The history of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan cannot be surgically cut in two, with the first period from 1911 to 1949 being discarded while just keeping the second period since 1949. Seen in perspective, the best traditions and the best legacy of the ROC have to be treated as an organic whole to pass on to future generations stressed Dr. Lyushun Shen, the Vice Foreign Minister of Taiwan, in a speech given at Stanford University on April 18th.
During a seminar cosponsored by the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Dr. Shen talked about “A Century of Unique Friendship between the ROC and the US.” The seminar was moderated by Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the coordinator of the CDDRL. The event was attended by well over 80 scholars, students, officials and others interested in Taiwan, mainland China, US relations.
As an expert on US-ROC diplomatic history and the island’s external relations, Dr. Shen earned his doctorate in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981. He is a seasoned diplomat with a distinguished career serving at Taiwan’s overseas missions in the United States and in Europe since the early 1980s. Prior to his current appointment, he was Taiwan’s representative to the European Union (EU).
Taiwan’s legacy in international relations
In the speech, Dr. Shen emphasized that the ROC government is representing not only the people of Taiwan, but also, the best tradition and the legacy of the republic’s founding father, Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925). These traditions and legacy enrich Taiwan today, he said.
He noted that Taiwan’s best traditions did not merely start after 1949, but can be traced back to 1911. As an example, he talked of the country’s diplomatic service by mentioning people like Lou Tseng-tsiang (1871-1949) and Wellington Koo (1887-1985), who represented the ROC at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The ROC was also a founding member of the United Nations and held a seat on the International Court of Justice. These responsibilities are the traditions that have been passed down to the generations that have followed.
These traditions were brought from mainland China to Taiwan by people like Tsiang Ting-fu (1895-1965), a senior diplomat defending the ROC government’s right to represent China at the UN Security Council, and George Yeh (1904-1981), a participant at the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (aka, Treaty of Taipei) in 1952, and the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty of 1954. Their presence in the international arena was crucial in retaining the country’s status and in preventing invasions by Communist China. Their modern day counterparts are people like former Foreign Minister Frederick Chien and Ting Mao-shih, who have helped shape the external relations of modern Taiwan.
In order to fully understand the unique friendship between the US and China, we also need to go back 100 years to the late Qing Dynasty, according to Dr. Shen.
Historical context of US-China relations
With pride, Dr. Shen told the audience that Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry is the custodian of the many unequal treaties. A total of 173 such original documents are preserved in the archives of the ministry, starting with the first one, the Treaty of Nanking, which included the ceding of Hong Kong to the British. Many of these treaties speak of the disgrace and humiliation the Chinese people experienced since the Opium War.
The first important US-China treaty was the Anson Burlingame Treaty of 1868. Burlingame was an American congressman from Maryland and the ambassador to China. He stayed in Beijing for three years, and was well-liked because of his friendliness and deep knowledge of China. In those days, the US was unique because it had no territorial ambitions towards the Chinese empire. Unlike other Western powers, the US did not ask for territory, lease of any ports, or press their sphere of influence. It only asked for equal trade opportunities. The US later announced its “Open Door Policy” and was the friendliest country towards China at the time.
Shen related the story of Burlingame that illustrates China’s high regard for the American statesman. In the 1860s, the Qing Dynasty could not find a qualified Chinese ambassador, so Burlingame was asked to represent China on his return to Washington in the signing of a treaty with the United States on behalf of China. Serving as a temporary Chinese ambassador, he even secured most favored nation status for China so that Chinese people could stay and work in the US permanently. This would introduce Chinese labor to America for railroad construction at a time when California had already adopted the Chinese Exclusion Act.
The second important treaty Shen mentioned was the Boxer Protocol signed in 1901 between the Qing Dynasty and an eight-nation alliance that included the US. Eight Western nations sent forces to defeat the Boxer Rebellion, which in turn launched a nationalist movement in China to fight Westerners and Christians. When American troops landed at Tianjin port in northern China, among them was an American mining engineer named Herbert Hoover. He helped harbor many US Marines and Chinese Christians. Hoover, also a Stanford student, later became the 31st president of the United States.
In defeat, China was made to pay 450 million taels of silver (roughly $340 million US dollars then) as indemnity. The US received 7.32 percent of the total. Later, President Theodore Roosevelt decided to return most of the money. He set up a scholarship program for Chinese students to study in the US and to fund the establishment of Tsinghua University in Beijing, which now has two campuses – one in Taiwan and one in China. Since its establishment, Tsinghua has nurtured Taiwan’s brightest minds.
In mentioning schools, Dr. Shen noted that Sun Yat-sen had studied at Punahou School in Hawaii from 1882-83, which is also the alma mater of the current US President Barak Obama. Dr. Shen emphasized that Sun’s political legacy embodied in the Three Principles of the People was inspired by President Abraham Lincoln’s belief in a government “of the people, by the people and for the people,” and stipulated as the first article in the ROC Constitution. When the Wuchang Uprising broke out in China in 1911 resulting in the establishment of the ROC, Sun was still in Denver on a fundraising trip.
