Tucker, Nancy B

Abstract

Confrontation between China and Taiwan comprises the single most dangerous dispute for the US in the world today. Although the Taiwan Strait is peaceful again, and relations appear to be improving between Washington and Beijing as well as between Beijing and Taipei, all the problems that prompted the 1996 confrontation persist. For China, the aim is simple: to prevent Taiwan’s independence and all policies that promote it. For Taiwan, the question is more complicated, involving efforts to increase its international status, preserve its prosperity and nurture its fledgling democracy. For the US, relations between China and Taiwan pose a dilemma that reaches to the heart of its Asian posture. While US policy should be cautious and even-handed, Washington should not assume that unification is the only possible future.

PDF