The United States and Taiwan

Dim sum for China

Why America should not walk away from Taiwan

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New Conservative


If America had a giant internet block designed specifically to block foreign English language sites, I'd imagine we'd get a bit of divergence from the UK.

The difference between the Pakistan India relationship (or even the US Canada relationship) is that all of China believes that Taiwanese people are Chinese citizens and equally civilized (which is why they won't pull some Tibet crap). They are aggressively marketing a view that there is no substantive cultural difference between the mainland and Taiwan. A very important aspect of this is both sides being Han Chinese. Latent racism lessens the domestic consequences of waging war or aggressively trying to control a another nation. I hate to say it, but this is why the domestic US consequences for the civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are so small. Had the same number of white Canadians been killed, people would be a lot more pissed off.

Pakistan and India have been for their own reasons, casting the other and their citizens as the enemy for as long as they've been around. Building up a really deep seated and murderous hatred for not only the enemy government, but also their citizens.

Taiwan and China have been enemies but the mutual respect (definitely the wrong word, but I don't have a better one) has always been there. The goal has never been to kill the other side, just force it to admit the other's sovereignty. You can't imagine Pakistan or India agreeing to shell eachother with propaganda leaflets across the border on alternate days of the week, but the PRC and ROC did this for 21 years on Jinmen.

If Taiwan were attacked by a third party, China would be chomping at the bit to come to their defense and not just out of some ulterior motive to take the island on the sly.

The US we-just-might-be-allied-but-not-really alliance with Taiwan actually allows the Chinese to save face. They can say that they don't put more pressure because of the perfidious interference of foreigners, when the real reasons are they fear the economic and domestic consequences of such an action. Does anyone really believe, in the US or China, that the US would start a shooting war with China over Taiwan? It's just a convenient fiction that allows both sides to maintain the status quo. Protesting arms sales is the perfect way for the PRC to show that they're working hard towards unification without having to do anything concrete.

(Also, threatening to wreck Taiwan's economy makes no sense when everyone in the PRC wants to get it intact. The PRC　official that gets Taiwan to come over by destroying its economy and killing its citizens is out of a job. They're crossing their fingers and hoping "peaceful integration" is actually going to lead to Taiwan voluntarily coming back, because they know they can't force the issue anymore.)

Even if the formally withdrew all tacit and explicit support for Taiwan, China might put some pressure on　for passports or something but they wouldn't be sending the landing craft.


Rising power with a strong idea of it's own destiny, rest of the world unsure how to handle it's desires: Smells a lot like Taft-Katsura.


The “Taiwan Relation Act“ is no doubt a flagrant and malicious piece of US legislation to interfere China’s domestic affair to begin with. But what can you do when the superpower US can do anything it wants at will by claiming everything in its way as the US interest, from bearing down once mighty former USSR with MAD of nukes to overrunning tiny helpless Grenada of less than 100,000 population.

That “unlimited bullying power” ended or subsided of course upon world’s financial meltdown of 2008. The US must now account for the “feelings”, otherwise known as cost of those on the business end of the US dealings.

To make do making up such "deficiency" in power it once enjoyed, the US has been beefing up military bases on overseas territories of its control such as Guam to guard its west Pacific security interest. Building up Guam in particular, gives off the signal that the US interest as represented in Taiwan (to contain China, e.g.) is now negotiable.

Given China’s unmistakable goal and will of reuniting Taiwan back into China and interwoven financial and economic interest between the US and China, the selling arms and F16 to Taiwan, although a clear breach of joint communiqué between the US and China, will not change the equation or the outcome of Taiwan’s integration back into China, as other US interest of higher order is at play.

silent night

Unity is something sooner or later,obviously everybody know that China mainland and Taiwan is gradually merging together and already become a economic community in last 20 years.Now 1/10th of Taiwan population work in China mainland,and will be more in the future without doubt.

In the long run,many people even believe that the whole East-Asia will be unitied in some model by current development trend.Outer Mongolia,S.Korea,N.Korea,Japan and China will become a Union or country.Now the trend is very clear,few people in East-Asia will deny the fact that East-Asia is accelerating fusion although there are some conflicts and twists and turns.


Taiwan makes 100 billion dollar trade surplus with China, because China gave all kind of specail deals try to buy Taiwanese hearts and mind.....

