Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan pledged to her nation’s parliament in November that an attempt by communist China to blockade the democratic island of Taiwan would pose a “survival threatening situation” for her own country. China has interpreted the remark as a warning that Japan would resort to a military response. Though this has long been the policy of Japan, it has never been proclaimed with such public assertion.
President Xi Jinping of China has urged President Donald Trump to join him in a push-back against Japan. Xi has even stressed how China and the United States fought “shoulder to shoulder” against Imperial Japan during World War II. Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, has made the same point, as well as accusing the Japanese leader of “turning back the wheels of history.”
But who is turning back the wheels of history? Chinese officials urge the United States by invoking the memory of World War II (prior to the communist takeover in China). And subsequent to World War II, communist China fought face to face against U.S. troops during the Korean Conflict (which lasted from 1950 to 1953).
It’s true that President Jimmy Carter formally embraced the “one China” policy in 1979, which excludes recognition of Taiwan as an independent country. But the policy also allows for the U.S. to abide by the status quo and commit itself to the defense of Taiwan. My suggestion is that “the wheels of history” now merit U.S. recognition of Taiwan, China be damned.
Great Britain and France are more open to the Japanese prime minister’s statement. They also worry that Trump is partial to China. Trump has often referred to Xi as his “friend” and has voiced no support for Takaichi. China expert Jean-Pierre Cabestan of the Asia Center in France has noted the mixed signals Trump has been sending to Taiwan and has pointed out how Trump has demonstrated less commitment to the defense of Taiwan than had his predecessors.
The history of China in relation to Taiwan is complicated. Prior to the communist takeover of China in 1949, the country was ruled by the Kuomintang Party of Chiang Kai-shek, who had fled to Taiwan and set up shop and considered himself the leader of all of China until his death in 1975. When Carter adopted the “one China” policy in favor of the communists in 1979, Ronald Reagan (who was then contemplating his run for president in 1980) lamented that we had sold out our ally Chiang.
The U.S. had been doing business with Taiwan (as separate from China) since its inception in 1949. Now we recognize one China, a policy which considers Taiwan an inalienable part of communist China. But we continue to deal with Taiwan as separate from China and even provide for its defense against the communists.
As if that’s not complicated enough, Chiang’s Kuomintang is now the opposition party in Taiwan and advocates closer relations with China than does Lai Ching-te, the current president of Taiwan. In other words, the Kuomintang (who were ingrates when the U.S. defended them from Imperial Japan during World War II) continue on the path of ingratitude by extending themselves to present day communist China.
For years the U.S. had maintained an irrational and unrealistic policy of not recognizing the People’s Republic of China. President Richard Nixon initiated the reversal of this irrational policy with his visit to China in 1972. But the reversal was not complete until Carter extended formal recognition in 1979.
Communist China is a reality. We could hardly continue to pretend this huge country was not there. But we can also ill-afford to pretend the small nation of Taiwan is not there. We do business with Taiwan and the one China policy is an illusion.
Of course, we risk an aggressive response from China in the event of recognizing Taiwan. But our European allies, along with Japan, are anxious for the U.S. to express support for Taiwan. Just as China seeks to isolate Japan in the wake of the Takaichi’s remarks, the U.S. is in a position to isolate China itself.
The time has come to cease being bullied by China. Formal recognition of Taiwan should be a principle embraced by the United States. Chiang was hardly a democratic ally. But Taiwan has matured into a vibrant democracy and that’s why the Kuomintang opposition is nostalgic for China, even for the communist regime it had fled in 1949.
John O’Neill is an Allen Park free-lance writer and a graduate of Wayne State University.
