Admit It, Taiwan Is a Nation

Let’s be blunt: No matter what they might say, anyone with even a shred of sense knows that the Republic of China, or ROC, on Taiwan is an independent country, even a model country, with a flourishing economy and a democratic polity. Yet, the Clinton administration--backed by most of America’s China specialists and a powerful business lobby fixated on the fabled “China market”--insists on upholding a “one China” policy.

The “one China” they have in mind is, of course, the hegemonic and dictatorial People’s Republic of China, or the PRC, headquartered in Beijing, where in May government-organized mobs attacked the American Embassy, and where security personnel in recent days have been dragging off middle-aged women by the hair and shoving them into police vans, simply because they profess Falun Gong Buddhism.

In contrast to the PRC, whose countless sins are always forgiven and explained away, democratic Taiwan doesn’t even exist, according to most China experts, the administration and the pro-China business lobby. The Clinton White House and the State Department assert not only that there aren’t “two Chinas,” but also that there’s not “one China, one Taiwan.” At best, Taiwan is a contemptible, inconsequential place over which the PRC enjoys a legal sovereignty that, for mysterious reasons never spelled out, cannot currently be exercised. The reason it can’t be explained, of course, is because Beijing in fact does not enjoy sovereignty over Taiwan and hasn’t since 1895.

The Taiwan issue, of course, is a deadly serious matter, not simply one of semantics. Its passions could easily ignite a war. Yet just what role the United States would play in such a war remains unclear, precisely because of this profoundly pro-China bias. Shockingly, one senior China specialist asserted last spring that he was crossing his fingers that “Taiwan won’t do something provocative” that could lead to war between the United States and China because “Taiwan simply isn’t worth fighting for.”

Taiwan not worth fighting for? Certainly no one wishes to see a military conflict between the United States and China. Everyone still hopes constructive engagement will eventually succeed. But the U.S. needs to learn to say no to China, and in particular to communicate to Beijing that the opinions of its authoritarian leaders can never trump the wishes of Taiwan’s 22 million citizens. They and only they have the right to determine their country’s future. And who, in any case, would entrust their country’s future to Beijing, especially a people as successful and free as the Taiwanese?

According to a recent study, Taiwan has enjoyed the fastest rate of economic growth in the world this century: 4.8% a year since 1900. Add to this Taiwan’s relatively equal distribution of wealth, and it’s hard to think of a greater economic success story. Meanwhile, politically, Taiwan is now democratic, with all important officials directly elected by the people. Anything and everything can be, and is, publicly discussed in the media. No topic is too sensitive, nothing is taboo. In this respect, Taiwan may now be the freest society in Asia.

What’s more, Taiwan is making positive contributions to global society even though global society ostracizes it with crass contempt. Taiwan is the world’s 13th-largest trading power and a major investor in Southeast Asia and the PRC itself. Beijing routinely vetoes Taiwan’s application to rejoin the United Nations, while the U.S. kowtows to Beijing and vetoes Taiwan’s membership in many other international organizations. Yet Taiwan remains a model global citizen and abides by the rules of treaties to which it is brusquely denied membership. Taiwan pledged $300 million to assist Kosovo refugees, a large sum of money for a country with a population of only 22 million. The people-to-people ties between Taiwanese and Americans are as friendly and important as those between West Europeans and Americans, especially in the economic realm.

Perhaps most important, Taiwan is increasingly becoming a major player in the world’s scientific community. Each year, scientists evaluate the importance of each other’s work using an indicator called the Sciences Citations Index, which calculates the number of times an article or book is cited by other scientists in their own work. Within the past 10 years, tiny Taiwan has jumped from 28th place to 18th place in the index’s global rankings.

Given all of the above, if a country like Taiwan isn’t worth fighting for, what country would be?