamental principles” and that Taiwanese welcome unification, he said.
“A secure and democratic Taiwan is just as critical as peaceful cross-strait relations for a stable and secure Asia,” he added.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS