Hopes were high in Taiwan when Barack Obama became President of the United States in January 2009. Obama had campaigned on the promise of change and that gave many in Taiwan hope for a way out from the "strategic ambiguity" imposed on the island by the United States in 1945.
When World War II ended with the Japanese surrender to the United States in August 1945, the U.S. allowed the Japanese to continue to rule the island territory commonly called Formosa. Then, in October, the Seventh Fleet of the U.S. Navy landed Chinese Nationalist troops of Chiang Kai-shek on the island to process Japanese soldiers thus beginning the longstanding ambiguity that prevents the island residents a representative to the World Health Organization, membership in the United Nations, or even participation in a recent climate change conference.
Taiwan, at the crossroads of history, became locked into limbo with the advent of the Cold War following World War II. The outbreak of the Korean "police action" in 1950 further cemented Taiwan's ambiguity with the United States recognizing the exiled Kuomintang regime Chiang Kai-shek as the legitimate government of China.
While Chiang Kai-shek's so-called "Free China" consolidated its hold on Taiwan with harsh martial law the United States looked the other way to massive human rights violations. Taiwan became a huge, secret base of U.S. covert operations throughout all of Asia and the U.S. protected the Republic of China in-exile while denying the people of Taiwan an opportunity to have self-determination.
The District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals has described the sad situation as one of "political purgatory" and this summer urged President Obama to act "expeditiously" to end the ambiguity that "infects" the daily life of the island. Instead, Obama ignored the federal appellate court and remained silent on the "political purgatory" cited by the court.
In November, during his trip to China, President Obama finally spoke about Taiwan. Obama subscribed to the "One China" doctrine and stated he didn't want to disturb the precedent of his predecessors. What Harry Truman didn't finish after World War II, Barack Obama has signaled he will also leave undone--determination of Taiwan's unresolved standing in the international community.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals ruling about Taiwan's unhappy fate leaving the matter to President Obama since the courts lack war powers. Taiwan remains threatened by Chinese missiles and more U.S. arms sales to the ROC are under negotiation.
For the 23 million residents of Taiwan, 2010 promises to be another year in purgatory.
Source: Examiner - Michael Richardson 2009/12/31
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