US-Taiwan ties on Aug 01, 2004

Lee's job: improve US-Taiwan ties

By the Liberty Times editorial

The nation's new representative to the US, David Lee, recently arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington DC, where he was met by William Brown, acting chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan. Lee's work in the US will be to increase cooperation and reduce misunderstanding.

Increasing cooperation means jointly maintaining the peace in the Taiwan Strait and broadening democratic values based on the two countries' common interests. In short, it refers to maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait.

To reduce misunderstanding, Lee must improve communications between Taiwan and the US. That means resolving any confusion that may exist, and providing the US with a firm grasp of the popular sentiment behind Taiwan's policies.

Prior to the presidential elections this year, President Chen Shui-bian proposed holding a "defensive referendum." Using this as an excuse, China threatened the country militarily and put pressure on the US to intervene on its behalf.

Due to campaign considerations, the pan-blues sought to distort the significance of the referendum, misleading the Americans about a matter that involves the public's exercise of basic rights.

The government made many attempts to explain the situation, but the first impression was the strongest. The US remained unwilling to accept the proposed referendum. It was not until after the specific referendum questions were announced, and it was clear that there was no suggestion of unilaterally changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, as China had been suggesting, that the US ceased to be anxious about this issue.

After the election results were announced and Chen made his inaugural speech, the misunderstandings that had affected Taiwan-US relations were gradually resolved. Progress was even made on the matters of arms sales and military cooperation. The improvement in Taiwan-US relations was looked on with disapproval by China.

After US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's visit to China, Beijing asked the US to stop selling advanced weapons to Taiwan and terminate military cooperation. It also asked the US to cease official contact with Taiwan and stop supporting the country in its efforts to join organizations that require statehood. To apply further pressure, Beijing even ordered its embassy in Washington to hold a press conference to reiterate those points.

The US has not complied with those demands. But it must be vigilant about future Chinese trickery to avoid repeating the mistake of former US president Bill Clinton in his Shanghai statement of the "three noes."

For a long time the Taiwan Strait has been a center of conflict in a generally stable region, and Beijing has never missed an opportunity to create problems.

Fortunately, the country has the same strategic interests as the US and Japan, which is to prevent China from using its armed forces against this country. Nevertheless, the nation should strengthen its defensive ability, and complete arms purchases if reasonable terms can be negotiated, rather than relying on help from afar.

The nation must strengthen its industrial and economic infrastructure to defend against China's efforts to achieve unification through economic means. It should also reinforce its Taiwanese identity and improve the efficiency of its democracy. But most importantly, we should increase cooperation and reduce misunderstandings with our chief democratic partner.

Lee should bring the Taiwan-US relationship to a new level and work to give the government and people of the US a better understanding of the aspirations of the Taiwanese people. Everyone knows that the US is Taiwan's partner in democracy and that we have many interests in common.

When the nation's safety is threatened, the US provides aid -- as it did during Taiwan's first presidential elections in 1996, when the US positioned two aircraft carrier battle groups in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait to discourage China from resorting to military force. Such is the importance of the US to Taiwan.

Lee is a seasoned diplomat. When he was studying for his doctorate in the US, his subject was the legislative process of the Taiwan Relations Act. He has a good understanding of Taiwan-US relations, which is a good foundation for his work in the US.

With the end of the Cold War, the need for the US to unite with China to keep the Soviet Union in check disappeared and the Sino-US relationship become one based primarily on trade.

Although China constantly insists that the US abide by the "one China" principle, the US adheres to its own interpretation of "one China" which emphasizes the Taiwan Relations Act and the three Sino-US joint communiques.

Despite incessant protests from China, the US' willingness to assist Taiwan through arms sales, support for its participation in international organizations and official contacts has increased in recent years.

Beijing's reiteration of its demand that the US abide by the three Sino-US joint communiques is clearly an attempt to tighten its encirclement of Taiwan by taking advantage of the US' presidential election season and its problems in Iraq and North Korea. But Beijing has miscalculated.

The US military's large-scale Summer Pulse exercise was a clear message to Beijing that the US is able to project force in different areas of the world simultaneously. Therefore China should not contemplate using the international situation as an excuse for trying any tricks.

On another front, the US Democratic Party's platform emphasizes that it supports Taiwan's "vibrant" democracy and is committed to continuing to provide defensive weapons to the nation. Therefore, China cannot hope that support for Taiwan would evaporate if US voters put the Democrats in power.

As to the strategic situation in the western Pacific, Taiwan has few options. But at least it has US support. Looking back on periods in which Taiwan-US relations were unsatisfactory, the reason was usually that the country failed to make the Americans clearly understand the will of the Taiwanese people.

The country has democratized at an astonishing rate and power is now with the people. Through the exercise of popular power, development has been very rapid.

If our foreign affairs officials see their job as simply holding down the fort, and so poorly convey the will of the people that our friends in the international community fail to understand us, then this lets down our nation's 23 million people.

The US is a democratic country, and understanding the will of the people is the foundation of its government. If the US understands this, why would the Americans oppose democratic aspirations in our country?

Lee goes to the US with the mission of benefiting this country and bringing greater prosperity to its people. He must use all his talent to convey to the US the will of the Taiwanese people and improve the friendship between our two nations.