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Center urges US
action on Taiwan’s integration
MORE: The formal launch of the Center for
Strategic and International Studies report on Taiwan’s international integration
was the chance to urge the US Congress to do more
By William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON
Taiwan’s quest for greater participation in the international community is of
great importance to all democracies, senior vice president for Asia at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Mike Green, said on
Wednesday.
“The people of Taiwan deserve — and we need to see them get — a seat at the
table,” he said.
Green was presiding over a packed meeting held in a room within the US Congress
to formally release a new report by CSIS senior adviser for Asia Bonnie Glaser
on the nation’s need to be part of international organizations.
US Democratic Senator Robert Menendez and Republican Senator James Inhofe —
joint chairmen of the Taiwan Caucus — were scheduled to attend, but were unable
to after US Secretary of State John Kerry called an urgent closed-door meeting
on Iran.
Leo Lee (李澄然), deputy representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural
Representative Office in the US, read a message from President Ma Ying-jeou
(馬英九) thanking the US Congress for its support.
Ma said in his message that Glaser’s report was the most comprehensive study of
the nation’s bit to participate in international organizations published in
recent years.
“Beijing never misses an opportunity to constrain Taiwan’s space and to have its
voice heard,” Glaser said. “The exclusion of Taiwan from many international
organizations erodes Taiwan’s competitiveness and erodes Taiwan’s integration in
the regional economy.”
Glaser said China presented the biggest obstacle to Taiwan joining international
organizations.
“There is concern on the mainland that if Taiwan is given greater international
presence it could be used somehow to press for independence in the future,” she
said.
“One would hope that with China’s growing confidence and capabilities, its power
economically and militarily, that China would become confident in itself and
give Taiwan the opportunity to play a role in any organization,” Glaser said.
“It’s extremely unlikely that Taiwan would be able to leverage its participation
in an international organization to achieve de jure independence, but this
continues to be a concern which is unfounded and one which the international
community should push back on,” she said.
The 50-page study and its recommendations were the subject of an earlier report
in the Taipei Times on Nov. 28.
Glaser said that participation in international organizations was an issue that
Taipei had to make a priority in cross-strait relations.
“In pushing [Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平) to provide more opportunity for
Taiwan and to block Taiwan less, there could be the possibility to make more
progress,” she said. “It must be an issue on the cross-strait agenda because if
Beijing wants to continue to veto or block Taiwan’s participation it can
continue to do so.”
At the same time, the US should be more proactive in soliciting the support of
other nations, Glaser said.
“In addition to doing more for Taiwan, I think we actually need to encourage
other countries to do more. There are nations out there that are a little
nervous in saying things publicly in support of Taiwan, but there is safety in
numbers,” she said.
“If you get a lot of countries saying something, China is not going to punish
the entire international community,” she added.
As of now, Lee said that the nation has membership to only 34 of the world’s
5,000 international organizations.
Glaser said that for “a few years” support for Taiwan in the US Congress had
been “a little on the down side,” but that it had picked up recently.
“There are a lot of individuals in Congress now who are willing to work on some
of these issues and that helps,” she said.
Greater flexibility on Taiwan’s international space was something that Xi may be
convinced to “consider,” Glaser said.
“Ultimately, if he wants to develop the cross-strait relationship this is an
opportunity and a way to do that and the downside is not as great as China has
feared in the past,” she said.
“This is not something that China should fear — there is a lot more upside than
downside,” she said.
Glaser said it was in US interests to stand up more to China on the issue.
“We need to be a leader and we should be standing up for our rights and our
values,” she said.
“There is growing angst in this country that our relationship with China is so
important that we should not be challenging China on specific issues,” Glaser
said. “But when it comes to our own interests and values we shouldn’t hesitate
to stand up for them.”
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