By Denny Roy
Why the time is right for Washington to stop fretting excessively about Chinese sensitivities over Taiwan.
The two Chinas have diverged dramatically. The Republic of China (ROC, better known as Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) could hardly be more different. Taiwan is small, democratic, and a model international citizen. The PRC is a huge authoritarian state that is coercing several of its neighbors and alarming most of the others. U.S. policy has undeservingly disadvantaged Taiwan and accommodated China. That imbalance should be corrected immediately.
U.S. restrictions on Taiwan are excessive. Beijing often characterizes U.S. policy toward Taiwan as treachery. Washington, the Chinese say, emboldens Taiwan independence through weapons transfers and a plethora of politically significant gestures such as granting then ROC President Lee Teng-hui a visa to visit and speak at his alma mater Cornell University in 1995. What the Chinese do not acknowledge, however, is the effort the U.S. government has made to limit U.S. policies involving Taiwan that would offend Beijing. These efforts amount to self-restraint that goes above and beyond formal obligations.
In order to establish and maintain a constructive relationship with the People’s Republic of China beginning in 1979, it was necessary for Washington to sever official diplomatic relations with Taipei. In accordance with Beijing’s demand, the U.S. government does not officially recognize Taiwan as an independent country and denies Taiwan some of the main symbols of statehood. Although unfair to Taiwan, this is a necessary part of the U.S. deal with China. In some instances, however, Washington has taken this policy too far. It is not necessary to proscribe every prospective connection with Taiwan simply because Beijing might interpret it as implying statehood. While it is advisable to avoid gratuitously antagonizing the PRC where possible, overindulging Chinese sensitivities will never be a sound basis for U.S. policymaking. It is enough that Washington has accommodated the Chinese on several large issues involving Taiwan, such as the “one China policy.” China should not have veto power over every aspect of U.S.-Taiwan relations. One wonders if U.S. policy has tried too hard to please Beijing, with the cost paid by Taiwan’s people not only in the countless indignities of not being treated as a real country, but also in economic opportunities, health, safety, and military security.
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