Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Several US academics have argued in recent articles that the US should distance itself from Taiwan because China’s power and influence are rising and it would become more “costly” for the US to maintain close ties with Taipei, and in particular maintain its defense obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act.

Charles Glaser of George Washington University argued along those lines in a recent article in Foreign Affairs, while Bob Sutter, of the same university, recently painted an equally gloomy picture, saying that the rise of China is giving Beijing leverage over Taiwan. Glaser added that in light of Taiwan’s weakening economic, diplomatic and military positions, the status quo in the Taiwan Strait was becoming unsustainable, meaning Taiwan has very limited options for its future and unification with China was virtually inevitable.

It is difficult to understand how one person can put so many misconceptions and distortions into one essay as John Copper did (“Could US policy abandon Taiwan?” May 11, page 8).

Copper has been around for some time, but from his vantage point in Memphis, Tennessee, he does not have the foggiest idea of how Washington works and what people in the US capital think. In a highly irresponsible manner he weaves a tale of misconstructions and outright falsehoods.

For example, he wrote that in 2009, during a meeting with Chinese leaders in Beijing, US President Barack Obama concurred that Taiwan is in China’s “core interest.”