|
What about protecting
Taiwan’s democracy?
By Chen Mei-chin 陳美津
Several US academics have argued in recent articles that the US should distance
itself from Taiwan because China’s power and influence are rising and it would
become more “costly” for the US to maintain close ties with Taipei, and in
particular maintain its defense obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act.
Charles Glaser of George Washington University argued along those lines in a
recent article in Foreign Affairs, while Bob Sutter, of the same university,
recently painted an equally gloomy picture, saying that the rise of China is
giving Beijing leverage over Taiwan. Glaser added that in light of Taiwan’s
weakening economic, diplomatic and military positions, the status quo in the
Taiwan Strait was becoming unsustainable, meaning Taiwan has very limited
options for its future and unification with China was virtually inevitable.
The academics seem to make two assumptions: first, that the rise of China is
unstoppable and the US needs to adjust its policy to accommodate Beijing’s
increasing influence on the international stage; and second, that given China’s
economic and military power, Chinese annexation of Taiwan is a foregone
conclusion.
Neither of these assumptions takes account of the most important reason for US
support for Taiwan — that Taiwan is a democracy and that China is still ruled by
an authoritarian regime. If the US wants democracy to prevail in East Asia, it
needs to be more assertive in its support for a democratic nation like Taiwan.
If the US wants China to become democratic, it needs to maintain a vibrant
democracy on its doorstep. Right under the surface in China, people are clearly
longing for a more free and open political system. Hundreds of human rights
activists are languishing in prison, including Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波).
In recent months, China has, in an effort to prevent anything similar to the
revolutions spreading across the Arab world, intensified repressive measures and
arrested and imprisoned more human rights activists, journalists, Internet
bloggers and artists.
The basic conclusion is that China will not become democratic if the US gives up
on Taiwan. However, the scenario of Taiwan’s eventual unification with China is
also totally out of step with the aspirations of Taiwanese. A recent opinion
poll conducted by the Global Views survey center showed that nearly 70 percent
of respondents rejected unification with China, and given a free choice, would
opt for independence.
At this point, the people of Taiwan can still say what they want, in spite of
China’s military threat and intimidation. In less than eight months, on Jan. 14,
Taiwanese are going to the polls to elect a new president.
The choice is clear: the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government of President
Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has maneuvered Taiwan into closer orbit with China, while the
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wants to retain Taiwan’s freedom and
democracy, and — if elected — would steer the nation toward a more balanced
policy, seeking closer cooperation with the US and other democracies like Japan.
Taiwan is at a critical juncture in its history. Recent opinion polls have shown
that DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the first female
presidential candidate in the history of Taiwan, is in a good position to win
the presidency. In a recent Forbes article, she was described as a pathfinder
and a creative thinker who has proposed practical and moderate approaches to
dealing with China.
Instead of distancing itself from this budding democracy, the US should be more
supportive of democracy in Taiwan and respect the aspirations of Taiwanese to
continue to live in freedom and democracy.
Chen Mei-chin is a commentator in Washington.
|
