BUREAUCRACY:The party turned to a Taiwanese-American lobby group to avoid adding a ‘burden’ to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has many pan-blue officials

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 11, 2016
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

Changes in Taiwan and on the international stage warrant reconsideration of the US’ “one China” policy, New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said on Friday, as party officials wrapped up a visit to Washington.

“The ‘one China’ policy was born under the backdrop of the Cold War, when Taiwan was still a one-party authoritarian state that had not realized a true democracy. Now that we are in the 21st century and Taiwanese use truly democratic means to select their leaders, and given developments in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea, we feel there is sufficient ground for the United States to re-examine the ‘one China’ policy,” Huang said at a news conference at the Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington, as NPP officials wrapped up a whirlwind tour of Europe and the US before the start of the fall legislative session.

The “one China” policy refers to the US’ policy on Taiwan as stated in the Shanghai Communique, in which the US “acknowledges” and “does not challenge” the position of “all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait” that there is “one China, and Taiwan is a part of China.”

“We are not so naive as to expect changes in a day, or a short period of time, but at the very least, discussion can begin,” Huang said, citing increasing the level of official exchanges as one area where changes could be considered.     [FULL  STORY]