In a revealing assessment of Sino-American relations, the official People's Daily has published an article on its website suggesting that the bilateral relationship, after some rough periods from 2001-02, has now stabilised.
The article, headlined: 'US policy toward Taiwan swings to the middle', indicates that the central government finds current American policy towards Taiwan acceptable, despite the White House's ties to the Chen Shui-bian administration.
The article said that after George W. Bush first entered the White House, 'under the pressure of the Republican Party's pro-Taiwan conservative forces, Bush's Taiwan policy for a time deviated' from the policy of predecessors since diplomatic relations were first established in 1979.
It recalled that in April 2001 the United States announced approval for the largest arms sale to Taiwan since 1992, including the sale of eight submarines.
The US also relaxed restrictions on visits by high-ranking Taiwan officials and promoted ties with the Taiwan military.
As a result, it said, 'for a while, Taiwan independence elements were jubilant' and thought the US 'would not hesitate to battle against the Chinese mainland to 'defend' Taiwan'. In this environment, it said Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian 'brazenly dished out the theory of one country on each side of the straits', precipitating a new crisis. This naturally irritated the United States, it said, because American policy towards Taiwan, 'after all, serves the interest of the United States, not Taiwan'.
The article, in analysing American policy, declared that the White House's objective is to preserve the status quo. It said: 'US Taiwan policy has always aimed to maintain a no-unification, no-independence and no-war status on both sides of the strait.' On the one hand, it said, the US obstructs unification by selling arms to Taiwan, but on the other it does not allow 'the Taiwan authorities to legally practice Taiwan independence'.
