US Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to Beijing has produced both good news and bad news for Taiwan.
The bad news is largely superficial, while the good news is more substantial. Balancing it all out, Taiwan has probably come out ahead.
Taiwan's media, especially the United Daily News has overemphasized Powell's statement about Taiwan not enjoying sovereignty as a nation and the US' rejection of Taiwan independence. But at the same time, Powell referred to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as Taiwan's president. If Taiwan is not a sovereign nation, how can it have a president?
As far as the affirmation that Taiwan is not a sovereign nation and the US' rejection of Taiwan independence, Powell has not departed from the US' "one China" policy. He has simply been more explicit, with the aim of showing goodwill to his Chinese hosts. For Taiwan, this must be counted a loss.
But this loss is balanced by gains. Powell insisted to Beijing that the US had an obligation to maintain the Taiwan Relations Act, according to which the US pledges to ensure that Taiwan has adequate defensive capabilities. More importantly, one of the key issues of Powell's visit was the proposed arms sale to Taiwan, an issue on which Powell made no concessions whatsoever.
Even as Powell stated that the US rejects the idea of Taiwan independence, Washington is willing to arm Taiwan to resist the threat of forcible unification through invasion. The US rejects independence in the words it uses, but in its actions it arms Taiwan with defensive weapons.
Is China really the winner from the two-pronged US policy? Not necessarily.
The most amusing response was from Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭), the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT's) spokesman. He said that Powell's statement was a response to Chen's attempt to hide behind the shell of the Republic of China (ROC) in order to promote Taiwan independence.
But the point is that the US has long since ceased to accept the existence of the ROC and for that reason there is a Taiwan Relations Act and not an "ROC Relations Act." The fact that Powell emphasized that the US did not accept Taiwan independence indicates that the death sentence has already been passed on the ROC.
Establishing diplomatic relations with China in 1979 was the US way of dragging the ROC out to be shot. For Powell, the ROC does not exist anymore, so there can be no ROC "shell" to speak of.
As to whether Taiwan is a sovereign nation, this is totally unrelated to the ROC. So the KMT, which is wedded to the idea of the ROC, is totally unable to even become involved in the debate over Taiwan. The main point is what Taiwan's 23 million people want.
Senior adviser to the president Koo Kwang-ming's (辜寬敏) advertisement in the Washington Post and the New York Times has already raised a voice against the US' "one China" policy. The thaw is already beginning.
Chin Heng-wei is editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine.
Translated by Ian Bartholomew
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has offered Taiwan a paradoxical mix of reassurance and risk. Trump’s visceral hostility toward China could reinforce deterrence in the Taiwan Strait. Yet his disdain for alliances and penchant for transactional bargaining threaten to erode what Taiwan needs most: a reliable US commitment. Taiwan’s security depends less on US power than on US reliability, but Trump is undermining the latter. Deterrence without credibility is a hollow shield. Trump’s China policy in his second term has oscillated wildly between confrontation and conciliation. One day, he threatens Beijing with “massive” tariffs and calls China America’s “greatest geopolitical
On Sunday, 13 new urgent care centers (UCC) officially began operations across the six special municipalities. The purpose of the centers — which are open from 8am to midnight on Sundays and national holidays — is to reduce congestion in hospital emergency rooms, especially during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year. It remains to be seen how effective these centers would be. For one, it is difficult for people to judge for themselves whether their condition warrants visiting a major hospital or a UCC — long-term public education and health promotions are necessary. Second, many emergency departments acknowledge
US President Donald Trump’s seemingly throwaway “Taiwan is Taiwan” statement has been appearing in headlines all over the media. Although it appears to have been made in passing, the comment nevertheless reveals something about Trump’s views and his understanding of Taiwan’s situation. In line with the Taiwan Relations Act, the US and Taiwan enjoy unofficial, but close economic, cultural and national defense ties. They lack official diplomatic relations, but maintain a partnership based on shared democratic values and strategic alignment. Excluding China, Taiwan maintains a level of diplomatic relations, official or otherwise, with many nations worldwide. It can be said that
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) made the astonishing assertion during an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle, published on Friday last week, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a dictator. She also essentially absolved Putin of blame for initiating the war in Ukraine. Commentators have since listed the reasons that Cheng’s assertion was not only absurd, but bordered on dangerous. Her claim is certainly absurd to the extent that there is no need to discuss the substance of it: It would be far more useful to assess what drove her to make the point and stick so
RSS