The US has first dibs
Among the recent heated discussions in Taiwan's media regarding whether the US has the right to oppose the referendum issues of Taiwan's independence and sovereignty, the US was accused by some pro-China groups of interfering with the internal affairs of Taiwan.
It is fitting to review how the US got involved with Taiwan, which might shed some light on trying to find the best solution for this explosive issue.
Contrary to the KMT's deceitful claims and teaching to the people of Taiwan for the last five decades that their troops liberated the island, it was US troops -- on behalf of the allied forces -- which liberated Tai-wan from Japanese occupation at the end of World War II.
As occurred with many Pacific Islands liberated by US forces, the US was accorded custodial rights and obligations pending the final solution of the sovereignty of Taiwan -- even though the US allowed the KMT's troops to occupy the island after the war.
China's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan is equally deceit-ful. If China's claim to Taiwan today is believable, then the Republic of Mongolia has every right to claim China as its lost territory because China was only one of Mongolia's provinces during the Mongol Empire in the 13th century.
Judging from China's staunch support of the US' enemies during the Korean and Vietnam wars and Beijing's assisting North Korea, Pakistan and Iran with nuclear armaments, a future conflict between the US and China is inevitable.
The possibility that some politicians in Taiwan might exploit the referendum issue for personal gains and China's feverish ambition to take Taiwan at any cost make it imperative that the US proclaim its sovereign right to Taiwan -- which, under international law, it could claim given the liberation of Taiwan by US forces.
It is high time that Washington informs Beijing in no uncertain terms that the US' "one China" policy has never implied or recognized China's sovereign right to Taiwan.
Washington's voicing of its concerns regarding a referendum on Taiwan's independence and sovereignty is a step in the right direction.
The US should move further to declare and assert its custodial right to the sovereignty of Taiwan so that there will be no misunderstanding on the part of the people and governments on either side of the Taiwan Strait.
Our foundation promotes Taiwan joining the US as a commonwealth -- through a US-sponsored referendum in Taiwan -- in order to preserve the democracy in Taiwan and to strengthen the US' national defense capability in the Pacific region. Our foundation's proposal offers the best solution to the Taiwan issue.
Arthur Li
Founder, USA-Taiwan Commonwealth Foundation
Florida
From the Iran war and nuclear weapons to tariffs and artificial intelligence, the agenda for this week’s Beijing summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is packed. Xi would almost certainly bring up Taiwan, if only to demonstrate his inflexibility on the matter. However, no one needs to meet with Xi face-to-face to understand his stance. A visit to the National Museum of China in Beijing — in particular, the “Road to Rejuvenation” exhibition, which chronicles the rise and rule of the Chinese Communist Party — might be even more revealing. Xi took the members
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on Friday used their legislative majority to push their version of a special defense budget bill to fund the purchase of US military equipment, with the combined spending capped at NT$780 billion (US$24.78 billion). The bill, which fell short of the Executive Yuan’s NT$1.25 trillion request, was passed by a 59-0 margin with 48 abstentions in the 113-seat legislature. KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), who reportedly met with TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) for a private meeting before holding a joint post-vote news conference, was said to have mobilized her
Taiwan’s higher education system is facing an existential crisis. As the demographic drop-off continues to empty classrooms, universities across the island are locked in a desperate battle for survival, international student recruitment and crucial Ministry of Education funding. To win this battle, institutions have turned to what seems like an objective measure of quality: global university rankings. Unfortunately, this chase is a costly illusion, and taxpayers are footing the bill. In the past few years, the goalposts have shifted from pure research output to “sustainability” and “societal impact,” largely driven by commercial metrics such as the UK-based Times Higher Education (THE) Impact
The inter-Korean relationship, long defined by national division, offers the clearest mirror within East Asia for cross-strait relations. Yet even there, reunification language is breaking down. The South Korean government disclosed on Wednesday last week that North Korea’s constitutional revision in March had deleted references to reunification and added a territorial clause defining its border with South Korea. South Korea is also seriously debating whether national reunification with North Korea is still necessary. On April 27, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung marked the eighth anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, the 2018 inter-Korean agreement in which the two Koreas pledged to
RSS