Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

A recent US Congressional hearing held by US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on “Why Taiwan Matters” suggests continued US support for Taiwan and that Washington would not abandon Taiwan, Formosa Foundation chief executive Terri Giles said yesterday.

Ros-Lehtinen, who is also chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, is planning to organize and invite administration officials to a second congressional hearing on issues concerning Taiwan at the end of the year, Giles said, adding that she hoped the discussion would focus on democracy in Taiwan.

The June 16 hearing held by Ros-Lehtinen before the House Foreign Affairs Committee was the first hearing on Taiwan to be held in Congress in seven years.

Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Richard Bush yesterday expressed concern about whether Taiwan’s democratic system, which he said is “polarized” and “divided,” could withstand Beijing’s efforts to bring about unification.

Before wrapping up his short visit to Taipei, Bush remarked on the state of cross-strait relations and Taiwan’s democratic system during a roundtable discussion at a symposium entitled “A Spectacular Century: The Republic of China (ROC) Centennial Democracy Forums.”

In his speech, Bush discussed how the development of cross-strait relations might have constrained the choices available to Taiwan’s political system, examining how changes to the balance of power might have impacted Taiwan’s democracy.