Taiwan mustn't let down guard: scholars

Christopher C. DeMuth and Arthur C. Brooks, respectively the former and incumbent presidents of the renowned U.S. think tank American Enterprise Institute (AEI), made the remarks at a media seminar in Taipei that wrapped up their four-day visit to Taiwan.

Noting that it is a “wonderful thing” for Taiwan and China to build closer links through commercial, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, DeMuth urged Taiwan not to “ever to put down your guard because we know how the People's Republic of China (PRC) wants this to end.”

He suggested that the Taiwan government take advantage of all opportunities and look for ways to build closer ties with Beijing, but to be also very wary of China's intentions to do things that are harmful and would restrict Taiwan's freedom.

“I think he (Ma) is highly cognizant of the reality of the kind of the government that exists over there,” DeMuth said when asked whether he thinks Ma is aware of the PRC's intentions.

“I think that he has no intention of letting his country fall under the sway of a government such as that,” added the respected scholar who served as AEI president for 22 years.

Asked whether the AEI is concerned about the Ma administration leaning too much toward China by entering into a truce with Beijing to end the long-standing diplomatic tug-of-war between the two sides as some critics and the opposition parties have charged, DeMuth said that the AEI is not concerned about that.

Brooks said that positions are not important,but rather principles are, and that is the basis of successful diplomacy.

He added that the government needs to bear in mind what Taiwan wants, noting that according to Ma, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and everybody else, “peace, prosperity and freedom” are the goals.

“If something helps prosperity, it should be entertained,” Brooks said. “Staying free is also important and that's where the balance lies, not losing autonomy just for the sake of trade, but not passing up opportunities for people to become more prosperous.”

Asked if Taiwan has anything to worry about with the scheduled visit of the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Asia, both scholars said that the U.S. government does not give enough attention to Taiwan and does too little for the country.

Brooks said that Taiwan should always be worried when anybody from the U.S. State Department is talking to the PRC about Taiwan because the State Department is strongly biased toward big powerful important countries and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

“Our State Department has given far too little attention to the strategic importance of Taiwan and far too much attention to simply the convenience of the people across the table from them who are from the PRC,” he said.

DeMuth said that the U.S. has not done as much as it should have to help Taiwan defend itself against the buildup of military threats from the PRC.

“What should we do to help make sure that Taiwan can defend itself... we have not done nearly as much in terms of providing you with important defensive weaponry,” he said.

They both urged that the American government lift the ban on visits by high-level military officials to the U.S. because there is no reason to do the job indirectly and inefficiently, adding that the U.S. should stand up for its principles and help its ally.

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