《白樂崎專欄》讓台灣關係正常化
為紀念美國前總統尼克森與國安顧問季辛吉一九七二年的中國訪問邁入四十週年，上週在華府的美國和平研究所舉辦了盛大的研討會，包括季辛吉等名人應邀出席，探討「改變世界的這一週」。
四十年前，美國採取行動結束中國政治孤立，並與中華人民共和國關係正常化。我們確實可以慶祝這個事實，但我們也需要觀察，該怎麼結束台灣目前仍遭受的不公正以及政治孤立。
一九七○年代初期，台灣由國民黨的蔣介石統治。他在二戰後來到台灣，實施鐵腕統治，不允許（占台灣八成五人口的）本土台灣人有任何插手政治的機會。他仍然信仰反攻大陸，持續宣稱統治整個中國。
幾年過去，這樣的想像漸漸站不住腳，隨著一九七一年十月聯合國二七五八號決議案將「蔣介石的代表」逐出聯合國，緊接著尼克森／季辛吉訪問中國，短短幾年之後的卡特總統時代，美國撤銷對台灣的承認。
這些發展讓中國與西方關係正常化的同時，也將台灣推向政治孤立。一九七九年，美國國會通過台灣關係法，此法確實提供了台灣最需要的國防保護傘，但僅便利非官方關係。
在一九五○、一九六○與一九七○年代都沒有發聲機會的台灣人，當時對國家事務也依舊無權置喙，一直要到台灣一九八○年代末期與一九九○年代初期經歷重大民主轉型之後，台灣人才在突然之間擁有言論自由，可以表達對未來的看法。
在這種新獲得言論自由之下，首先被討論到的其中一個話題，就是國際組織的會籍，「國際空間」。但因為崛起中國的影響力，一直以來，國際社會都對正面回應台灣爭取國際認同的要求有所遲疑，因此台灣人開始像現今所表現的一樣務實，勉強接受一種不自在的「現狀」。
不過，仍有人質疑：如果有遠見的領導人四十多年前可以打破傳統智慧與主流思維障礙，為什麼我們不能打破現今情勢中的類似障礙，朝著台灣關係正常化而努力？
可以與友善的鄰居在彼此承認、尊重彼此主權的基礎上合作，而非繼續讓不自在的「一個中國」陰影漫天飛舞，對中國來說會有利的多。這麼做，可讓中國停止軍事建構、拆解瞄準台灣的武器，將那些資源善用到建設經濟方面，這是可讓台海兩岸不再是冷戰遺留的爆發點的唯一方式。
對美國與其他西方國家來說，與台灣關係正常化，代表與東亞極少數的活躍民主政體增加貿易、文化交流，以及，是的，政治交流；對台灣來說，這些交流將是他們賴以維繫自由與民主的生命線，他們身為民主國家的未來仰賴於此。
因此，在我們慶祝四十年前的這項成就時，讓我們以行動幫助兩千三百萬台灣人，讓他們脫離一九七○年代在他們無法控制的不幸狀況下，強加的政治孤立。從那時開始，他們奮力獲致民主，因此他們需要被接受，成為與其他國家平起平坐、貨真價實的國際社會一員。
（作者白樂崎曾任美國副助理國務卿與美國駐外大使，在一九九○到九五年出任美國在台協會理事主席，現為本報團顧問，本文僅代表作者個人觀點／國際新聞中心譯）
Taiwan deserves normalized relations
By Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎 /
Tue, Mar 06, 2012 - Page 8
This week, the 40th anniversary of the 1972 visit to China by former US president Richard Nixon and his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, will be celebrated in Washington with a major conference at the US Institute of Peace. Celebrities like Kissinger himself will herald “The Week that Changed the World.”
While we indeed can celebrate the fact that 40 years ago, the US took steps to end China’s political isolation and normalize relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), we also need to see what needs to be done to end a remaining injustice, the continuing political isolation of Taiwan.
In the early 1970s, Taiwan was ruled by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) under the dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had come to the island after World War II. Chiang ruled with an iron fist and did not allow the native Taiwanese (85 percent of the population in Taiwan at the time) any say in the political system. Chiang believed in reconquering the mainland and maintained the pretense of ruling all of China.
Over the years, that fiction became less tenable, and with Resolution 2758 in October 1971, “the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek” were expelled from the UN. The Nixon-Kissinger trip followed shortly thereafter. De-recognition by the US came a few years later, under then-US president Jimmy Carter.
While these developments normalized relations between the PRC and the West, at the same time they pushed Taiwan into political isolation.
Taiwanese, who did not have any say at all during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, were still without a voice in their national affairs. This only came after the country’s momentous transition to democracy in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Suddenly, Taiwanese could speak freely and express their views on their future.
One of the first topics on the agenda under this newly found freedom was membership in international organizations, or “international space.” However, because of the clout of a rising China, the international community has been hesitant to respond positively to this quest for international recognition. Taiwanese, pragmatic as they are, are made to do with an uneasy “status quo.”
Still, one wonders if visionary leadership was able to break through barriers of conventional wisdom and mainstream thinking 40 years ago, why can we not break through similar barriers in the present situation and work toward the normalization of relations with Taiwan?
For China, it would be much more advantageous to be able to work with a friendly neighbor on the basis of mutual recognition. It could stop its military buildup, dismantle the weapons aimed at Taiwan and put those resources to good use in building the economy. That is the only way in which the cross-strait conflict can be removed as one of the Cold War’s remaining flashpoints.
For the US and other Western nations, the normalization of relations with Taiwan would mean increased trade, cultural and, yes, political exchanges with one of the few vibrant democracies in East Asia. For Taiwan, these exchanges are a lifeline for its freedom and democracy. Its future as a democratic nation depends on it.
So, as we celebrate the achievements of 40 years ago, let us take steps to help bring the 23 million Taiwanese of a political isolation imposed on them in the early 1970s by unfortunate circumstances beyond their control. Since then, they have fought hard to achieve their democracy and deserve to be accepted as a full and equal member in the international community, just like any other nation.
Nat Bellocchi is a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan. The views expressed in this article are his own.
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