1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036
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Adopted in 1979, the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) has bound Washington and Taipei together ever since the United States withdrew diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China (ROC). The law requires that the United States provide Taiwan with "defense articles and defense services" necessary for the island's self-defense and that
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the president of the United States consult with Congress in the event of a threat to Taiwan's security. Over the past twenty years, surging economic growth in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has made it a central cog in the global economy. At the same time, it has engaged in a fast-paced modernization and buildup of its armed forces. China's rise has left Taiwan increasingly isolated and vulnerable to aggression from its much larger neighbor. As U.S.-Chinese relations have warmed, the TRA has ensured that the U.S.-Taiwan relationship does not fall by the wayside. But with new administrations in both Taipei and Washington--and both entrenched in economic crises--Taiwan's future peace and prosperity are less certain.
How effective has the TRA been to date? Will warming relations between Taipei and Beijing erode support for the TRA in Taiwan and the United States? Or will the PRC's military buildup and increasing assertiveness strengthen the U.S.-ROC relationship? Considering current trends, what are the prospects for democracy's future in Taiwan, and how will Taiwan's economy fare in the years ahead? These and other questions will be answered by speakers at this conference.
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8:45 a.m. |
Registration | |
| 9:00 | Introduction: | Arthur C. Brooks, AEI |
| 9:15 | Panelists: | John R. Bolton, AEI |
| C. J. Chen, former foreign minister of the Republic of China | ||
| Paul Wolfowitz, AEI | ||
| Moderator: | Danielle Pletka, AEI | |
| 11:00 | Panelists: | Louisa Coan Greve, National Endowment for Democracy |
| Christopher Griffin, Office of Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-D-Conn.) | ||
| Rupert Hammond-Chambers, U.S.-Taiwan Business Council | ||
| Moderator: | Dan Blumenthal, AEI | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Adjournment |
American Enterprise Institute
WASHINGTON, APRIL 20, 2009--Speaking at an April 13 AEI conference marking the thirtieth anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), Paul Wolfowitz noted that the TRA has allowed us "to maintain strong, unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan and at the same time to develop a very important relationship with the People's Republic of China. Perhaps even more important, it has made it possible to do so while preserving peace in the Taiwan Strait."
C. J. Chen, a former foreign minister of the Republic of China, concurred, arguing that the TRA has benefited the United States, Taiwan, and China as well. To explain its success, Chen pointed to its legal and political practicality and to its consistent support from Congress and U.S. presidents. Additionally, he said, "it is undeniable that wisdom, patience, and pragmatism of the leaders of the countries involved have been very important factors." Chen was hopeful that the cross-Strait links increased under recently inaugurated president Ma Ying-jeou will provide for a brighter future.
Former permanent representative to the United Nations John R. Bolton was less optimistic. Pointing to the Chinese military's ongoing modernization and the potential for domestic instability, Bolton argued that "strategic ambiguity has not only served its purpose but may be causing more instability." He said that the United States should accord formal diplomatic recognition to Taiwan. Bolton noted, however, that "limited evidence" from the Obama administration is "not very encouraging for a strongly supportive relationship for Taiwan."
The event's second panel featured a discussion of Taiwan's future. Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, pointed to the TRA's importance for Taiwan's future economic health. Taiwan has been able to prosper because the TRA has helped ensure the island's continued security. Hammond-Chambers argued that a "U.S.-Taiwan free trade agreement is essential" for Taiwan's continued economic prosperity and security.
Louisa Coan Greve of the National Endowment for Democracy explained that the TRA's human rights clause has ensured that human rights have a place in the U.S.-Taiwan relationship. Following the withdrawal from Taipei of diplomatic recognition, the United States nevertheless remained open to Taiwanese exiles and became a home for Taiwan's democracy movement. Taiwan's successful transition to democracy has allowed for an "embrace of common values that . . . enhances our bilateral cooperation," which serves to further strengthen the TRA.
Christopher Griffin of Senator Joseph Lieberman's office spoke of the TRA's importance for the future of Taiwan's military. The Taiwanese armed forces have transformed themselves repeatedly in response to democratization, to China's military modernization, and to a changing economic and demographic landscape on Taiwan. As Taiwan's military continues its transformation and Taipei modernizes its defense strategy, the TRA allows for the United States to support these efforts. "We should support their policymaking efforts, we should support their procurement efforts by developing a more consistent, predictable system, and we should have greater personnel exchanges at senior levels," Griffin said. "Taiwan is and should remain the linchpin of U.S. security commitments in Asia."
--MICHAEL MAZZA
Speaker biographies
Dan Blumenthal joined AEI in November 2004 as a resident fellow in Asian studies. He has served on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission since 2005, serving as vice chairman in 2007, and as a member of the Academic Advisory Board for the Congressional U.S.-China Working Group. Previously, Mr. Blumenthal was senior director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the first George W. Bush administration. In addition to writing for AEI's Asian Outlook series, he has written articles and op-eds for the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, National Review, and numerous edited volumes. He is currently working on a manuscript that will examine divides within the China policymaking community.
