Wed, Aug 20, 2014 page3

• US commentators observe Taiwanese identity, state of cross-strait relations

  • By William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON
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  As the links between China and Taiwan have increased as a result of business and tourism, the feeling of being distinctly Taiwanese has become stronger, a British academic writing in National Interest magazine said.

  Instead of bringing them closer together, exposure to their “cousins from across the [Taiwan] Strait” has increased Taiwanese’s sentiment that they are different from Chinese even when they identify with aspects of Chinese culture, University of Nottingham associate professor Jonathan Sullivan said.

  “The unmistakable trend in Taiwanese public opinion is a real concern for proponents of unification,” he said.

  Sullivan said that experts in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) acknowledge as much and are more concerned by it than they are by the prospect of a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) election win in 2016, which they believe they can effectively manage.

  However, the DPP has found it difficult to articulate a vision for the nation’s identity that does not also invoke problematic relations with China, he said.

  The conundrum for the DPP, Sullivan said, is that the Taiwanese identity that has been “trampled on and discarded” under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) “is both a trump card and a liability.”

  Sullivan’s analysis comes as Gary Schmitt, co-director of Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), called on the US Department of State to “make it clear” to Beijing that the US finds the treatment of House of Representatives Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon unacceptable.

  McKeon said he was “snubbed” by Chinese leaders during a congressional delegation trip to Asia after he included Taiwan on his itinerary.

  When he stopped in China, McKeon was told at the last minute that he would not be able to meet with the country’s foreign and defense ministers and would not be able to tour China’s aircraft carrier.

  “The administration has an obligation, as the day-to-day manager of this country’s foreign relations, not to tolerate a senior member of a co-equal branch of government being treated in this manner, particularly over an issue where the chairman is in line with our own declared policy,” Schmitt said.

  “The State Department should make it clear that it won’t accept this kind of behavior on the part of the Chinese,” he said.

  Until Beijing assures Washington that the behavior will not be repeated, Schmitt said the department should begin to “slow roll” visa requests for senior PRC officials and their families to visit the US.

  “One would also hope that the House Foreign Affairs Committee would follow up to make sure that our diplomats don’t let the Chinese slide by on this one,” he said.

  Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Schmitt also said that while Asia is home to long-standing friends and allies like Taiwan and Japan, US President Barack Obama’s “rebalance” to the region is now in question.

  “Giving greater attention to Asia is called for, but if it comes at the expense of other key parts of the globe, it probably will be counterproductive,” he said.

  “As the president is discovering, America’s resources and attention will continue to be drawn back into those areas as the security situation worsens,” Schmitt said.

  “A true rebalancing is neither possible, given the state of today’s US military, nor likely to be sustainable if planned defense cuts are not reversed. The reality is that the United States cannot rebalance on the cheap,” he said.
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