Historic Documents

Article 1(2) of the Charter of the United Nations states: The purposes of the United Nations are: “To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples…..”
It provides the people of Taiwan with the legal basis for their right of self-determination. Their quest for self-determination is guaranteed by international treaties such as the UN Charter.

In 1972, the Cold War produced a rapprochement in Sino-American relations to counter the threat the USSR posed. In the Shanghai Communiqué, the US initiated a “One China Policy,” although Taiwan had never been part of China. The US abandoned Taiwan and its people to clear the path for establishing diplomatic relations with the PRC, resulting in Taiwan’s complete diplomatic and political isolation.

The collapse of the USSR has removed the Soviet threat and rendered the old US strategy of the US playing the “China Card” obsolete. A revision of the 1972 Communiqué should be called for to grant Taiwan the international status and recognition it deserves.

The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) was initiated by Congress and signed into law by President Carter. US-Taiwan diplomatic relations had been terminated three months earlier. The US Congress found it necessary to enact the TRA.

The TRA created the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) – a private corporation to handle “unofficial relations” between Taiwan and the US.

Important clauses in the TRA are: It is the policy of the US 1) to declare that peace and stability in the area are in the political, security and economic interests of the United States, and are matters of international concern; 2) to make clear that the United States decision to establish diplomatic relations with the PRC rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means; 3) to consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means … a threat to the peace and security of the western Pacific area and of grave concern to the US; 4) to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character;

PRC leaders see the TRA as aimed at “preventing China’s reunification” and have demanded its revocation.

* Importance: The US vows that the US decision to establish diplomatic relations with the PRC rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means. The TRA played an important role in March 1996, when the US sent aircraft carriers to the Taiwan Strait in the midst of Chinese war games aimed at Taiwan.

In the Second Shanghai Communiqué, the provisions of the (first) Shanghai Communiqué were reiterated. It declared that the US recognizes the Government of the PRC as the sole legitimate government of China, and it acknowledged the Chinese position that there is but one China and that Taiwan is part of China. During the conclusion of the Communiqué, the Chinese government restated that the Taiwan question is China’s internal affair. The US stated that “it has no intention of pursuing a policy of “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”

The question of US arms sales to Taiwan was not settled when US-PRC diplomatic relations were established. In this Communiqué, the US stated that “it intends to reduce gradually its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final resolution.”

* Importance: By means of this Communiqué, the US expresses its support for a peaceful solution of Taiwan’s status.

In 1994 Clinton administration undertook a review on U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

In the 1994 review, U.S. pledges to “actively support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations accepting non-states as members, and look for ways have Taiwan’s voice heard in organizations of states where Taiwan’s membership is not possible”. It later becomes a basis for U.S. Congress to support Taiwan’s WHO bid.