Taiwanese groups run US ad to debunk ‘one China’

By Huang Tai-lin  /  Staff Reporter

Several Taiwanese-American organizations on Friday took out a full-page advertisement in a US newspaper saying that Taiwan is not a part of China and calling on US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration to formulate US policy that “provides more dignity and respect for the leaders and people of Taiwan.”

Trump answered a congratulatory telephone call from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) earlier this month and in a recent interview with Fox News suggested he would not necessarily be bound by Washington’s long-standing “one China” commitment, unless the US won some trade concessions from Beijing.

The advertisement in the Washington Times is headed by a statement in red that reads: “Taiwan is not part of China. Taiwan is no bargaining chip.”

The ad, jointly placed by a group of Taiwanese-American organizations including the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), the North American Taiwanese Professors Association and the World United Formosans for Independence, expresses appreciation to Trump for his telephone conversation with Tsai, and lauds Taiwan’s democratic accomplishments and the close relationship between the US and Taiwan.

The ad says that Taiwan has been one of the US’ staunchest allies for more than 50 years, and that it is the US’ ninth-largest trading partner as well as the world’s 22nd-largest economy.

However, it says that despite these accomplishments, “Taiwan continues to be treated like a pariah in and by the international community.”

“High-level officials from Taiwan are not allowed to come to Washington DC ... Taiwan is not a member of any international organization that requires statehood,” it says, adding that Taiwanese are banned from entering the UN’s headquarters in New York.

“Although the US regards Taiwan’s international status as undetermined, its ‘One China Policy’ is all too often misinterpreted to imply that Taiwan is part of China. This constrains Taiwan’s ability to fully participate in world affairs,” the ad says.

Concluding that “America’s Taiwan policy is unsustainable,” the ad urges “President-elect Trump to continue to develop a US policy that provides more dignity and respect for the leaders and people of Taiwan and further strengthen the ties between the two democratic nations.”

FAPA President Peter Chen (陳正義) said Taiwanese-Americans are encouraged by the groundbreaking Trump-Tsai phone call.

“So we want to make sure that the new administration continues on this road of unlimited promise,” he said. “Taiwan has been used as a pawn by great powers for far too long. The time is now that the US and the world look at Taiwan on its own merits, not as a bargaining chip.”

He also urged policymakers in Washington to view the Trump-Tsai phone call as “a stepping stone toward building a US policy that provides more dignity and respect for Taiwan and its people.”