From The Christian Science Monitor:
Taiwan has relied heavily on US presidential support for its independent existence in a “one China” world, but recent steps toward warmer cross-Strait relations may mean Taiwan will need to depend less on Barack Obama when he’s president.
Earlier this month, China’s Chen Yun-lin became the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the island since Chiang Kai-shek fled the mainland in 1949.
Mr. Chen, the Chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), was in Taipei for a five-day visit that marked a major diplomatic thaw after eight years of tension during the presidency of independence-minded Chen Shui-bien. The meeting featured four China-Taiwan agreements providing for direct air, shipping, and postal links, and food safety.