The United States and the Republic of China: Democratic Friends, Strategic Allies, and Economic Partners

What is the current state of relations between the United States and the Republic of China on Taiwan and how might they be improved? These were the broad questions addressed at a conference co-sponsored by the Claremont Institute's Asian Studies Center and the Institute of International Relations in Los Angeles in 1989. This volume, which brings together the papers presented by American and Chinese scholars, diplomats, and businessmen, considers the current international status of the Republic of China and its economic and strategic partnership with the United States. Despite the Carter administration's 1978 decision to officially recognize the Communist government on mainland China, unofficial ties between the United States and Taiwan are stronger now than ever, due in part to Taiwan's economic progress. The island is no longer simply a source of well-made, low-tech manufactured goods. It is competing with Japan and South Korea to provide high-tech items to its customers around the world. Per capita income on Taiwan has risen steadily since 1949, and promises to continue upward. In the hands of Taiwan's knowledgeable population, this capital is yielding profits of its own. During the late 1980s, Taiwanese investment in the United States reached significant levels and is certain to accelerate during the 1990s. In the interest of mutual security, the United States and the Republic of China have continued to cooperate closely. Working under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, both countries have kept Taiwan's military defenses strong and ensured stability in the entire region. For all their mutual interests, it is a common commitment to the principles of free government that binds the U.S. and Taiwan and transcends differences in the realm of perceived expediency. We have been recently and brutally reminded of the severe limitations that differences of underlying principle impose upon America's relations with the People's Republic of China. The Tiananmen Massacre underscored the special and abiding bond between America and Taiwan. This volume serves to illuminate that bond. It will be of interest to sinologists, economists, and foreign policy analysts.