From The American Spectator:
It is campaign season in Taiwan. With opposition candidate Ma Ying-jeou the favorite to win next year’s presidential election, President Chen Shui-bian is pushing a referendum on Taiwanese membership in the United Nations. The measure is roiling politics at home and international relations abroad — with America stuck in the middle between Taipei and the People’s Republic of China.
Taiwan represents left-over business from the late 19th century, when Tokyo seized the island of Taiwan in a war against what once was a great imperial power. Japan’s rule came to an abrupt end in August 1945. Chiang Kai-shek‘s nationalist government reasserted Beijing’s authority over Taiwan before turning the island into its final redoubt after its 1949 ouster from the mainland by Mao Tse-tung‘s communist forces. [Full Text]
Doug Bandow, former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, is the Robert A. Taft Fellow at the American Conservative Defense Alliance. Read also China’s Premier Calls For Opposing Taiwan Independence In Annual National Day Speech by AP, China Reshuffle Sends Message To Taiwan by Fong Tak-ho and US Must Improve Bilateral Relations by Edgar Lin (Êûó‰øä‰πâ).
