Taiwan Should Stop Groveling
“Thank you sir, may I have another!”
Writing in the Taiwan News, I argue that the government should grow a spine in its dealings with Washington. If you’re interested, I’ve enclosed the article in English and Chinese below. Check out the Taiwan News for great content.
Taiwan should stop groveling
Taiwan should avoid mincing words and take more cues from Israel on how to engage with US
By Christian Whiton, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer
2021/11/23 14:38
Anyone who wonders where Taiwan stands in Washington need look no further than President Biden’s assurance to Chinese Communist Party boss Xi Jinping (習近平) that, in effect, nothing has changed.
A White House spokesperson claimed that during their Nov. 16 call, Biden repeated the catechism that has marked 40 years of foreign policy establishment make-believe over China.
The White House said that Biden told Xi, “The United States remains committed to the ‘One China’ policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances. And (Biden) highlighted the U.S. strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
This is of course the failed recipe that has brought us to the point where an empowered China threatens on a daily basis to attack the peaceful, independent democracy off its coast. The "One China" policy is an obvious lie; successive U.S. administrations have ignored the Taiwan Relations Act; the three things and the six other things are diplomatic foofaraw from a bygone time; and the Taiwan Strait is anything but secure.
Shockingly, Taiwan thanked Biden for reviving this fundamental betrayal. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) expressed the government’s gratitude for Biden supposedly affirming his commitment to Taiwan.
There is a famous scene in the movie "Animal House" in which a college student preparing to join a fraternity is being paddled as a rite of initiation. After each blow falls on his buttocks, he exclaims, “Thank you, Sir, may I have another!” This could be Taiwan’s mantra in dealing with Washington.
Joe Biden breaks with his predecessor and doesn’t even return a courtesy call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) congratulating Biden on his election?
“Thank you, Sir, may I have another!”
Washington ignores Taiwan’s pleas for a modest trade agreement, even after Taiwan unilaterally concedes a contentious point on an agricultural additive?
“Thank you, Sir, may I have another!”
Washington arranges a “Summit for Democracy” next month and doesn’t even invite Taiwan?
“Thank you, Sir, may I have another!”
Taiwan must informally get permission from bureaucrats at the State Department and the unknown and unaccountable American Institute in Taiwan (in Rosslyn, Virginia) before it can formally ask to buy the arms to which it is supposedly guaranteed access by the Taiwan Relations Act?
“Thank you, Sir, may I have another!”
America holds an annual Rim of the Pacific war game and never invites participation from Taiwan, the most threatened country of the Pacific, but sometimes invites participation from China.
“Thank you, Sir, may I have another!”
The list goes on. In "Animal House," at least the guy getting paddled is allowed to join the fraternity. There is no such happy outcome for Taiwan and for its countenance of indignities that make the Pacific more dangerous for all of us.
There is a Chinese proverb, tiān dào choú qín (天道酬勤) — “Heaven rewards the diligent.” A similar phrase runs through the minds of many Americans: “The Lord helps those who help themselves.”
Taiwan needs to stand up for itself. In so doing, it will help convince more Americans that the country will defend itself from a Chinese attack. That in turn will increase the odds of American support and decrease the chances of an assault from Beijing ever occurring.
Taiwan should also be more like Israel, a strong ally of the United States that nonetheless seldom fails to speak up when Washington does something Israel deems adverse to its national security. Israel can rely on strong congressional support from both political parties, even though its support from left-wing Democrats has waned.
Taiwan supposedly has many friends in Congress, including dozens of members of Taiwan caucuses in both houses who seem to do little other than agree to be members. Taiwan’s presumed numerous allies on Capitol Hill seem never to succeed in pushing the executive branch to do more for Taiwan. Many left-leaning human rights and democracy NGOs have been cultivated to no real effect.
A smarter plan would focus on U.S. states that have strong economic ties to Taiwan and cultural ties through Taiwanese-Americans. These states — their governors, legislatures, and representatives in Washington — would be more useful than a greater number of vague well-wishers who do little in practice.
Taiwan also needs to reopen to the world and showcase its democracy and culture, not just its semiconductor companies. But most important is for Taiwan to start standing up for itself and speaking the plain truth in Washington. Americans will respect that more than being a good student who doesn’t say much and pretends that abuse is something good.
Christian Whiton was a State Department senior advisor in the George W. Bush and Trump administrations.
URL: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4353695
以校園電影喻台灣太委屈 前國務院策士：台灣不該再對美國卑躬屈膝
惠頓認為台灣在美國面前，委屈太久了
By 黃紫緹, 台灣英文新聞－編輯
2021/11/23 16:42
（台灣英文新聞 / 黃紫緹 綜合報導）台美關係看似日趨緊密，拜登（Joe Biden）政府多次展現對台支持，然而，前美國國務院顧問惠頓（Christian Whiton）撰文批評，美國對台灣還是太過敷衍，台灣不應再俯首帖耳，一副小媳婦模樣，當挺身爭取應有的待遇。
在一篇題為「台灣不該再卑躬屈膝」（Taiwan should stop groveling）的文章中，惠頓犀利指出，拜登與習近平視訊峰會時，只一味老調重彈，強調遵守一中政策、台灣關係法、美中三個聯合公報及對台六項保證。這些早已不合時宜的政策，縱容了中國，坐大了其武嚇台灣的野心，但台灣竟感謝拜登這種赤裸裸的「背叛」行徑。
惠頓以1978年美國校園電影《動物屋》（Animal House）的劇情，來比喻台灣與華府的關係。他語帶諷刺表示，台灣就像片中想參加兄弟會的新生，在「入會儀式」中，心甘情願地被抽打，每抽一下，新生就會大喊，「謝謝您，可以再來一下嗎！」（Thank you sir, may I have another！）
惠頓認為，這句台詞概括形容了每回台灣遭受美國冷遇的情景。茲舉例如下：蔡英文祝賀拜登當選，他卻連禮貌回電都做不到。台灣已開放爭議萊豬進口，美國卻連基本的雙邊貿易協定都遲未洽簽。在軍售一事上，台灣得先從美國國務院官員取得「非正式」的允准，方能正式提出請購案。美國年年舉行環太平洋軍演，卻從未邀請區域內遭受最嚴峻威脅的台灣加入。
惠頓更以中文成語「天道酬勤」，敦促台灣硬起來，為自己謀求福祉。他舉以色列為例，指該國同為美國堅實盟友，卻敢於在華府做出不利其國家安全的行為時，公開表達不滿。相較之下，美國國會的眾多友台黨團，卻似乎未能為台灣帶來更實質的幫助。
有鑑於此，惠頓相信台灣可從美國各州尋找施力點，針對與台灣有緊密經濟、文化連結的州，透過政府與民間力量為其出力，比「口惠實不至」的議員要有效得多。除了力捧半導體科技廠，台灣也應加強向全球展現其民主與文化故事的力道。
「不要只想當個沉默的乖學生，不要假裝被霸凌沒什麼，如此一來才能獲得美國人尊重。」惠頓說道。
* 惠頓曾於美國前總統布希（George W. Bush）與川普（Donald Trump）任內擔任國務院顧問。