Leadership role must be taken up by Taiwan

Lung-chu Chen

Currently, the 43rd US president-elect, George W. Bush, whose election victory was belatedly confirmed, is actively making important appointments and organizing the new government's team.

His first two appointments named retired General Colin Powell as secretary of state and Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser. Powell and Rice are both African-Americans who grew up in difficult circumstances and have records of superior performance. Their appointments have symbolic as well as substantive significance and have won considerable honor for African Americans. Bearing heavy responsibilities in the areas of international relations and national security, they will have an important influence on policy and the tripartite relationship between Taiwan, China, and the US.

The victory of Republican George W. Bush seems to have brought new hope and new expectations for Taiwan and has brought new worries for China. From their campaign rhetoric to their post-election statements, Bush and his strategists have consistently expressed a new, more hard-line point of view toward Beijing. They define the relationship between the US and China as one of being "strategic competitors" and not "strategic partners." At the same time, they have unequivocally articulated their policy that if China uses military force to invade Taiwan, the US will help to defend Taiwan.

This clear policy position and the recent report by the US Defense Department, which reviews the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act, happen to coincide perfectly. The report clearly indicates that the objective of the US is peace in the Taiwan Strait. If China attacked Taiwan, the report argues, the US should ensure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself or, "can defend itself until outside help arrives." The report also notes that if the US decided to get involved, Taiwan and the US could certainly defeat China together. The deterrent effect this has on China's position of using military force against Taiwan is obvious. Some commentators have pointed out that, perhaps because of the new political situation in the wake of the US presidential election, China's president, Jiang Zemin (江澤民), didn't mention Taiwan even once in his speech at the celebration of the first anniversary of Macau's return to China.

Although we have new hopes and new expectations, we should maintain our composure, examine the big picture, closely follow future developments, and not develop an attitude of trusting to luck or becoming dependent on others. As the world's only superpower, the US has a special mission and responsibility in the world. Generally speaking, US foreign policy is consistent and continuous. It won't suddenly change dramatically because of a change of ruling parties, and at all times it considers the overall national interest of the US first.

The relationship between the US, Taiwan and China is in a continuing, interactive process of development. In the course of this process, we must diligently play a shared leading role. People help those who help themselves. Apart from the mutual geopolitical interests Taiwan and the US have, we should even more strongly publicize and extol Taiwan's record of advocating and implementing the values of freedom, democracy, human rights and peace. We should clearly indicate our desire and determination to participate actively in the UN and other international organizations in order to work for international cooperation and peace. Virtue will never stand alone.

Chen Lung-chu is chairman of the Lung-chu Chen New Century Foundation and a professor of law at New York Law School.