Project For a New American Century
October 7, 2003
MEMORANDUM TO: OPINION LEADERS
FROM: WILLIAM KRISTOL
SUBJECT: Taiwan’s President on the “One China” Policy
If the past few months are any indication, Taiwanese President Chen’s comments rejecting the “One China” policy may provoke immediate criticism from the Bush administration and outrage from China hands. (“Taiwanese Leader Condemns Beijing, ‘One China’ Policy,” Washington Post, October 7, 2003.)
After all, in June, Douglas Paal, who represents the U.S. in Taiwan, expressed U.S. concern about President Chen’s plans to enact a law on referendums and make amendments to Taiwan’s constitution, on the grounds that they cross Beijing’s red line on Taiwan’s presuming to act as if an independent state. Then, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher responded to President Chen’s declaration that he would revise Taiwan’s outdated constitution if re-elected, by listing the president’s commitments not to seek independence, not to add state-to-state theory to the constitution, and not to promote a referendum that would change the status quo on independence or unification. Notably, Ambassador Boucher did not take the opportunity to caution China about a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan problem.
In fact, President Chen has not broken any promises. He has, however, challenged one tenet of U.S. policy on Taiwan by speaking the truth. The “One China” principle, President Chen said, is “abnormal thinking,” adding that “Taiwan is not a province of one country nor is it a state of another.” Moreover, in remarks that land squarely at America’s feet, he said: “Any kind of democratic reform is our own internal affair. I don’t think any democratic country can oppose our democratic ideals.”
President Chen is right. The “One China” principle, fashioned decades ago, is no longer a convenient fiction that helps avoid cross-Strait tensions. Rather, it fuels Beijing’s drive to take Taiwan, either by force or through coercion, seeming to put Washington on Beijing’s side in this dispute. The anachronistic “One China” policy has outlived any usefulness it may have had. It’s time for a new Taiwan policy that recognizes the reality of a Chinese democracy on Taiwan, the right of its people to determine their own future, and gives the elected government of Taiwan and the people it represents the status they deserve.
October 7, 2003
MEMORANDUM TO: OPINION LEADERS
FROM: WILLIAM KRISTOL
SUBJECT: Taiwan’s President on the “One China” Policy
If the past few months are any indication, Taiwanese President Chen’s comments rejecting the “One China” policy may provoke immediate criticism from the Bush administration and outrage from China hands. (“Taiwanese Leader Condemns Beijing, ‘One China’ Policy,” Washington Post, October 7, 2003.)
After all, in June, Douglas Paal, who represents the U.S. in Taiwan, expressed U.S. concern about President Chen’s plans to enact a law on referendums and make amendments to Taiwan’s constitution, on the grounds that they cross Beijing’s red line on Taiwan’s presuming to act as if an independent state. Then, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher responded to President Chen’s declaration that he would revise Taiwan’s outdated constitution if re-elected, by listing the president’s commitments not to seek independence, not to add state-to-state theory to the constitution, and not to promote a referendum that would change the status quo on independence or unification. Notably, Ambassador Boucher did not take the opportunity to caution China about a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan problem.
In fact, President Chen has not broken any promises. He has, however, challenged one tenet of U.S. policy on Taiwan by speaking the truth. The “One China” principle, President Chen said, is “abnormal thinking,” adding that “Taiwan is not a province of one country nor is it a state of another.” Moreover, in remarks that land squarely at America’s feet, he said: “Any kind of democratic reform is our own internal affair. I don’t think any democratic country can oppose our democratic ideals.”
President Chen is right. The “One China” principle, fashioned decades ago, is no longer a convenient fiction that helps avoid cross-Strait tensions. Rather, it fuels Beijing’s drive to take Taiwan, either by force or through coercion, seeming to put Washington on Beijing’s side in this dispute. The anachronistic “One China” policy has outlived any usefulness it may have had. It’s time for a new Taiwan policy that recognizes the reality of a Chinese democracy on Taiwan, the right of its people to determine their own future, and gives the elected government of Taiwan and the people it represents the status they deserve.
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