[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E770-E771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TAIWAN OPPOSITION LEADER ARRIVES IN CHINA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 26, 2005

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, a historic event occurred today 
in the history of Taiwan-Chinese relations, the Leader of Taiwan's 
Nationalist Party arrived in China for the first meeting between the 
party of Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists since the Chinese Civil War 
``ended'' nearly six decades ago.
  I know that relations across the Taiwan Straits have been much on the 
minds of many members of Congress in recent months, especially after 
the Chinese passed the Taiwanese Anti-Secession Law. Although not an 
official Taiwanese Government visit, the eight-day trip by Lien Chan 
does represent an opportunity to test the waters, and put the issue of 
peaceful co-existence between these two historic antagonists back into 
the realm of public debate.
  Analysts and China-watchers disagreed on whether Lien's trip can help 
ease Taiwan-China tensions. Some have argued that Chen is simply being 
used by Communist officials to foster a schism in Taiwanese society. 
Others, such as Robert L. Downen, a former U.S. State Department Policy 
Advisor for East Asia during the Reagan administration believe that the 
Lien Chan can win Beijing's trust and cooperation. Mr. Downen has 
written an interesting Op-Ed piece supporting his position that is 
worth considering, and I would like to have the text of Mr. Downen's 
Op-Ed placed into the Congressional Record following my statement.
  I do not know which side of this debate is right, and I suspect that 
it will ultimately be left to the judgment of history to decide whether 
this trip accomplished anything. Nevertheless, a security crisis over 
Taiwan is something we all must work to avert and perhaps Lien Chen's 
visit can in some small way persuade the Chinese Government to 
reconsider their recent actions and return to the ``Good Neighbor'' 
policy that has worked so effectively for so long. The quest for peace 
is worth that small gamble.

                             Back on Track

                         (By Robert L. Downen)

       Nearly overlooked in a recent series of pessimistic news 
     stories about rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait is a 
     small but important initiative. Direct, though unofficial 
     talks between senior statesmen of China and Taiwan are about 
     to occur after an interruption of several years. Cross-Strait 
     talks offer a glimmer of hope in an otherwise stormy policy 
     arena. There simply has been too long a delay in direct 
     contact between antagonists in such a sensitive forum as this 
     one. Face to face communication is overdue.
       The set of policy actors on both sides has changed 
     substantially since talks last occurred in the 1990s, and 
     post-9/11 global security and political factors form a 
     different environment. The political stalemate between the 
     Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan is an anachronistic 
     relic of the Cold War demanding attention, and only direct 
     talks will bring about an accommodation. The present 
     leadership in Taipei seems unable to break the icy standoff, 
     and so the opposition Nationalist Party Chairman Lien Chan a 
     former vice president and premier of Taiwan but now a private 
     citizen has accepted an invitation to visit China in April 
     and will meet there with its President Hu Jintao. Lien calls 
     his mission ``a trip for peace.''
       After more than a half-century of deep mistrust between 
     Beijing and Taipei, further estrangement only aggravates the 
     situation politically, militarily, and economically. Direct 
     talks between semi-official representatives of the two sides 
     in the early 1990s did lead to a few practical agreements on 
     handling postal exchanges, fishing disputes, and airline 
     hijackings, as well as a promising agreement to disagree over 
     the meaning of ``one China.'' But that dialogue eventually 
     broke down over statements by public officials and missile 
     tests conducted by China in the Taiwan vicinity. The lapse of 
     time since then has produced additional misunderstandings and 
     stagnation. New governments in both Beijing and Taipei have 
     missed opportunities for contact and occasionally provoked 
     the situation by careless public remarks and behaviors in 
     recent years.
       In diplomacy, as in private business, if you are not moving 
     forward you are effectively moving backwards. Inaction is 
     equivalent to regression. Mistrust and lack of confidence on 
     both sides has produced accusations and counter-accusations, 
     fueling arms build-ups

[[Page E771]]

     and cross-Strait tensions that increasingly worry the U.S. 
     and its allies. China's recent enactment of an ``anti-
     secession law'' and its continuing ballistic missile build-up 
     adjacent to the Strait has produced palpable concern in 
     Washington and European capitals. It has jeopardized the 
     Asian-Pacific region's promising economic development and 
     political stability of recent years.
       The time has truly come for bold, creative initiative 
     otherwise known as leadership based on self-confidence, to 
     break the deadlock. The late President Ronald Reagan believed 
     in proactive engagement with adversaries, saying old enemies 
     should ``trust but verify'' as they reach out and seek to 
     reconcile. Like President Reagan's outreach to the 
     Soviet Union in its final years, the Lien mission proposes 
     to go half-way in extending a gesture of peace, to open a 
     channel of communication to the other side.
       Lien's mission is reminiscent of previous milestones when 
     other statesmen chose to reach out to old adversaries at 
     opportune moments in history, often placing their personal 
     reputation and political legacy at risk in the process. His 
     gesture is not unlike that of President Richard Nixon who 
     opened doors for dialogue by visiting China in 1972; or 
     Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who traveled to Jerusalem in 
     1977 to open discussions with Israel; or even Pope John Paul 
     II who seized the initiative to visit Communist Eastern 
     Europe and later Cuba to open historic new contacts that he 
     believed could change old Cold War relationships.
       The international community should welcome this step 
     towards direct unofficial talks between Taiwan and China. 
     Dialogue cultivates mutual understanding, nurtures 
     confidence, builds trust, and creates opportunities for 
     healing wounds and moving forward to break the deadlock. 
     Never underestimate the power of personal engagement the 
     personal touch reduces tensions and prospects for conflict 
     while introducing very human avenues for potential 
     cooperation. There can be no harm in a fresh initiative that 
     energizes the peaceful process across the Strait and promotes 
     the welfare of the people of Taiwan in so many ways.
       Americans can cheer the Lien initiative because it serves 
     U.S. interests of peace, international stability, and 
     regional cooperation. It reduces the likelihood that U.S. 
     naval battle groups will once again have to move into the 
     Taiwan vicinity to avert possible conflict between the two 
     sides, as they did in 1996. It greatly improves the prospect 
     that Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait can forge new 
     channels of communication and cooperation, leading eventually 
     to a resolution of one of the world's most dangerous tension 
     spots. Engagement, not estrangement, is the means to 
     reconciliation and stability.

                          ____________________