Romberg: Taiwan Independence, Not One China, Crux of Cross-Strait Problems

 Romberg: Taiwan Independence, Not One China, Crux of Cross-Strait Problems

Source: United Daily News

March 1^st, 2017

          Alan Romberg, director of the East Asia Program at the Washington think tank the Stimson Center, stated that the crux of cross-Strait problems lies in the issue of Taiwan independence, and not the One China principle. He stated that President Tsai Ing-wen could “make clear that this [Taiwan independence] is not on her agenda, and she could, in the right circumstances, freeze the Taiwan independence plank in the party charter, and Beijing could indeed accept such a position. For Tsai to do that, she needs to be in a political position within Taiwan that allows her to do that, which I would argue at the moment she is not.”

          Romberg spoke at a panel discussion titled “Taiwan-PRC-US Relations: Managing the Triangle” at the Stimson Center on February 24^th, and he stated that “while PRC officials and political leaders insisted that accepting the One China principle is essential in maintaining the relationship that had developed over the Ma years, the critical issue, I believe, is not really that, but of Taiwan independence. Every reasonably complete statement made by the PRC insisted on acceptance of the “One China policy”, but every such statement also reserved its bottom-line warnings of action for any movement towards Taiwan independence.”

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