US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice made unfavorable remarks about Taiwan today (December 21, 2007). In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) officially issued the following statement:
1. Taiwan's democratic development is the pride of the world: Taiwan has a population of 23 million people, making it the 49th most populous country in the world. In 2006, Taiwan had a GDP of US$364 billion, ranking it 20th worldwide. Taiwan is also the 17th largest trading nation and has the world's fourth largest foreign exchange reserves. All of these achievements are the fruits of the dedicated efforts of the Taiwanese people despite the restrictions imposed on Taiwan in the international arena. More importantly, Taiwan is an example of a nation that has advanced from authoritarianism to democracy after World War II. Taiwan has undergone one peaceful revolution after another, each time further deepening the significance of its democracy. In a turbulent world, Taiwan is one of the most socially stable countries. These achievements have been realized under China’s intensive military suppression against Taiwan. Taiwan is a sovereign country; however, it is now facing all types of irrational treatment due to China’s suppression and prevailing restrictions in the international arena. Such a situation has inflicted deep pain on the people of Taiwan. It is also a deep factor in Taiwan's decision to hold a referendum on its bid to join the UN. It is hoped that the international community can deeply understand this.
2. Taiwan’s referendum on its UN bid is the demonstration of the collective will of the Taiwanese people: Taiwan's application to join the UN under the name of "Taiwan" is the hope and legitimate right of the 23 million Taiwanese people, regardless of political affiliation or ethnic background. The purpose of the referendum is to convey to the international community, through a legal and democratic procedure, the collective will and determination of Taiwan to participate in the international community. This democratic and peaceful approach, manifesting the principle of "sovereignty residing in the people," in no way runs counter to the "four noes" pledge, nor does it involve a change in the national moniker, a unilateral change in the status quo, or the issue of so called "de jure Taiwan independence." The United States and China should not improperly interpret Taiwan's efforts to promote democracy, or else they will misjudge future developments in the cross-strait situation.
3. China has been renounced by the Taiwanese people due to its contemptible and abusive behavior: For a long time, China has repeatedly obstructed Taiwan's democratic development and sought to impose political isolation on the Taiwanese people in the international arena. Recently, Beijing has also equated the "UN referendum" with "de jure Taiwan independence" to distort and mislead the understanding of the international community. It has also intentionally defined the "UN referendum" as a move violating the red line drawn by China in its "anti-separation law" with a view to creating a pretext for taking military action against Taiwan. Beijing has attempted to lure and coerce major countries of the world into expressing opposition to Taiwan's referendum on its bid to join the UN in an attempt to reduce the Taiwanese people's support for the referendum and interfere with Taiwan's election results. Due to China's manipulation of international politics to win international recognition of its "one China" principle and its peremptory suppression of Taiwan, Taiwan has suffered an urgent crisis of being violently annexed by China. Therefore, it is China that is the root cause undermining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. The Beijing authorities are unwilling to talk with Taiwan's democratically elected government. On the contrary, it is using other countries in wishful attempts to influence the cross-strait situation. It is this type of low behavior that represents the true "heretical course." The past facts already prove that any attempts by China to sabotage Taiwan's democracy will simply produce a disastrous result for Beijing.
4. Washington's imbalanced Taiwan Strait policy affects regional peace and stability and hurts the feelings of the Taiwanese people: Taiwan is an independent sovereign country that has never been a part of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Taiwan shares the same values as the other democracies of the world. The US is the world's leading democracy. As such, it should fully support and voice support for Taiwan's democracy. It should not trust the unilateral words of an authoritarian country, nor should it invariably rebuke an oppressed and shut out democratic Taiwan. This type of imbalanced situation has already seriously hurt the deep feelings of the Taiwanese people towards the US and undermined the foundation of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The US's willingness to bow to China's barbaric suffocation of Taiwan's international survival space, drafting of an "anti-separation law," and intensive military intimidation of Taiwan without any attempt to censure or restrain such behavior goes entirely against the founding spirit of the United States and the principles of fairness and justice. It will ultimately encourage China to become a regional hegemon, which would be entirely at odds with US strategic interests and regional stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The US may find that its actions produce an outcome entirely opposite of its hopes. The international community should pay attention to this dangerous development.
5. The US and China should stop suppressing Taiwan and carefully listen to the voice of the Taiwanese people in their pursuit of democracy: China's peremptory suppression of Taiwan will not make the Taiwanese people compromise in their resolve to pursue democracy. As external pressure becomes stronger, the Taiwanese people will become more unified in their opinions. Taiwan is grateful to the US for its long-term friendship. At this pivotal time in cross-strait relations, the US should place even greater importance on the value of Taiwan's existence and support and respect the democratic fruits achieved by the Taiwanese people through many years of dedicated efforts. The US should not allow itself to be repeatedly misled by China, and it should not continuously pressure a loyal ally and friend such as Taiwan, for this only encourages autocratic China to even more unscrupulously suppress and threaten democratic Taiwan. The US leadership should carefully consider the likely serious repercussions. The MAC demands that China immediately stop its military intimidation and international suppression against Taiwan, and accept the results of Taiwan's democratic referendum as a matter of course. Otherwise, the so-called "hope" Beijing places on the Taiwanese people will ultimately produce an even greater disappointment.
6. Safeguarding Taiwan is the only way to change China: This year marks the 20th anniversary of the resumption of cross-strait exchanges. The international community has also eyewitnessed the dramatic changes in China, of which Taiwan has in fact been a major promoter. Under the one-party dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party, China is still trying to go against the tide of history as it walks haltingly along the road to democracy. The process and experience of democratization in Taiwan can serve as an impetus and reference for democratization in China. Since both sides of the Taiwan Strait share ethnic, cultural and historical ties, Taiwan has a penetrative power over China. Especially in terms of the promotion of China’s democratization in the future, Taiwan can have a far greater influence than western military powers. This is the value of Taiwan to the world today. It is also something that the international community, particularly the United States, should deeply consider.