Then Taiwan buys weapons from U.S.

This is crazy, what the hell is this?

What a sad joke!!!!!


I favor the economic argument, i.e.: if they want to buy, why not sell to them? This is an extremely difficult question for mainland China to answer.

It's quite depressing that everyone in the EU remains silent about this. In India it's free-for-all with every country trying to get their fighter jets sold. In Taiwan, there is only the US.


@New Conservative

"China is also liberalizing and the domestic consequences for jeopardizing a major trade relationship and killing tons of Han Chinese people get higher everyday. The military balance is irrelevant, China has been able to crush Taiwan for decades and hasn't done so for other reasons. Reasons that remain valid whether or not Taiwan has a hundred more F-16's.

Taiwan can get closer and closer to the mainland and then stop and they'll get a US/Canada style relationship, if that's what Taiwan wants. Culturally and linguistically identical with a shared history, but never ever going to fight a war. The longer Taiwan maintains the status quo the harder a time China will have trying to change it. All Taiwan has to do is give China a hint of slow progress and that will keep it safer than any number of fighter jets."

Its interesting that your frame it in those terms. Take Indian and Pakistan, in many ways India and Pakistan (or a good chunk of Pakistan) is closer to each other than China/Taiwan. Several Pakistani PM/Presidents were born in present day India. One Indian PM was born in present day Pakistan. How many CPC leaders were born in Taiwan?

The Taiwanese nationalist bring up the argument that Taiwan was a colony of China, just as much as United States was a colony of the Great Britain prior 1776 Han Chinese settled in large number in Taiwan the same time Europeans settled in the Americas. In many ways Taiwan today is politically and culturally more separate from GB vs United States. If you look at the the Alexa rankings of which websites are used most often in Taiwan vs Mainland China and compare that with those used in GB and United States, you will notice that British and Americans are more similar than Taiwanese and mainland Chinese. Do the Taiwanese and mainland Chinese fight wars together?


I agree with the author in some ways that we should support Taiwan just because China claimed that they would use force to over take it if we did not. However, I would not go as far as saying that this conflict could cause a nuclear war. I feel as if America has learned from the Cold War and know when enough is enough when it comes to conflict now. Although, we have learned from the cold war, now it is time to learn from Vietnam already..


I think that as long as the United States backs up Taiwan, China would leave Taiwan alone. It would destroyed the strong, powerful relationship between the Chinese and Americans if China were to intervene between United States and Taiwan. But at the same time, it would not be a good idea for Taiwan to attempt to become sovereign at this point in time. Taiwan's ideologies may be different than 40 years ago, but China still will still intervene because they believe they still have the right to force the people of Taiwan. It will be interesting to see if Taiwan trys to become sovereign in the upcoming years.


Down with hypocrisy!

As well as the U.S. can sell arms to whatever nation it wants, regardless the Chinese viewpoint, including those that theoretically could threaten China's security, China may also sell weapons or assist nations that could also threaten U.S. security without incurring in pre-judgement based on some sort of legal or moral stance.

silent night

Why America should not walk away from Taiwan,Japan,Saudi Arabia
,Afghanistan,Iraq,East Asia,South Asia,the Middle East,South-East Asia,Central Asia,Eastern Europe,Western Europe,Northern Europe,southern Europe,Africa,Latin America,Oceania,Indian Ocean,the Atlantic,Pacific Ocean,the Arctic Ocean?

If US can afford,the game will continue,if not,it will say goodbye by itself.


Well, Taiwan needs arms to help protect its current lifestyle and it's "willing buyer, willing seller"

Neo Gatsby

@Ah Beng America, a belligerent and greedy power? No way.

First of all, the Chinese people wants peace like many of the same American people. I have a lot of American friends and we share the same optimism for a peaceful future. But pointing to China as an aggressive military power is hardly convincing. In the case of sino-us relations, remeber the 2001 bombing of the Chinese embassy in Afgan , the 2006 to suppor Taiwan the patrol of three carriers, one of which is provacatively named USSR Independence, the establishing of bases encircling china in S Korea, Japan, Phillipines, Guam, Taiwan, Club Med, the vietnam war too was an attemp to contain China.

look at the hard facts and stop speculating like doctrinaires on how China as a communist nation will act, but as how China a gradually shifting nation with a underflow of confucius conscious will react.

