Wednesday, May 02, 2018

In The National Interest Asking US Officials to Change the Way they Talk about Taiwan

A smoggy day in Taichung...

The National Interest published me today:
At present, searching U.S. State Department texts, it is nigh impossible to find a clear statement of the U.S. position on Taiwan. Washington officials respond to queries about U.S. Taiwan policy with a string of historical references: the Communiqués, the Taiwan Relations Act, the Six Assurances, peppered with words like “consistent” and “status quo.” Outsiders receiving this catechism are like medieval peasants hearing the Catholic mass in Latin: enthralled by the ceremony, but fundamentally lost.

If the United States wants to help Taiwan, one of the simplest and most effective ways would be for U.S. officials to clearly and consistently communicate that Washington views Taiwan’s status as undetermined, a position that reflects international law.
The media keeps getting this wrong...
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, way to go, very well-written. Love that bit describing reporting on Taiwan as a salad.

I wonder in this day in age, would even calling Taiwan's status undetermined be too little as well? I mean if the bully is going to be a bully no matter what, why even give an inch? Undetermined, but who should do the determining? China?

The US needs to stand for the principles of democracy and self-determination once again, just as the world did for that brief moment after World War II.

Michael Turton said...

Thanks!