American ideology in China and Taiwan
The United States has also played a major role in shaping the Chinese republic with its missionaries, educators and businessmen. Americans built a great many schools and hospitals in China. Most of these pioneers came with good intentions and not out of greed. Early missionaries preached Christianity to the Chinese people while educators and businessmen tried to modernize Chinese society. In times of trouble, the US has always come to China’s aid.
As an example, during World War II, the American Volunteer Group (aka, The Flying Tigers), joined the Nationalist Chinese Air Force to fight the Japanese. Their joint efforts saved millions of civilian lives in China by shooting down 2,600 Japanese aircrafts. Even during the Chinese Civil War, the US sent General George Marshall to mediate between the Communists and the Nationalists. The general did his best, but he eventually failed to stop a civil war in China.
Dr. Shen was especially touched to learn about the specifics of US assistance after Chiang Kai-shek’s government was forced to move to Taiwan in 1949. The US aid came in many forms, touching all aspects of daily life, from agriculture to public health, the construction of transportation arteries to charting the course of Taiwan’s military. Washington had helped Chiang and the people of Taiwan lay down the foundations for the economic miracle that came later.
The US has influenced Taiwan in other ways too. In the last 60 years, Dr. Shen said, about two-thirds of Taiwan’s cabinet members have been American-educated. Taiwanese people understand and appreciate the long-term and unique friendship the country has with the US.
Dr. Shen urged the US government and its people to support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and to continue vital arms sales to the island, not to fuel an arms race with China. Instead, with the adequate supply of necessary weapons from the US, the island can engage Beijing in searching for a peaceful solution with confidence. As former President John F. Kennedy said, “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” Shen hopes the current easing of tension across the Taiwan Strait will continue, and not revert back to the hostilities of years past.
Bumps in the road
Although the country maintains close economic ties with the US, it is not without hiccups. One such issue pertains to the importation of American beef. In January, Taiwan’s health authorities found that imported American beef contained residuals of a banned chemical called ractopamine. As much as Taiwan welcomes American beef, Dr. Shen said Taiwan has zero tolerance for the use of this chemical in beef products. Some might say this is a scientific issue better left to scientists, but it is also an emotional and a political one.
Despite Taiwan’s improved relations with mainland China, Dr. Shen does acknowledge there are fundamental differences between the two countries. The mainland represents the greatest threat to Taiwan, but also provides a wealth of opportunities. Taiwan’s government has to minimize the threats while maximizing the opportunities.
What is happening in Taiwan and mainland China today is similar to the situation in the European Union. It is one of economic and social integration, said Dr. Shen. Last year, trade between the two sides almost reached US$150 billion. Out of that amount, US$77 billion was in Taiwan’s favor. Globally, Taiwan’s trade last year was US$530 billion, but only US$25 billion was in Taiwan’s favor. It is apparent that the people of Taiwan would suffer economically without the markets on the mainland.
During the Q&A, someone posed the question whether the United States might be concerned with an overly closed relationship between Taiwan and mainland China. Diamond said, from his extensive knowledge and contacts with high-ranking US government officials, he sees no evidence of such concerns. The US is already militarily involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, and possibly in another military engagement in Libya. There are also other global issues that concern the US, such as Pakistan’s instability coupled with its possession of nuclear weapons. Al-Qaeda also continues to be a concern, lurking in many places and seeking fertile ground in Yemen and elsewhere. Plus, with oil prices soaring and set to increase further with China’s continued development, “Americans have enough concerns already,” noted Diamond.
Any rational US government would not want to see any conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Anything that would be mutually, voluntarily agreed upon, that would reduce tensions in the region, would frankly evoke a sigh of relief from the American administration, the Stanford professor said.
Functional and pragmatic diplomacy
Diplomatically, Dr. Shen added, Taiwan is realistic. Today, the PRC has 171 diplomatic allies while the ROC only has 23. When he came into office, President Ma called for a diplomatic truce. Taiwan now works hard to get more countries and territories to grant visa-free status to Taiwan passport holders. This has made our people feel that the government has done something tangible to make their lives easier, he said.
When President Ma took office in 2008, the number of countries granting visa-free status to Taiwan was 53, today it is 113, while merely 18 countries do so for the Chinese mainland. Recently the EU, comprising 27 countries, granted Taiwan this status. Taiwan is the fifth country in Asia to have attained this status. During the EU parliament’s approval, Taiwan received overwhelming support with a vote of 559 to 40. Visa-free status has also been granted by Canada, Australia, Malaysia and other countries. France has also instructed its overseas territories to follow suit. This is definitely not diplomatic status, but it is a vote of confidence in Taiwan, allowing us dignity and ease of travel.
Today, Taiwan has 117 missions abroad. In Taipei, 69 countries are represented. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), even though not officially an US embassy, has more than 500 employees. In effect, Taiwan operates like a normal country, Dr. Shen stressed. The size of Taiwan’s Foreign Service and foreign policy operations is comparable to that of a medium-sized European country, such as Sweden, Spain or Italy. Last year, every European country, except Malta and Romania, sent dignitaries to visit Taiwan, even without maintaining official diplomatic ties with the island.
Dr. Shen emphasized that even though the country is represented under an odd name, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, its government is pragmatic. It strives to provide its people with the best international life, ensuring that the lack of diplomatic relations will not hinder them much in their desire to be active members of the international community.