Tracking Number: 207140
Title: "Taiwan's Democratization Progressing Well."
Speaking during a lecture at the Heritage Foundation, American Institute in Taiwan chairman and managing director Nat Bellocchi said Taiwan's democratization is going remarkably well but there is little chance that it will make any moves soon toward independence or reunification with the Chinese mainland. (911212)
Author: MORSE, JANE A (USIA STAFF WRITER)
Date: 19911212
Text:
*PXF409
12/12/91 *
ATTN. HONG KONG/AIT:
TAIWAN'S DEMOCRATIZATION PROGRESSING WELL
(AIT Chairman Bellochi at Heritage) (790)
By Jane A. Morse
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- Taiwan's democratization is progressing "remarkably well," but there is little chance that it will make any moves soon toward independence or reunification with the Chinese mainland, according to Nat Bellocchi, chairman and managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).
Bellocchi, a career foreign service officer, gave his personal views on the political and economic directions in which Taiwan is moving during a lecture December 12 for the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation.
Democratization in Taiwan, he said, "has moved along remarkably well, remarkably quickly, and remarkably stably." Public debate and the media (print media more so than television) have become much more open, he said, which increases the accountability of government officials to the people.
"The political institutions on Taiwan are already becoming more representative; and they are slated to become even more so in the future," he said. Furthermore, political power is being dispersed in an orderly way from the central government to the local government, from the older generation to the new, and is increasingly including Taiwan's native population, Bellocchi pointed out.
But while there does seem to be a general consensus among the people of Taiwan that a more open political system is desirable, there is no consensus regarding future prospects for either independence from or reunification with mainland China, he said. Most Taiwanese, he noted, see either alternative as "too risky or too unacceptable at this time." Bellocchi pointed out that the majority of Taiwan's leaders and citizens understand the importance of stability and are undertaking political reforms with "realism and understanding."
Elections are set for a new National Assembly and the legislature, and constitutional reforms will be considered, he noted. With their successful completion, it will be "fair to say that (Taiwan) will have in place at that time a political system that is based on laws rather than on individuals, that has a reasonable respect for human rights, that has regular, open, contested elections, and distributes power in a way that gives it a reasonable
GE 2 PXF409 chance that it not be abused," Bellochi said. "I think that's a pretty good definition of political legitimacy."
Taiwan's increasing political legitimacy is strengthening its position on the international stage as is its growing economic strength, he noted. As the 13th largest trader in the world and the second largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, Taiwan will soon join the ranks of fully developed countries.
How does this impact the course for mainland-Taiwan relations?
The gap between the people on both sides of the straits is enormous, Bellocchi said, in terms of their political and economic views, their views of the world, and even in terms of social differences. Taiwan's democratization, he noted, gives the people more to say about how negotiations will proceed with the mainland. Tensions are now relatively low on both sides, but he added that the political conditions that both sides lay down for the other are still very far apart. Resolution of the ultimate mainland-Taiwan relationship is going to take a very long time, he predicted.
Taiwan's growing economic strength poses a vexing question to the world, Bellocchi pointed out: "Is it right to have a player in the international system as important as that (Taiwan) not subjected to the responsibilities and the disciplines of the international organizations that deal in international commerce?"
A positive step forward in this regard, he said, has been Taiwan's (Chinese Taipei) admission this year as one of three Chinese economies into APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation -- a loosely-structured economic organization which includes as its members Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the United States.)
Also helpful, he said, has been President Bush's recent statement of support for Taiwan's admission into the GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade -- the Swiss- based body that seeks to referee world trade.) If Taiwan were to be admitted to the GATT, he said, the beneficial results would include more transparency in government procurement, and, if the Uruguay Round is successfully concluded, an elimination of agricultural subsidies. He noted that Taiwan has applied for admission to the GATT as a "customs territory" to avoid any political ramifications vis a vis the mainland.
The United States and the international community as a whole, Bellocchi said, "are going to continue to face this kind of agonizing decision on what to do on balancing
GE 3 PXF409 Taiwan's need and necessity to be a player in the international economic arena and our other interests." But contending with Taiwan's growing importance as an economic power will have to be addressed on a case by case basis, he predicted.
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File Identification: 12/12/91, PX-409
Product Name: Wireless File
Product Code: WF
Keywords: TAIWAN/Politics & Government; GOVERNMENT REFORMS; BELLOCCHI, NAT;
CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS; INDEPENDENCE; REUNIFICATION (TERRITORY); FREEDOM OF PRESS; FREEDOM OF SPEECH; PUBLIC OPINION; CHINA, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF/Economic & Soc
Thematic Codes: 140
Target Areas: EA
PDQ Text Link: 207140
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