Americans should celebrate the results of
Taiwan's March 18 presidential elections. In a hotly contested
democratic election, the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan
elected Chen Shui-bian, a former mayor of Taipei who was defeated
in the 1998 mayoral election and who ran as the candidate of an
opposition party called the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Many DPP leaders were beaten and imprisoned during martial law
(which ended in 1987) under the Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang
(KMT), which has ruled Taiwan for over 50 years. Significantly, the
KMT immediately acknowledged its defeat in this election and
appointed a transition team to facilitate the orderly transfer of
power on May 20.
The
DPP's victory signals first and foremost that democracy is thriving
in Taiwan, an island of 22 million people that has one of the
world's strongest economies. But it also signals an important
change in the relationship between Taipei and Beijing, which has
been fraught with hostility since 1949, when millions of KMT
supporters fled to Taiwan after Mao Zedong declared Beijing the
capital of the new People's Republic of China. As long as the KMT
was in control in Taipei, Beijing could pretend that unification
across the Taiwan Strait was possible through party-to-party
negotiations. Taiwan's democratic transformation since its first
elections in 1996 may have chipped away at this myth, but Chen
Shui-bian's victory has shattered it. To resolve the issue of
reunification, Beijing must now deal with a government that carries
no baggage from the days of China's civil war in the 1940s.
The
United States has an important role to play in this process. First,
cross-Strait negotiations proceed most smoothly when Taiwan feels
secure. The United States is obligated by law to enhance Taiwan's
security against military aggression, which ensures that the
meetings between Beijing and Taipei can be productive. Second,
trade between the mainland and the island has increased
significantly over the past decade. The World Trade Organization
(WTO) is the best possible forum for cultivating substantive
cross-Strait relations and sidestepping the zero-sum sovereignty
dispute.
Cross-Strait Relations.
President-elect Chen received a broad mandate from the Taiwan
people to deal with the mainland in new and creative ways, and
Beijing seems to be giving him the room he needs to devise new
policies. But his decisions will not be easy. The people of Taiwan
are ambivalent about a new formulation for relations with the
mainland, and they are reluctant to see Taiwan become another Hong
Kong or Macao under Beijing's control. Taiwan's transition to a
democratic state has been, among other things, the result of a
carefully crafted U.S. law, the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 (P.L.
96-8), which assured U.S. support for Taiwan's security. The
principles embodied in this act, and America's strong insistence
that cross-Strait differences must be settled peacefully, created
the conditions under which democracy flourished. Moreover, strong
American support for Taiwan after U.S. diplomatic recognition of
Beijing in 1978 helped Taiwan evolve from authoritarian rule to
democracy. It is understandable that the Taiwan people are now
uncertain about becoming some kind of "special territory" of China,
as Beijing demands.
Taiwan Security.
Instead of acknowledging the triumph of democracy, the Clinton
Administration has indicated that it wants Chen Shui-bian to
negotiate with Beijing over Taiwan's fate and accept Beijing's
formula. Immediately after the election, the Administration
dispatched a representative to Taiwan who advocated the acceptance
of Beijing's interpretation of "one China." Some Administration
officials have endorsed a proposal that no defensive weapons should
be provided to Taiwan for one year. Such actions may further
encourage Beijing's belligerence and undermine security.
History shows that Taiwan will enter into
talks with Beijing when it is secure. The 1993 breakthrough in
talks between representatives of Taiwan and the mainland took place
after the sale of U.S. F-16 aircraft to Taiwan, and a visit of a
Taiwan representative to China occurred after two U.S. aircraft
carriers were dispatched to the Strait in 1996. Taiwan's security
and the survival of its democracy are vital U.S. national
interests. With this in mind, Washington should:
-
Send U.S. representatives to attend
the inauguration of the President-elect when the KMT relinquishes
power, which would send a clear signal to Beijing that the American
people support democracy.
-
Voice support for the principles of
the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act (TSEA), which passed the House
by a vote of 371-40. The TSEA acknowledges the democracy on Taiwan
and that the Republic of China no longer claims to rule the
mainland. More important, it ensures that Taiwan can defend itself
from military aggression.
-
Continue to seek the simultaneous
entry of Taiwan and China into the WTO, which would help the
mainland develop rules and norms that would improve economic ties
and communication with Taiwan and bring China more fully into the
international community.
Conclusion.
Taiwan's elections were an exciting culmination to a period of
intensifying relations among Beijing, Taipei, and Washington. The
Nationalist Party should be proud that, although it lost, its
leadership over many years enabled the roots of democracy to take
hold. The people of Taiwan should celebrate the fact that a party
that ran a campaign that was responsive to the electorate won such
a stunning victory. Beijing should understand that the election
signals a change in relations with Taipei that rises above
belligerence. And Washington should continue to show strong support
for Taiwan, which ultimately has enabled 22 million free people to
express their wishes without fear.
Dr. Larry M.
Wortzel is Director of the Asian Studies Center at
The Heritage Foundation.