Who said it only
happened last month? As early as June,
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) entered a US federal facility — the American Institute in Taiwan’s new
compound in Taipei’s Neihu District — as is evidenced both by the official seal
of the US Department of State hanging on its facade and the fact that Tsai was
received by federal officials. Once the new compound starts operations this
month, a new page will turn in Taiwan-US relations.
To understand the
significance of this change, it must be viewed against the backdrop of the
reconstruction of relations that has taken place in the 70 years since the
Pacific War.
According to
international law, after a war has ended, the victor will enter the defeated
party’s territory and set up occupation authorities charged with maintaining
order and the livelihood of the people, while planning reparations as political
decisions are made to determine a peace treaty.
The main task of the
occupation authorities is to facilitate economic recovery and political
reconstruction.
On a global scale,
economic recovery is achieved through relief and assistance programs, while
political reconstruction refers to the establishment of a friendly and
legitimate government.
On Jan. 29, 1946, the
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers issued Directive No. 677, which
directed “the Japanese Government to cease exercising governmental or
administrative authority over any area outside of Japan. Japan was defined — the four major Japanese
islands and islands in their immediate vicinity — and excluded areas were
indicated — Okinawa, Taiwan, what was then Korea and other UN trust
territories.
Their fates have
diverged over the past 70 years. Japan enacted a new constitution and was
transformed into a democracy in 1947, while Korea was divided into north and
south, both of which in 1948 established their own governments before joining
the UN on the same day, Sept. 17, 1991. Okinawa
was restored to Japan in 1972 after being subject to US military occupation and
then US civil administration.
The other trust
territories were initially administered by the US, which from the 1980s onward
allowed Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau to become independent
nations by signing the Compact of Free Association. The Northern Mariana Islands alone did not
seek independence, remaining a self-governing commonwealth of the US.
Only the status of
Taiwan remains ambiguous — a result of Chinese obstruction.
Taiwan has relied on
US economic assistance, through the Sino-American Fund, the Council for US Aid
— which later became the Executive Yuan’s Council for Economic Planning and
Development, but was dissolved in 2014 — the Joint Commission on Rural
Reconstruction and the Economic Cooperation Administration, as well as J.G.
White Engineering Corp, George Fry and Associates and other businesses, which
facilitated Taiwan’s outstanding economic recovery.
From a security
perspective, Taiwan relied on the US Taiwan Defense Command and the US Military
Assistance Advisory Group, as well as intelligence cooperation and
uninterrupted sales of military arms.
However, rebuilding
the nation’s political system has been fraught with endless difficulties. When
the US negotiated and established formal diplomatic ties with China in the
1970s, then-US national security adviser Henry Kissinger’s plan was to solve
the Taiwan issue while pulling China into the international order.
Unfortunately, China
has become more uncontrollable as it disrupts the world order and it seems that
there is no way to guide Beijing.
Not long ago,
Kissinger in a roundabout way admitted that he had miscalculated the situation.
Over the years, the
nation’s name has changed from the Taiwan Provincial Governor’s Office, to the
Republic of China, to the Republic of China on Taiwan, to the Republic of
China, Taiwan, and finally, to Taiwan.
In the context of
post-war political reconstruction, this is no different from “the governing
authorities on Taiwan” referred in the Taiwan Relations Act.
Will Taiwan and the US
establish formal diplomatic ties modeled on the Compact of Free Association, or
will the US support Taiwan’s enactment of a new basic law of governance in
accordance with today’s circumstances?
If our perspective
changes to one aiming for “political reconstruction” in the post-war era, both
options are possible.
Translated by Chang
Ho-ming.
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