The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) addresses two core principles: maintaining the "status quo" in the Taiwan Strait and the independence of Taiwan. During a videoconference with journalists in Washington last week, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) expressed his dissatisfaction with the WHO in a manner that very much reflected the spirit of the TRA.
To support his argument, Chen quoted Section 4(d) of the TRA, which says that Taiwan should not be excluded or expelled from any international organization, and Section 2(b)(4), which says that China's use of non-peaceful means to determine the future of Taiwan is of grave concern to the US.
Despite this, at the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the US supported the "one China" policy and in general Washington did not seem overly concerned over China's "Anti-Secession" Law or its deployment of ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan.
Chen complained about US President George W. Bush and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shirking responsibilities. He said they might try to defend themselves by saying that the US had helped Taiwan maintain its OIE membership -- under the name "Chinese Taipei" -- rather than be expelled. Furthermore, they could say that a majority of countries have reached a consensus on the "one China" principle and that therefore it is not the US' responsibility to change this reality.
But the crux of the matter is the national title "Republic of China" (ROC) and the sovereignty issue implicit in the claim that "Taiwan is part of China," which can only be resolved through the clauses in the TRA that promote Taiwanese independence.
Section 4(c) of the TRA stipulates that "... the Congress approves the continuation in force of all treaties and other international agreements, including multilateral conventions, entered into by the US and the governing authorities on Taiwan recognized by the US as the ROC prior to January 1, 1979 ..." In other words, this means that all agreements signed prior to this date are re-approved and transferred to Taiwanese.
A little bit of research will show that these international agreements include the Atlantic Charter, the Declaration by the United Nations of 1942, articles 76(b) and 77(b) of the UN Charter and others, all of which, over and over again, recognize Taiwanese independence. The TRA therefore implies that supporting Taiwanese independence is a responsibility of the US. Unfortunately, this rarely gets mentioned, which has resulted in the US' position of not supporting Taiwanese independence, but rather recognizing the "one China" principle.
Furthermore, on Dec. 30, 1978, two days prior to Washington's severing diplomatic ties with Taipei, former US president Jimmy Carter pointed out in his memorandum that after cutting Taiwan-US relations, "the existing international agreements and arrangements in force between the US and Taiwan shall continue in force."
In other words, Carter decided that after severing diplomatic ties, the US would continue to have a state-to-state international relationship with Taiwan.
Bush cannot just ask Chen to uphold his "four noes and one without" pledge without upholding Carter's memorandum, which clearly states that Taiwan is a nation and not a province.
Clause 2, Article 6 of the US Constitution stipulates that "all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the US, shall be the supreme law of the land." If Chen were to bring forth the Taiwanese independence issue stipulated in the TRA, Bush would be seen to be acting unconstitutionally.
Sim Kiantek is a former associate professor in the business administration department at Chung Hsing University.
Translated by Lin Ya-ti
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