FAPA shares the concern that PRC officials may misinterpret this statement and claim that the U.S. is actively opposed to Taiwanese independence, when in fact Bush Administration officials have previously stated that any cross-strait issues must be negotiated in a peaceful way and with the express consent of the people of Taiwan. The U.S. must make its position on Taiwan clear.
Taiwanese Americans from across the country join me in thanking you for your continued strong support for the safety and security of democratic Taiwan. I can assure you that our own thanks is echoed across Taiwan itself by the citizens there who are so rightly proud of their long struggle to build a human rights respecting democracy and who are determined to retain this painfully won political freedom.
We know how strongly you support democratic development around the globe. A basic principle of democracy, as so forcefully posited by our Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, is the right of a people to decide their own future, the right of self-determination. Taiwanese Americans firmly believe that the citizens of Taiwan have this right and we also believe that the United States should support it. China’s self-appointed leaders have constantly tried to get the United States to agree to their “One China Principle,” which denies this right to the people of Taiwan by claiming Taiwan is already an integral of the PRC.
As you well know, the United States has never accepted this Chinese position. All that the three U.S.-China communiqué do is “acknowledge” China’s claim; never has the U.S. “recognized” it. Instead, our U.S. “One China Policy” is that there should be a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan Strait issue with the U.S. supporting no predetermined outcome, leaving it up to the two sides to decide what a “future one China” might be. The U.S. has also noted that, because Taiwan is a democracy, the people of Taiwan must consent to any negotiated outcome of the Taiwan Strait issue.
We believe the Chinese leaders will misinterpret this statement and claim that the United States is actively opposed to Taiwanese independence. We do not believe this is your intent.
We believe that Taiwan is a model for citizens in other autocratic states to emulate. The United States, under your leadership, actively endorses the movement toward democracy as the one clear way to root out terrorists and their breeding grounds.
Clear U.S. support for the right of self-determination of the people of Taiwan would give heart to those engaged in such struggles around the world.