New essay about Taiwan

Taiwan - Up For Grabs?

By Jack R. Huang, China

On the surface, Taiwan presents a complicated issue for the people who live there. Most Taiwanese believe that should Taiwan and the China reunify they will lose their freedom.

The U.S. has gone to great political length to try and preserve Taiwan's independent state status. In fact, many argue that America has little interest in this area of the world other than to make Taiwan a model of democracy for Mainland China, and even the world.

"Is it in America's best interest to keep this tension going? If America allows Taiwan to reunify with the Mainland, it may experience economic repercussions in East Asia but in the end America will gain a friend in the Chinese people. If America supports Taiwan's independence, it will lose much more." -Jack Huang
But beneath the surface of Taiwan's future is history's footprint which presents a complicated picture of other interested parties that want a stake in the country.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of the first to recognize Taiwan's immeasurable value to America. He compared the island to a super aircraft carrier for America because of where it is situated strategically.

Eisenhower was prescient. After World War II, Taiwan became of immense importance to America because it could be that super aircraft carrier that would prevent communism from spreading outside of China. Taiwan became part of a chain of islands or the First Archipelago of West Pacific.

And to protect Japan from capitulating to either Chinese or Russian Communist forces, the U.S. gave the Ryukyu Islands and Diaoyu Island (Senkaku Island) "back" to Japan so that they a barrier of protection could exist in and beyond the Taiwan Strait. The Archipelago would provide protection to the allied forces by serving as outposts to help them intercept any attacks perpetrated by the Soviet Union or China.

While these are historical issues their relevance is nonetheless important today. The U.S. has maintained tensions in the region on purpose, and these tensions have caused a lot of friction in U.S. - Chinese relations. In fact, many people in China believe that the only way China and Taiwan can work out a peaceful result is if the U.S. is involved. As such, many Chinese feel as though the their future exists under the shadow of America.


But is it in America's best interest to keep this tension going? If America allows Taiwan to reunify with the Mainland, it may experience economic repercussions in East Asia but in the end America will gain a friend in the Chinese people. If America supports Taiwan's independence, it will lose much more.


But America is not the only contender hoping to determine Taiwan's future. Japan has been an extremely important stakeholder, too. For 50 years prior to 1945, Taiwan was a Japanese colony. Today Japan wants Taiwan back - if only to strategically hold China back.

Japan sees China's economic prowess as being extremely threatening and it is concerned that its own position within the Asian economy will be marginalized. The only solution? Batten down China in her cradle.

With the U.S. and Japan in their court vying for their future, many Taiwanese believe that the Mainland will not dare to use military power against them. But there might be a cost to having American and Japanese garrisons ready and waiting to protect Taiwan, allowing it to remain a sovereign democratic state.

Certainly if the Japanese have their way they would want control over the ship routes in the southern hemisphere. And how would that occur? Japan might use Taiwan as a springboard to threaten Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia.

There's no question that profit on these high seas supersedes most global relationships and could even drive war. And as China becomes a major economic competitor of the US, Taiwan's status becomes even more interesting, and its future more clouded.

Could Taiwan ever be the model for China to grow a civil society? I don't think so. China needs a strong central government to rule over its 1.4 billion citizens who are spread out over 9.6 million square kilometers. It's not that China can't become democratic but to do so it needs to become a civil society.

A very famous diplomat from Taiwan by the name of Hu Weizhen once said that the Taiwan issue is definitely not an international concern. The Taiwanese people are Chinese. Therefore, foreign countries have no business intervening in Taiwan's future. Any foreign intervention only raises instability in the region. The best solution is to try and promote the idea that China is not two countries as Taiwan is not a country whose future can be bought by the highest bidder.