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Taiwan deserves US’
assurances
By Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎
This week, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)
will visit Washington and meet with US officials and members of Congress. It
will be a good opportunity for Washington to hear directly from the DPP’s
presidential candidate what policies she will be pursuing if she is elected in
January.
Tsai has recently issued a number of policy papers outlining her plans for
Taiwan’s future, both in terms of domestic policies on socioeconomic issues and
international policies on how she intends to enhance Taiwan’s relations with
other countries, including China. She has laid out a strategy in which she
strives for a more balanced development inside Taiwan, reform of the
anachronistic judicial system, and a global strategy in which Taiwan reinforces
its strategic partnership with the US and strengthens cooperation with other
democracies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Washington will look carefully at her proposals for relations with China. She is
holding out an open hand for “multilayered and multifaceted” relations with
China and for establishing a “stable and constructive bilateral relationship.”
However, she rejects the imposition by China of unacceptable preconditions, such
as the “one China” principle — implying that Taiwan is part of China — or the
vague and undefined so-called “1992 consensus.”
With this, she has outlined a clear and moderate policy toward China. There is
no need for her to further “clarify” the DPP’s China policy, as suggested by
some. The ball is now in China’s court, and Beijing needs to show that it wants
peaceful coexistence with its neighbors, including Taiwan. It needs to dismantle
the missiles it has aimed at Taiwan and move toward a constructive relationship
with its smaller neighbor.
For Washington it is important to go back to the basics of US relations with
Taiwan. In 1979, Washington “derecognized” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
government because it persisted in presenting itself as the de facto and de jure
government of all of China. Since then, Taiwanese have transformed the country
into a lively democracy which aspires to play a full, equal and substantial role
in the international community.
Taiwan today is very different from Taiwan in 1979. However, the US has not
adjusted its policies, but continued to let Taiwan dangle in diplomatic
isolation. The US has not moved forward on a free trade agreement, and seems to
hesitate on much-needed arms sales.
What is needed is a new set of assurances from Washington in which it outlines a
new vision for its relations with Taiwan. To start, Washington can implement the
recent suggestions by US Congressman Howard Berman, the ranking member of the
House Committee on Foreign Relations, who said that US restrictions on meetings
with Taiwan’s democratically elected leaders should be removed.
It is also clear that Taiwan wants to live in peace with all its neighbors. The
US should ensure that the people of Taiwan can freely determine their own
future, without threats or intimidation from China. If there is tension in the
area, this is because of China’s military buildup and regional assertiveness,
which is not only focused on Taiwan, but also includes the South China Sea and
the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台).
If the US wants a reduction of tension in the broader region, it needs to lean
more heavily on China to accept its democratic neighbors for what they are.
Taiwan deserves to be able to set its own course. By itself Taiwan does not have
enough weight to counter China’s threats and intimidations and therefore needs
to deal with China in a multilateral context. The US and other democratic
nations need to be there so Taiwan can have the confidence to engage China on an
equal footing and without the threat of the use of force.
Nat Bellocchi is a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan. The
views expressed in this article are his own.
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