Posted on 10/26/2004 11:27:58 AM PDT by Walkin Man
Powell's China Comments Anger Taiwanese
Powell Angers Taiwanese Officials, Weighing in on Split With China and Suggesting Unification
TAIPEI, Taiwan Oct 26, 2004 — Secretary of State Colin Powell has angered Taiwanese officials and lawmakers by making unusually strong comments denying that the island is an independent nation and suggesting Taiwan should unify with China.
Washington usually avoids weighing in on the touchy split, which arose when Mao Zedong's communist army won control of the Chinese mainland in 1949 and anti-communist forces took refuge on Taiwan.
But Powell waded into the unification question Monday in interviews with CNN and Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television during a one-day visit to China.
According to a State Department transcript, Powell told Phoenix: "There is only one China. Taiwan is not independent. It does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation, and that remains our policy, our firm policy."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I wonder how the founding fathers would rate an American govenment that supports communist slavery and promotes the death of freedom?
Are we ever going to see a campaign ad in China like this:
"Mao Zedong failed his mission. On his watch, thousands of antigovernment troops fled the nation to carry on their attacks. If we had enough troops, or the political willpower, we could have squashed the terrorists on Taiwan."
QUESTION: Recently the Chinese a touch bit nervous. Taiwan keep on saying that “we don’t need to declare independence because we are already independent country with sovereignty because there are already some twenty six countries that recognize us, so many countries.” What does this mean to you?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, they can make these sorts of statements but our policy is clear. There is only one China. Taiwan is not independent. It does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation, and that remains our policy, our firm policy. And it is a policy that has allowed Taiwan to develop a very vibrant democratic system, a market economic system and provided great benefits to the people of Taiwan. And that is why we think it is policy that should be respected and should remain in force and will remain in force, on the American side, it is our policy that clearly rests on Three Communiqués. To repeat it one more time: we do not support an independence movement in Taiwan.
QUESTION: So you consider this insistence on a kind of ambiguity on the One China Policy or what you want to make more clear?
SECRETARY POWELL: It’s often conveyed as ambiguous, but I think it’s pretty clear. Everyone has understood what it meant for the last thirty years. And it has allowed Taiwan to be successful. And it certainly created conditions of stability and security throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It has allowed China, instead of concerning itself about whether there’s going to be a conflict with Taiwan, but for China to develop itself and to join the international community, economically and politically. And it has also provided stability for other nations in the Asia-Pacific region so that they could pursue their development. So our One China Policy is not going to change. The president has reaffirmed this on many occasions. Independence movements or those who speak out for independence movements in Taiwan will find no support from the United States.
In all fairness to him,he is the Sec. of state,making an official statement-so this cannot be seen as his "personal view".His views pretty much reflect the dilemma over Taiwan in Washington.For all those who think otherwise,a simple question-how much real movement has been made by the Bush admins to sell Taiwan Aegis equipped destroyers & 8 D/E subs??The blunt fact is that Taiwan may never get those 8 subs as no European nation is willing to provide a design for US builders & the PRC will be real pi**ed if Taiwan is sold the Aegis system.In short,I really don't see a big contradiction between policy on the ground & Powell's statement.
I believe this has been US policy since carter.
But we continue to defend Taiwan against the Chinese, so they can't complain too much.
"Colin Powell has outlived his usefulness as the Secretary of State. He is not being a team player at this point by undermining the President."
On the contrary. Powell is speaking as the official representative of the Bush administration. This "One China Policy" is the official policy of this administration, as it has been for a long, long time.
I personally think it's wrong-headed, but it's our official policy.
Leaving this Taiwan keep on saying that “we don’t need to declare independence because we are already independent country with sovereignty because there are already some twenty six countries that recognize us, so many countries.” What does this mean to you? out of the story makes it look like Powell is making a comment not answering a question.
I do not blame Powell for this. Why? Well, he made the statement as Sec. of State, his official position, not as some private citizen expressing his personal views. Thus, if that is the case, and the administration does not support it, then why do they not come forth and refute it? Negate it? Say that Powell's statements are not the code regeur of the adm.? Well ....because his statements are policy. No administration .....Republican or Democrat ....would ever place the wellbeing of Taiwan before the stuff China dangles before us as a lure (basically we get far more from China than from Taiwan). Greed doesn't care about party lines ....sadly.
Powell said his statements as Sec. of State, and no one has negated them yet.
China can do no wrong as long as it continues buying our long-term bonds in the billions of dollars, and has a market place that US firms (and their P.A.Cs) salivate about day and night. And as long as that is the case then do not expect anything different from any Sec. of State, from any party, for quite some time.
And no one is being undermined. If that was the case Powell would be out of a job faster than you can say 'what' ....or at the very least such statements would stop. But if you recall even last year statements were coming out about the whole one-China thingimajig.
Oh, and by the way, what Powell said is basically state policy.
Well one thing that has happened over the past 10 years is that Taiwan's qualitative edge over the PLA has steadily eroded with Taiwan unable to buy vital systems eg-they only have 2 combat worthy subs & no ship capable of launching vertically launched SAMs(essential if they want to have a decent chance of facing up to the 500 odd missiles China has pointed towards them) .The Chinese have heavily stocked up on next generation anti-ship missiles,AAMs etc from Russia during this period.
I don't either, he's just being used to stir up China/Taiwan/US disagreement.
But I also would like to see a new Sec. of State for Bush's next term.
China has never given back the property they confiscated after Tienanmen Square, so while businessmen drool over the potential of a billion consumers, there's not much going to happen.
As far as them buying our bonds, their economy is chugging along at only $500 billion a year in total. They don't have one tenth the buying power of Japan or Europe.
The fact is that leftists here in the US are still supporting China as the last great communist hope. They created China, and they'll support it until Americans wise up and vote all the leftists out. The left is panicked that they could end up out of the money for another 4 years and that's why they're becoming increasingly desperate.
Fire that idiot.
Offer the job to Rudy.
1st of all does the US recognise Taiwan as "independent"(Sovereignity is a different ballgame altogether)-if so the 'One China' policy should be non-existent & Powell,being Sec.of State knows that isn't exactly the case & what should matter to an American official is the status of US-Taiwan relations & not Taiwan's ties with Senegal or Burundi.So He is just restating official American policy here.
Sensible argument. See my last post.
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