Mon, Jan 21, 2002 page3

• Paal has his share of critics

  It is widely believed in Washington that Douglas Paal's nomination as head of the Taipei office of the American Institute in Taiwan was delayed by congressional conservatives' questions over Paal's `unfriendly' speeches on Taiwan over the years. Those questions were followed by series of financial and background checks on the incoming diplomat. Thanks to the efforts of former US president George Bush, who came to the aid of Paal, the nomination has been finalized and is waiting to be officially announced, according to a `Taipei Times' source in Washington

  • By Charles Snyder / STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  Douglas Paal, who will soon become the head of the Taipei office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), boasts lengthy credentials when it comes to East Asian affairs, but his penchant for speaking his mind has landed him in hot water in the past.

  "In the longer term, every [US] administration will be affected by Taiwan's own situation, its status, in the minds of the people globally and domestically. And that is the quality of pursuing democracy, honest elections, good governance and moderate behavior internationally."

  With that thought, Douglas Paal summed up Taiwan's role in US policy in a China News Agency interview in 1999 marking the 20th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act that governs US-Taiwan dealings.

  In choosing Paal to carry out his Taiwan policy, US President George W. Bush picked a man with long credentials in Republican administrations, life-long expertise in China and East Asian affairs, and a willingness to say what's on his mind that has bruised many Washington egos and almost cost him the AIT posting.

  A firm supporter of Taiwan and bitter critic of the Bill Clinton administration's Taiwan policies, Paal nevertheless has been an advocate of improved US-China relations. Such advocacy has put him on the outs with some key conservatives in Washington who feel he is too "soft" on China and might compromise Taiwan. Many intellectuals and government officials in Taiwan are said to agree with that assessment.

  Conservatives' disenchantment with Paal began with his stint as the top Asia expert in the National Security Council of former president George Bush. Conservative congressional staffers blame Paal for being behind two ill-fated trips to Beijing by then-national security adviser Brent Scowcroft in July and December 1989 to try to salvage US-China relations after the Tiananmen Square massacre in June of that year.

  Nine years later, in June 1998, Paal upset others in Washington by calling for a moratorium on US arms sales to Taiwan until the Taiwan military learned how to use the armaments Washington had sold it thus far. He made the statement, observers recall, during a conference in Washington of Taipei's Council of Advanced Political Studies. Paal first called for a halt to the arms sales and then clarified his comments to call for a moratorium, one attendee said.

  When Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) won his widely unexpected victory in the March 2000 presidential elections, Paal wrote in the International Herald Tribune about the "turbulence" that the election could cause in the Washington-Beijing-Taipei equation.

  At one point he reportedly suggested that the Clinton administration might hold off on a decision regarding arms sales to Taiwan, slated for April 2000, until after Chen was inaugurated in May and had a chance to settle in.

  After that suggestion, some began to describe Paal as anti-DPP and even anti-Taiwan democracy.

  Long-time friends and associates of Paal deny that he is pro-Beijing or would compromise Taiwan. They portray his writings and statements as an effort to objectively analyze the twists and turns of US relations with China and Taiwan, and an effort to keep ideology out of his scholarship -- not a reflection of his personal bent.

  "I know that he was personally extremely impressed at the time the DPP was formed. He said it had taken great courage to do this," said a long-time friend, adding, "I find it hard to imagine that he would oppose democratization in Taiwan."

  Some people in the ego-driven city of Washington see Paal as remote, off-putting and sometimes arrogant. But they say these impressions quickly disappear once people get to know him.

  "For a lot of people in and outside of the administration, one of the problems Doug has is, because he has a rather subtle view of all things, it is often unclear to people where he really stands, and that's politically bad -- although it may be that that's not such a bad thing for a diplomat," one colleague said.

  Within Taiwan, there are many people who view his appointment with displeasure.

  "Some Taiwan friends have come to me in panic and I don't think the people in Taiwan are crazy about him," one source said.

  In his new role at AIT, Paal's style might make some in Taiwan nervous.

  "My guess is that he'll be tough on the people of Taiwan," said Arthur Waldron, the director of Asian studies at both the University of Pennsylvania and the American Enterprise Institute think tank.

  "He'd say, `Look, are you getting your army in order, are you getting your intelligence in order, have you got too many layers of bureaucracy, are you cleaning up this, are you doing that?'

  "I think he would greatly improve our understanding on what's going on in Taiwan society because he would insist on having good reporting on all the different stuff that's going on.

  "In a sense, this would represent unwelcome pressure on certain vested interests. But, of course, in adversity there has always been [a good aspect] for Taiwan," said Waldron, who has known Paal since the two were roommates in graduate school.

  "I think Doug would put their feet to the fire, but I think that may not be such a bad thing. And I don't think he would sell them out," Waldron told the Taipei Times.

  David Brown, who worked with Paal in his Washington-based think tank, the Asia Pacific Policy Center, says that Paal is "well within the mainstream of American foreign policy" toward Taiwan.

  "If you're a rabid advocate of Taiwan independence, you're not going to be happy with any American appointed, but certainly not with Doug Paal, because he doesn't support that," Brown says.

  "Doug has a very balanced view on the controversial issues of our relations with China. He does want to see a strong, constructive US relationship with China. But, like many people, he doesn't see that as something that's going to come about because we're sacrificing our interests in Taiwan.

  "He travels to Taiwan frequently. He knows the people there very well. They know him, I think they trust him and I think it's absolutely the right kind of appointment for us to be making," Brown says.

  Paal's effectiveness at AIT, where he will be the steward of US policy toward Taiwan, will also be enhanced by his personal ties with several senior foreign-policy advisers in the Bush administration, many of whom worked for Bush's father during his presidency, Brown says.

  These include Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, senior National Security Council Asia expert Torkel Patterson and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Taiwan and the US preparing a ‘hellscape’ strategy

  • 2

    Two questioned over DPP legislator recall forgery

  • 3

    Former DPP aide detained in spy probe

  • 4

    Taobao fined NT$1.2m for unauthorized advertising

  • 5

    Taobao fined over ads, risks losing license: ministry