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Ensuring Peace and Prosperity in Taiwan
| Article
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14531 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
3 / 1988 |
1,348 Words |
| Author
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Martin L. Lasater
Martin L. Lasater, formerly director of the Asian Studies
Center at the Heritage Foundation, is president of the Pacific
Council, based in Columbia, Maryland. |
The January 13 passing of President Chiang Ching-kuo of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan was an important turning point in the modern history of Asia. His death not only ends the Chiang era in Chinese politics (his father, Chiang Kai-Shek, brought the Nationalist government to Taiwan following its defeat by the Chinese communists in 1949), it also ushers in a period of uncertainty for the 19.5 million inhabitants of Taiwan.
President Chiang was a unique statesmen. He combined virtually unlimited power in Taiwanese politics with political acumen and personal courage. Facing him were enormous challenges: How to bring economic prosperity to an island largely devoid of natural resources and with a population density higher than mainland China's; how to ensure his country's continued survival in the face of diplomatic isolation and persistent threats from Beijing; how to maintain his government's legitimacy in view of its claim to represent all China although it controls only Taiwan and a few offshore islands; and how to democratize Taiwan's political system, while ensuring that differences between the island's native Taiwanese and transplanted mainland populations (85 percent vs. 15 percent) did not tear the system apart.
Chiang did not solve all these problems, but he did approach them with patience, insight, and creativity. It was his decision, for example, to expand Taiwanese participation in the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) political party and in government. He personally brought into public service younger, highly trained technocrats who subsequently implemented his reform ideas. To help redress the trade imbalance, Chiang ordered Taiwan trade officials to drastically lower barriers to U.S. goods and services. He reformed elements
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