John R. Bolton is a senior fellow at AEI, where he studies foreign policy and international organizations. Ambassador Bolton served as the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations from August 2005 to December 2006. From May 2001 to May 2005, he was the under secretary of state for arms control and international security. Prior to this, Ambassador Bolton was the senior vice president of AEI and also held a number of positions in public service, including assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, 1989-93; assistant attorney general, 1985-89; assistant administrator for program and policy coordination, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), 1982-83; and USAID general counsel, 1981-82. From 1983 to 1985, Ambassador Bolton was an associate and then member of Covington & Burling. He is the author of Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad (Simon and Schuster, 2007).
Arthur C. Brooks is the president of AEI, a position he assumed on January 1, 2009. He was previously the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and a visiting scholar at AEI. Mr. Brooks researches and writes about the connections between culture, politics, and economic life in America. He is the author of several books, including Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism (Basic Books, 2006), Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It (Basic Books, 2008), and Social Entrepreneurship: A Modern Approach to Social Value Creation (Prentice Hall, 2008).
C. J. Chen is currently an adjunct professor in the department of diplomacy at National Chengchi University in Taipei. He also serves as a board member and adviser to various business and academic concerns. From 2004 to 2006, Ambassador Chen represented the Republic of China (ROC) at the European Union and in Belgium. From 2000 to 2004, he was the ROC’s de facto ambassador to the United States, serving as representative and head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, D.C. Prior to this, Ambassador Chen was the ROC's minister of foreign affairs during the Lee Teng-hui administration. Ambassador Chen's first diplomatic tour of duty to the United States was from 1971 to 1979, when he was based in the Embassy of the Republic of China in Washington, D.C. From 1979 to 1980, he assumed the role of director of public affairs, responsible for congressional liaison, with the Coordination Council for North American Affairs office in the United States, the successor agency to the ROC Embassy in Washington, D.C. He was one of the key participants conducting negotiations with the U.S. government on future relations between the United States and Taiwan and providing Taiwan's perspective to the U.S. Congress during the course of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act.
Louisa Coan Greve is program director for East Asia at the National Endowment for Democracy, a grant-making organization that supports prodemocracy and human-rights organizations around the world. She served on the Amnesty International USA board of directors from 1993 to 1998 and as a volunteer China and Mongolia specialist from 1990 to 1999. As a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Ms. Greve was a participant in the 2001-2002 roundtable on U.S. national security. She has testified before several congressional committees and has given numerous media interviews on human rights in China and democracy promotion in Asia. She has traveled, studied, and worked in China on numerous occasions since 1980.
Christopher Griffin is a legislative assistant for defense policy to Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (I-D-Conn.). Previously, he was a research fellow at AEI, where he wrote on American defense and foreign policy with a focus on East Asia, and a contributing editor to the Armed Forces Journal, where he wrote about the U.S. defense industry and global arms trade. Before joining AEI, he was a research assistant in the strategic studies department at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Rupert Hammond-Chambers was appointed president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council in 2000, and he has worked to develop the council's role as a partner for American businesses in Asia. Mr. Hammond-Chambers has worked for the council since October 1994, following a position as an associate for development at the Center for Security Policy. He also sits on the advisory boards of Redwood Partners International, the Sabatier Group, and the Pacific Star Fund. He is a trustee of Fettes College and a member of the National Committee on United States–China Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations.
Danielle Pletka is the vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at AEI. Her research areas include the Middle East, South Asia, terrorism, and weapons proliferation. Before coming to AEI, Ms. Pletka served for ten years as a senior professional staff member for the Near East and South Asia on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Since joining AEI, Ms. Pletka has developed a conference series on rebuilding post-Saddam Iraq, directed a project on democracy in the Arab world, and designed a project to track global business in Iran. She was a member of the congressionally mandated U.S. Institute of Peace Task Force on the United Nations, which released its final report in 2005. She recently coedited Dissent and Reform in the Arab World: Empowering Democrats (AEI Press, 2008) and coauthored the 2008 AEI report Iranian Influence in the Levant, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Paul Wolfowitz is a visiting scholar in foreign and defense policy studies at AEI, where he studies development issues. He has spent more than three decades in public service and higher education. Most recently, Mr. Wolfowitz served as president of the World Bank and deputy secretary of defense. Prior to that, he was dean and professor of international relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He has also served as under secretary of defense for policy (1989-93) and U.S. ambassador to Indonesia (1986-89). Mr. Wolfowitz was the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs (1982-86) and director of policy planning at the Department of State. He worked as deputy assistant secretary of defense for regional programs at the Department of Defense and as special assistant to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (1973-77).
