Posted on 12/21/2003 2:15:45 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Accusing President Bush of "a kowtow that would have made Bill Clinton blush" when he allegedly followed "a script dictated by Beijing" and condemned Taiwan's president for "unspecified comments and actions" relating to a forthcoming Taiwanese referendum , the Weekly Standard's Robert Kagan and William Kristol insisted that the U.S. must stand by Taiwan. Reacting to mainland China's threat to use force against Taiwan if the island nation holds a referendum protesting Beijing’s missile aimed at Taiwan, an administration spokesman privately told reporters that President Bush is dead set against such a referendum. The Standard reported that China has 496 short range ballistic missiles ready to be launched at Taiwan and that China's communist leaders have repeatedly warned that they are willing to use force if need be to make Taiwan surrender its sovereignty. Moreover, the Pentagon has said that Beijing's ability to launch a successful attack is rapidly increasing while Taiwan's ability to defend itself, and America's ability to effectively intervene are rapidly decreasing. In response to this ominous situation, Taiwan's President Chen wants to hold what he calls a "defensive referendum," in March dealing with Beijing's missile threat, hoping that an overwhelming vote demanding that Red China remove its missiles and pledge to seek a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two Chinas - an idea Beijing abhors. Wrote Kagan and Kristol, Beijing's dictators "don't like expressions of democracy in territories they control like Hong Kong, or in countries they want to control, like Taiwan" and also fear that "the more the Taiwanese people express their views freely the more likely that someday they will express the view that they want to be truly and officially independent." As a result of these views, Beijing simply wants to "squelch democratic expression in Taiwan as much as possible." In background interviews with the media, top national security council official James Moriarity has told reporters that the administration is opposed to any referendum on the topic, but the Standard notes that neither Bush nor any other administration official have ever made any such statements. What is needed now, the authors explain is that the administration must make it clear that it has not changed the longstanding U.S policy toward Taiwan. So far, the Standard notes, all that Bush has really done is to repeat the longstanding U.S. policy of warning Taiwan to avoid changing its "status quo: regarding its sovereignty. In other words, Taiwan should avoid rocking the boat, something Taiwan's President Chen has said he has no intention of doing. Chen has stated that as long as Beijing "has no intention to use military force against Taiwan, I pledge that during my term of office, I will not declare independence. I will not change the national title, I will not push for the inclusion of the so-called 'state to state' description in the constitution, and I will not promote a referendum to change the status quo in regards to the question of independence or reunification." The Standard notes that Chen is abiding by that promise and adds that his proposed referendum has nothing to do with independence and therefor does not run counter to president Bush’s warnings against declarations of independence. To avoid any misinterpretations of the President's present stand, Kagan and Kristol say that President Bush "needs to revert to his core principles and make clear that the United States supports Taiwanese democracy."
Here's the article: Stand by Taiwan!
Of course the United States supports Taiwanese democracy. Taiwan is already democratic!
The people of Taiwan are entitled to decide their own future. I'd be ashamed of my own President if he stood in the way of their freedom to appease the ChiComs.
The problem is the timing. Chen wants to stir the pot while the US is tied up fighting terrorists in the Middle East, and China is helping keep North Korea in a bottle.
If Chen wants the US to back up Taiwan militarily, he'll have to wait until WE say so.
Kristol and Kagan are the reasons I don't subscribe to the Weekly Standard any longer; they're hot dogs who don't think things through.
Maybe. But, the fact is, we're stretched thin, militarily. If China were intent on Taiwan, it could just move in, and we'd be in deep kimshee.
If Taiwan wants to declare independence, they should do so during the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing. The Chi-coms would be caught between a rock and a hard place. They really couldn't do anything with the entire world watching but they also couldn't let Taiwan get away.
No. But Taiwan is doing what it is doing to tweak China. Totally unnecessary.
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It's not in the fundamental nature of Bush's personality to do it. It just isn't.
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No we don't.
Yes, but not at US expense. There are those that believe that given assurance that the US would come to a fight to ensure the independence of Taiwan, regardless of who precipitated the conflict, that certain Taiwanese official would go ahead and declare Independence. That would be a trigger the PRC has clearly stated would lead to war.
Since our supporting Taiwan would cost American lives, our president certainly has the obligation to use every political means at his disposal to reduce the risk of war, even if it means offending the Taiwanese every once in a while.
Today, these ideals are a lifeline to lonely defenders of liberty. And when openings arrive, we can encourage change—as we did in central and eastern Europe between 1989 and 1991, or in Belgrade in 2000.When we see democratic processes take hold among our friends in Taiwan or in the Republic of Korea, and see elected leaders replace generals in Latin America and Africa, we see examples of how authoritarian systems can evolve, marrying local history and traditions with the principles we all cherish.Democratic processes did take hold, and the Taiwanese became a bit exuberant about stating the obvious. We could have simply remained silent. Even when King Fadh came to the Bush ranch, we stated that we couldn't abandon Israel, our friends.
Embodying lessons from our past and using the opportunity we have today, the national security strategy of the United States must start from these core beliefs and look outward for possibilities to expand liberty.
I think the error can be reversed, and may be in the coming weeks, but I can have no other response than regret.
If so, we are lost.
I like the way you think.
It's not Chen, it is a true will of the populace and what is not known or understood is that these ideas are coming from China stirring the pot. China is always maneuvering behind the scenes to marginalize Taiwan at every level, even in international beauty contests and at important ones such as trade agreements between Taiwan and other countries.
Taiwan is responding reasonably. Bush should have told the Chinese to cool it.
Taiwan is treated incredibly unfairly and this treatment affects every day people in real ways. Of course they will stand up for themselves and this can surely not be considered "stirring the pot."
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