Outlook for Taiwan-U.S. ties

Re “What’s good for Taiwan,” Opinion, March 29

I applaud John R. Bolton for advocating full diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.

Taiwan has long satisfied all the criteria for statehood, according to the 1933 Montevideo Convention to which the United States is a signatory. Ma Ying-jeou, the president-elect of Taiwan, would be supremely suited to first proclaim Taiwan’s wish to be so recognized. Ma and his Nationalist Party have for decades professed to desire Taiwan’s “ultimate reunification” with China.

Only when Ma publicly supports an independent Taiwan will all the people of Taiwan go along. Recall the 1972 U.S. rapprochement with China: It took dyed-in-the-wool communist basher President Nixon to accomplish the feat.

President Bush hailed Ma’s election as a “fresh opportunity” for Taiwan and China to engage each other. Indeed, it is also a fresh opportunity for Bush to re-engage Taiwan by formally recognizing that truly free and democratic island nation.

Bob I. Yang

Overland Park, Kan.

The writer is president of the Formosan Assn. for Public Affairs.

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Instead of a rational explanation of Taiwan’s watershed elections, Bolton offers U.S. recognition as a present to Taiwan’s newly elected President Ma. Sadly, the gift may be too heavy to enjoy for either Ma or his party because declaring independence would paradoxically cause the party to lose legitimacy.

Bolton is correct that the United States should reaffirm its support for Taiwan’s democracy, but equating democracy with independence will only bring disaster to all three players.

Strict adherence to Taiwan’s “unilateral” rights could engender unnecessary risk to U.S. national security.

Furthermore, sending the message of recognizing Taiwan as an independent nation would only complicate Taiwan’s domestic politics and the cross-strait atmosphere.

Although a democratic Taiwan with Chinese identity might serve as a beacon for mainland democratization, an independent Taiwan with American backing would likely precipitate a third world war.

Chunjuan Wei

Claremont

The writer is writing a book on the Taiwan Strait problem.

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Bravo to Bolton for proposing a sensible alternative to the United States’ current policy toward Taiwan. It is time we recognize that Taiwan is a de-facto independent state and start treating it as such. It has always struck me as hypocritical that the United States spends billions of dollars promoting democracy abroad, yet continues to chastise Taiwan, one of the few stable democracies in Asia, for holding peaceful referendums and daring to seek membership in the United Nations.

Catherine Chou

Northridge

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Bolton, the former know-it-all U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is now the authority on Taiwan? Well, he contradicted himself by first stating that Taiwan needs to be independent, and then noting that 81.5% of Taiwanese respondents support maintaining the status quo and only 10.2% want independence. The bully has no clue.

Bill Waung

Rancho Palos Verdes