Washington less likely to indulge Beijing over its policy after victory of island’s pro-independence party
The Wall Street Journal
Date: Jan. 19, 2016
By: Andrew Browne
TAIPEI—No dogma is more important to Beijing than “One China,” the
Honor guards marched in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei this week. The Taiwanese increasingly believe they live in a sovereign state, not a ‘renegade province’ of China. Photo: EPA/JEROME FAVRE
concept that Taiwan is a part of a single Chinese nation—just temporarily estranged.
America and much of the rest of the world acquiesce to that position, denying the reality that Taiwan has set its course as an independent state. Last weekend’s vote, in which the Taiwanese electorate overwhelming endorsed a party that rejects Beijing’s “One China” formula, confirmed the direction in the most emphatic way to date. That not only puts China in a bind, but the U.S. too.
Like it or not, the political equation has changed, forcing Washington to look at Taiwan in a different light.
To be sure, an American challenge to the “One China” doctrine is unthinkable. It’s the one move that could realistically provoke a war between the world’s two strongest powers. Yet some diplomats and scholars think that a postelection Taiwan may get more sympathetic treatment in Washington. [FULL STORY]
