TAIWAN RELATIONS ACT 20 YEARS OF SUCCESS TAIWAN RELATIONS ACT AT TWENTY YEARS BY CHIEN-JEN CHEN THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA— PARTNER FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY THERE'S SOMETHING MISSING FROM THE WTO TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA ACKNOW- LEDGEMENTS WEATHER MAP CURRENCY CONGRESSIONAL RECORD taipei.org asiannet.com GIO BOFT

Taiwan Relations Act at Twenty Years By Chien-jen Chen Government Spokesman and Director-General, Government Information Office Republic of China The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) is unique among foreign policy instruments, since it is, strictly speaking, a domestic law of the United States of America. Unprecedented in form and purpose, this bipartisan legislative effort has generally served the interests of the United States, the Republic of China and the Asia-Pacific region. It was the result of collaboration between the White House and Capitol Hill in 1979 to work out a way for relations between the Republic of China and the United States of America to continue after the suspension of formal diplomatic ties. The TRA has indeed provided a solid and lasting framework for substantive relations between Taiwan and the United States over the last twenty years. It has done so by defining the parameters of the Washington-Taipei relationship and affirming the premise of the peaceful development of cross-strait relations. And remarkably, this law has withstood the test of time without being revised. Looking back over the past twenty years, the TRA has fostered attainment of the policy purpose declared in the first paragraph of the act: regional peace and stability, and the continuation of relations between Taiwan and America. Despite all the various economic and geopolitical vicissitudes of the past two decades, adherence to these major policy purposes remains the solid foundation of a peaceful and stable regional order in the Asia-Pacific region today. UNIQUE The TRA can be described succinctly as unique, practical, flexible, and durable. The use of a piece of domestic legislation to shape US foreign policy was certainly a unique and ingenious congressional solution to a difficult problem created by the terms under which Washington had agreed to normalize relations with Beijing. The result is an act that is not subject to amendment or termination directly by the Executive Branch. The symbolism of this novel approach is particularly noteworthy. It reflects the degree to which Congress has been and continues to be concerned with relations with Taiwan. And even more importantly, it underscores how the TRA serves as a direct expression of the views of the American people toward the importance of maintaining ties with Taiwan. The TRA is a unique document governing a unique relationship. PRACTICAL A second key quality of the TRA is its inherent practicality. The Carter Administration took Washington and the world by surprise when it announced the suspension of diplomatic ties with the Republic of China and the intention to terminate the 1954 Mutual Defense Treaty. The first question on everyone's lips then was "What next for Taiwan and America?" An immediate, comprehensive and far-sighted answer was needed for how to continue an important relationship that Beijing insisted had to be broken off as a condition of normalization in 1978. DURABLE The fourth of the TRA's special qualities, durability, is evident in the generally good track record of the law over a significant period of time when many changes have occurred in the geopolitical order of the world. This law has in most cases functioned fairly well in the course of nurturing the necessary conditions for fulfilling the US foreign policy objectives spelled out in its opening paragraph. For instance, 20 years of dedication and hard work have resulted in growth of two-way trade from US$7.3 billion in 1979 to US$49 billion in 1998. America currently buys one-quarter of Taiwan's exports, while Taiwan is America's 7th largest export market overall, and 5th largest market for US agricultural exports. Results in Taiwan's domestic development have also been impressive. The Republic of China's per capita Gross Domestic Product has risen steeply over the past two decades, from US$1,417 in 1978 to US$12,059 in 1998. This has led to a substantial rise in Taiwan's standard of living while personal income has risen nearly tenfold. Taiwan has remained stable, despite continued expressions of hostility by Beijing. With the first-ever direct popular election in 1996 of the President of the Republic of China, political leaders at every level of government from local officials to the head of state are now directly accountable to the voters of Taiwan. Democratization has led to an unprecedented flourishing of civil liberties on Taiwan, such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press, that are reflected in its lively multiparty politics, vibrant social diversity, and intensely competitive media. At no point along the way has it been necessary to revise the TRA in order to achieve these results. It has continued to serve as the stable basis of relations between Taiwan and the US despite various attempts by Beijing to circumscribe or limit the effectiveness of one or another of its provisions through joint communiqus. Its long-lasting nature is the clearest reflection possible of the unchanging and essential importance of ties between Taiwan and the US. Page 1 of 3 Back to Top