Foreign pressure is benign on China to become more open, but the American *aggression* is merely thief cry thief. That is what we call hypocritical.

Neo Gatsby

It's disgusts me to think that the U.S is essentially using Taiwan as a bargaining chip to leverage against China. Im sorry but the hypocritical Americans does not have other's interest in mind but only it's own.

For all the comments reguarding the fear of growing Chinese aggression, keep in mind ( if history is of guidiance to the future) that China has never in its 3500 years of existence invaded any other nation beyond its immediate core group.

@Barry0325, throwing Taiwan under China would not make Chinese as aggressive as the U.S. Please, if exerting influence as a global power means sending fleets all across the world (right outside the soverign waters of China), invading Arab nations to rob the Middle East of their own resources, always point at others as it is politically correct, and stick their nose up everyone's business. Then, no i don't think China will go about to do that.

For anyone who has seriously studied Chinese culture, the Han Chinese are of a peaceful conservative, inward looking nation that will not seek to impose others of the wound it had inherited from others.

What the Chinese and perhaps the rest of the world feel about the Americans is not a antipathy against democracy or capitalism, but objection against American hypocrisy; dissonance between America's words and actions. If you are to accuse other nations for currency manipulation, then don't QE123. If you are a peaceful nation with respect to national soverignty, don't invade nations or taunt others with your military might by patroling in their backyards. If you would like to deter nations from expanding, then why would you expel the native americans and force the Mexicans to sell their land or forcibly take over Honolulu, let alone allow peiople of the same mother to reunite?

What Americans demonstrates in action is not paying up tp the egoistic Justice & Freedom it so embellishly extolls, but makes others feel as if the Americans are immature and acting out of their own interest.

P.S. When China and Taiwan eventually reunites (which i sternly believe will happen), what awaits not praise but detest against the one who stirred ill blood between brothers.


Appeasing China will be taking a step backward in regards to Sino-american relations. China will not mess with Taiwan as long as the United States is backing them. The United States should try and convince the Taiwanese to not make a bid for sovereignty as well to prevent conflict. China can not attack Taiwan with American backing because of their close economic ties with the United States. A war goes against both sides common interests at the moment. Perhaps the U.S. could use Taiwan as leverage to help them get other things through the U.N. security council.


I think Taiwan plays a special role in modern Chinese history which is far from obvious to the casual observer. Taiwan, for the CCP, is the quintessential foreign bogeyman without actually being foreign. Every country not fully confident in the support of its citizens needs another, against which it can rally the populace and distract the attention of the discontented citizens. The CCP has the rare fortune of finding one of those countries in Taiwan, without drawing the attention and ire of other countries. Taiwan is not a fully recognized country by the UN, so it does not have the same privileges as, say, Burkina Faso. I do not believe that the CCP is seriously considering of invading Taiwan - although as it was pointed out by other posters, the CCP seems to have difficulties at times understanding its own interests... Nevertheless, we, the US, need to make sure that the people of Taiwan remain capable of demonstrating their commitment to their own way of life. Realistically they could not withstand a full assault by the CPA; but they could ensure that it would be a costly exercise in bullying. I do not get the impression that the leaders of the CCP are that stupid - at times irrational, yes, but not stupid... I still think that we should sell Taiwan any weapons we would sell to, say, Singapore.

P.S. I, too, am surprised that the Wu Mao Dang have not flooded the forum yet...


"Give China what it wants, runs this line of thinking, and it will co-operate more on a host of issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to climate change."
Mind-boggling that anyone would think that throwing Taiwan under the bus would do anything other than make the Chinese more aggressive. But these are the same people who wanted to appease the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and so on all the way back through history. Obviously, the wishful thinkers will always be with us.

Ah Beng

@New Conservative

That's certainly a very valid perspective, and I'd like to think it was true; however, I'm still haunted by many actions that China has undertaken before - in the last two decades, no less - that were resulted in a net detriment to its society or diplomacy.

In most cases there were perfectly rational reasons not to make the moves (the post-Hainan aircraft collision belligerence, my aforementioned Taiwan Straits crisis example, the dithering to approve SARS support from the WHO for Taiwan and the handling of SARS in general all come to mind). But in each case China acted, whether through irrationality or groupthink, against its own interests. I don't doubt that it could happen again. Even so, hopefully it won't.



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