Kurt Campbell, the U.S. White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, said on June 6 that the United States supports Taiwan in maintaining its dignity and a solid unofficial relationship between the United States and Taiwan, and does not support Taiwan independence. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Republic of China on Taiwan is a sovereign state, not a part of the People’s Republic of China, which is a fact, but also the status quo. Some analysts believe that the United States “does not support” Taiwan’s independence, but as a democratic country will not deny Taiwan’s right to take the initiative.
Campbell made the statement in response to a question from Daniel Russel, former assistant secretary of state for Asia and the Pacific, at a web event of the Asia Society of America. Russel’s question was: Where does the United States draw the line on its love for Taiwan in its unofficial relationship with Taiwan?
Campbell cited Hong Kong as an example, saying that if what China did to Hong Kong happened to Taiwan, it would be “catastrophic,” which is why the United States has to deepen its unofficial relationship with Taiwan, even though it is “a little bit dangerous” to maintain this “very delicate balance,” but the United States It must be done. “We support the development of a solid unofficial relationship with Taiwan, the United States does not support Taiwan’s independence, and we fully recognize and understand the sensitivities involved, but we are convinced that Taiwan is entitled to peace …….”
Campbell is the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, known as the “Asia tsar” (Asia tsar), especially since this is the first time a high-level official has made such a statement since the Biden administration came to power, and has caused considerable discussion in Taiwan’s political arena.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ou Jiang’an responded that the Biden administration has repeatedly stressed its “rock-solid” support for Taiwan since taking office, and has actively joined with allies to express its high regard for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. “Taiwan is also a responsible and reliable partner, and we have worked very closely with the United States on many regional and global issues, and are willing to continue to contribute to the international community.”
Ou Jiang’an emphasized that the Republic of China on Taiwan is a sovereign state and is not part of the People’s Republic of China, which is a fact and the status quo. The Taiwan government has always been prudent in handling cross-strait relations in a steady and pragmatic manner, defending a free and democratic system and fighting for Taiwan’s wider participation in international affairs, and has won the high recognition and support of the United States and other like-minded partners.
Before Campbell’s talk, former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian invited his former Secretary General of the National Security Council and current President of the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, Qiu Yiren, to talk with him on his personal radio program on the 4th. When Qiu Yiren attended an online seminar at Georgetown University last year on the topic of “Taiwan independence,” he said, “Pragmatic politicians in Taiwan will not do that unless they are crazy. Even former President Chen Shui-bian would have stepped on the brakes in the end.”
In the program of Chen Shui-bian, he explained that he meant “it is not appropriate to declare the independence of Taiwan now”, after all, with the DPP’s advocacy, this is the goal and ideal, but to modify what is a big deal. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
Taiwan independence theory guru Lin Tushui: not supporting Taiwan independence is not the same as denying Taiwan’s initiative
Former legislator Lin Tuoshui, who is known as the “master of Taiwan independence theory” in the DPP, said in an interview with this station that if Qiu Yiren only said “it is not suitable to declare Taiwan independence”, this statement would be quite clear. But Qiu Yiren added, “It is fine to promote independence as a goal, but Taiwan as a legally independent country is not something that the people of Taiwan can do on their own, and the United States simply does not approve.” The US does not approve of this.
Lin Tuoshui: “Campbell’s statement is very standard, the United States ‘does not support’ Taiwan’s independence. The word ‘does not support’ means that it will not deny Taiwan’s initiative. As a democratic country, to oppose the pursuit of people in a democracy above what is no untenable claims, you go to oppose, as a democratic country probably will not do so.”
Lin Tuoshui believes that the United States is very precise, the United States in several encounters with the Chinese Communist Party, in the three joint communiqués, there are references to “do not support” Taiwan independence. But Lin interpreted the so-called “non-support” of the United States as “you want to promote ‘Taiwan independence’ is your business, you want me to support it? I do not support it.
Lin Tuoshui: “If he (the United States) ‘opposes’ is ‘denying the choice of the people of Taiwan’, ‘does not support’ is his policy based on national interests The policy is based on national interests. It is possible to consider the U.S. choice in terms of international politics, but he will not oppose such a pursuit as a ‘democratic decision’. So the United States from the process of close dealings with China, in fact, are very strict guard this point, ‘do not support Taiwan independence, do not support the two China’.”
Huang Kui Bo: the United States does not support Taiwan independence maintain unofficial relations consistent position
Huang Kui Bo, deputy secretary-general of the Kuomintang, told the station that Campbell’s statement was in line with the “one-China” policy formulated by successive U.S. administrations and did not require too much surprise. What should be surprising is if the U.S. government never mentioned such a view in the past, if there is a fundamental change in U.S. policy toward Taiwan.
Huang Kui Bo: “It is now clear that the U.S. government has not only shouted at the Chinese authorities many times, but the U.S. is also gradually releasing that his position on Taiwan is to maintain unofficial relations and not to support Taiwan’s independence, which are all consistent. At least if there is some excessive reverie on the Taiwan side, perhaps it can be dispensed with.”
Huang Kui Bo further pointed out that the so-called “non-support” of the United States for Taiwan’s independence, many people interpreted as “the United States did not oppose Taiwan’s independence. He believes that in diplomatic and legal terms can indeed be explained, “does not support” and “oppose” are two different concepts.
Huang Kui Bo: “I would like to ask, if the U.S. has been saying that it ‘does not support’ Taiwan’s independence, and the DPP wants to explain that the U.S. is not ‘against’ Taiwan’s independence, now that it is in full power, with the executive and the legislature in control, should the DPP government not consider the possibility of a ‘no’ vote? Shouldn’t the DPP government consider putting into practice its “(Taiwan independence) party platform”, that is, the goal of promoting Taiwan’s independence? Since the United States does not oppose it, the DPP government has nothing to fear, which is a very important issue for the DPP government to account for internally.”
Taiwan Constitution Foundation: not supporting Taiwan independence is not the same as not supporting Taiwan’s national normalization
The Taiwan Constitution Foundation has long advocated promoting the normalization of Taiwan’s state and the formulation of a new constitution that belongs to the people of Taiwan. Taiwan Constitution Foundation Deputy Executive Director John Chang told the station that what the United States sees today is that China’s strength will instead affect the national interests of the United States and the stability of East Asia, and the United States certainly wants to express his attitude. The U.S. is not supporting the normalization of Taiwan’s state.
Zhang Junlong: “So basically we have to be very clear ourselves that the normalization of Taiwan’s state and even the formulation of a new constitution is not only in line with the expectations of the Taiwanese and Taiwan’s national interests, (and can) convince the United States to understand that this is something that the Democratic Alliance must do, and will not endanger the national interests of the United States.”
The Constitutional Foundation also issued a statement later that “the best way to (show) respect for Taiwan is to establish full diplomatic relations with Taiwan to strengthen the Democratic Alliance and to show China and its democratic friends its determination to defend the free and democratic order.”
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