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Readers Comments
Our article on the Paris - Beijing relationship drew a healthy postbag of comments from EURSOC readers.
Abby Gannaway wrote:
Dear Editors,
"(EURSOC's article claimed) It is in any country's interests to be on the good side of such a giant, even if it means irritating traditional allies. Even the Americans realise this, as is evident from the current administration's lack of unambiguous support for Taiwan."
This is true, but seems a little unfair. I think America's immediate foreign policy concerns dwarf this long term issue.
The North Korea nuclear powder keg is an urgent priority. And, as you know, it is widely believed, correctly I think, that defusing the North Korean situation depends on some degree of Chinese intervention. We need that right now and can't afford to wait. I hate to say it, but the Taiwanese people can wait - they aren't exactly living like North Koreans.
Additionally, Taiwanese politicians seem to want to deliberately exploit America's security guarantee to advance their own political careers. As you know, Bush has already vowed the US will do "whatever it takes to help Taiwan defend itself." This is not just one of Bush's foreign policy commitments, but a mandate of Congress in the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. Additionally, America's continued military relationship with Taiwan was a condition of Washington's 1978-normalization agreement with the regime. Taiwan apparently wants to use the referendum to force America to fight their revolution for them, pronto, and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is no Iraqi Republican Guard. Americans are widely acknowledged to be suckers, but this is ridiculous.
As you also know, the PLA has said that while the status quo is acceptable, "If they [Taiwan] refuse to come to their senses and continue to use referenda as an excuse to seek Taiwan independence, they will push Taiwan compatriots into the abyss of war". Additionally, the PLA leadership has clearly enumerated the ominous "six prices" China would be willing to pay to achieve reunification upon a declaration of independence: loss or boycott of the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World Expo, a fall in foreign investment, a chill in relations with "certain countries", damage and loss of life on China's south-eastern coast, stagnation or contraction of the economy "for a few years", and "necessary sacrifices" by the PLA. If Taiwan goes for all out independence, the PLA "will definitely intervene."
We'll have to deal with this eventually, but this is the worst possible time for us militarily: our dance card is quite full at the moment, Taiwan must wait.
Reader DJ McGuire wrote that EURSOC was too tough on the French people when we claimed that there were few protests against the state visit of China's president. Mr McGuire, who is the president and co-founder of the China E-lobby as well as the author of a book exploring Chinese ties with Axis of Evil nations, wrote:
Editors,
I fear in your latest column on France's rapproachement with Communist China you sold the French people short - as opposed to the French government, which richly deserved your scathing condemnation.
In particular, this line: "Apart from a few isolated protests against China's occupation of Tibet, the visit passed without incident."
There were, actually, quite a few incidents, most of the involving the police arresting Falun Gong practitioners before they even had the chance to reach the streets and protest the Communist Chinese crackdown on their faith. They still managed to get a procession into the capital, and before that held a press conference blasting the ChiComs - joined by two prominent French Socialists (one was all-but-certain Prez candidate Jack Lang).
As I said before, the Chirac-Raffarin government is abysmal, but there is no indication it has universal support for the Beijing gambit among the French people.
Keep your letters coming - we are always delighted to hear from EURSOC readers.
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