A victory by Tsai would have rattled Beijing at a time when Chinese leaders are especially jittery ahead of a leadership transition later this year. It could also have complicated Washington’s efforts to reassure China about its intentions after a “pivot” in American diplomacy toward Asia and the unveiling last week of a new U.S. defense strategy focused on the Asia-Pacific region. China suspects a U.S. push to “contain” its growing power.
The Obama administration didn’t openly take sides in the election, but took steps that were widely seen here as signaling a preference for Ma. These included a flurry of recent visits by senior officials and an announcement that Taiwanese citizens, who make about 400,000 visits to the United States a year, will probably be included in a visa-waiver program.
“The administration liked the fact that tensions had been reduced across the Taiwan Strait . . . and rewarded Ma,” said Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who, from 2002 to 2006, served as director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy in Taipei.
Ma’s win, said Paal, will be a relief to Washington as it means “there will not be a new and undetermined element” that could raise tensions and hurt chances of “Chinese cooperation on North Korea, the South China Sea and Iran.”
Paal stirred a flap on the eve of Saturday’s election when he suggested in an interview with a Taiwanese television station that Washington didn’t like Tsai’s policy toward China and wanted Ma to win. Tsai’s supporters worried that this would be taken as an American government endorsement for the incumbent. The leader of a group of foreign election observers, former Alaska senator Frank Murkowski, denounced Paal’s comments.
Paal, who is visiting Taiwan, said he was speaking only for himself. The incident nonetheless caused discomfort at the American Institute in Taiwan, whose current director abruptly canceled a meeting with Paal scheduled for election day.
Loading...
Comments