David Dean, a former chief of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) suggested yesterday that the nation enter into a five-year agreement with China wherein Taiwan promises to forsake the idea of independence while China promises not to attack Taiwan.
Dean, who served as the Washington-based AIT chairman between 1979 and 1986, told the 46th annual conference of the American Association for Chinese Studies in Williamsburg, Virginia, that Taiwan could ask the US to broker such an agreement. Dean suggested the period of five years because this is a relatively short period of time and therefore more likely to be accepted by Taiwan and China.
Such an agreement would benefit all the parties involved, Dean noted, saying it would allow China to concentrate on hosting the 2008 Olympic Games, give Taiwan the time to mend fences with the US, and let the US focus its attention on Iraq.
Pointing to a line from Washington that its ties with China are better now than at anytime in the last thirty years, Dean said that US-Taiwan ties are in a bit of an "unhealthy" state at present because the US administration feels that Taiwan hasn't given enough thought to Washington's need to concentrate its efforts in wrestling with the issue of Iraq.
Such an accord might only represent a small step toward settling the dispute between China and Taiwan, but it's better than no step at all, Dean said, adding that much would still remain to be done even if the agreement were concluded.
Admitting that his idea is at the preliminary stage, Dean said the question of what Taiwan forsaking its independence would mean still needs to be worked out.
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