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For immediate
release
Crystal
Clear One China Policy?
January 6, 2000
In
a letter to Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the State Department
drew a careful line between US policy and that of both “the
PRC government and the Taiwan authorities” on a “one-China”
policy.
In
his 10/25/99 letter to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright,
Brown asked for clarification of “Administration statements
concerning the so-called one China policy.” Brown indicated
that Administration statements had given “Congress and the
American public the distinct impression that the Administration
has assumed the People’s Republic of China’s definition of
“one China” as its own.”
“The PRC
government and the Taiwan authorities have their own “one
China” policies,” the State Department reply states.
“American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman and Managing
Director Richard Bush was reflecting Administration policy
when he said [FAPA note:7/25/99], ‘[h]ow specifically to define
the ‘one-China’ principle and how concretely to realize it
are best left to the two sides of the Strait on a mutually
acceptable basis.’ We are willing to support any outcome voluntarily
agreed to by both sides of the Taiwan Strait.”
“The Administration
wants to have its cake and eat it, too,” said Chen Wen-yen,
FAPA President. “It is disingenuous for the State Department
to say, in its January report on Taiwan’s participation in
the World Health Organization, that it has to go hat in hand
to the PRC and urge “Beijing to find ways for the people on
Taiwan to participate” in the WHO and still claim US policy
differs from that of China. It is time to do some
thinking outside the box concerning US policy toward China
and Taiwan and not continue to claim, as President Clinton
did on 12/8, that “our policy toward China is crystal clear…there
is one China.” FAPA, along with Rep. Brown, believes
that the 22 million people of democratic Taiwan would best
be served by a One China, One Taiwan Policy.”
AIT Taipei
Director Raymond Burghardt recently (12/17) laid out several
principles that guide US policy toward Taiwan that included:
“an understanding that any arrangements between Beijing and
Taipei should be on a mutually acceptable basis, not imposed
by one side or the other;…
an understanding that because Taiwan is a democracy, any arrangements
between the two sides ultimately have to be acceptable to
the Taiwan public; and …
a willingness to support any outcome that is voluntarily agreed
to by both sides of theTaiwan Strait.”
“FAPA
and the Taiwanese-American community deeply appreciate US
support for a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan Strait issue,”
President Chen noted. “But this policy only gives the
people of Taiwan a veto over decisions they don’t like, not
an affirmative voice on the future of Taiwan. If this
had been an offer accepted by the American colonies in the
18th century, the US would still not be an independent country
unless the British had agreed.”
For further
information, call Michael Fonte or Echo Lin at 202-547-3686
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United
States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
The Honorable
Sherrod Brown,
House of Representatives
Dear Mr.
Brown,
We
apologize for the delay in responding to your October 28 letter
to Secretary Albright concerning our “one China” policy.
The following clarifications and background may be useful
to you.
The
key elements of our China policy reflect positions taken by
the U.S. government over the last three decades. Since
1979, the United States has recognized the Government of the
People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of
China. The U.S. has also acknowledged the Chinese position
that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.
The Reagan Administration, in 1982, clarified that the U.S.
has no intention of pursuing a policy of “two Chinas” or
“one China, one Taiwan.”
Within
this context, the people of the United States maintain cultural,
commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people
on Taiwan. The U.S. has consistently held that resolution
of the Taiwan issue is a matter to be worked out by the people
on both sides of the Taiwan Strait themselves. Our sole
and abiding concern is that the resolution be peaceful.
These
elements of our policy are set out in the three U.S.-PRC joint
communiqus of 1972, 1979, and 1982, and the legal framework
for our unofficial relations with Taiwan is provided by the
Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, 22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq. (TRA).
The Act also stipulates that the U.S. will make available
to Taiwan such defensive articles and services as may be necessary
to enable Taiwan to maintain a
sufficient self-defense capability. The Clinton Administration
is committed to implementing this and all other elements of
the TRA.
This
foundation of our China policy has been supported by administrations
of both parties. Since 1972, our basic objectives are:
peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait area, engagement
with the PRC, continuation of strong economic, cultural and
other relations with the people on Taiwan, and peaceful resolution
of cross-Strait differences. Consistent with this framework,
both President Clinton and Secretary Albright this year reaffirmed
three pillars of our approach to cross-Strait relations:
continuation of our “one China” policy; insistence on peaceful
resolution of differences; and support for cross-Strait dialogue.
The
PRC government and the Taiwan authorities have their own “one
China” policies. American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)
Chairman and Managing Director Richard Bush was reflecting
Administration policy when he said, “[h]ow specifically to
define the ‘one-China’ principle and how concretely to realize
it are best left to the two sides of the Strait on a mutually
acceptable basis.” We are willing to support any outcome
voluntarily agreed to by both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
We
appreciate your request for clarification of Administration
views. Please do not hesitate to contact us regard this
or any other matter.
Sincerely,
Barbara Larkin
Assistant Secretary
Legislative Affairs
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