Obama Goes Mao

As T-shirts featuring a stylized Obama and Mao were selling like hot cakes in Beijing, and health care nationalization that Mao himself might have approved of was moving through congress, Barack Hussein Obama took the opportunity to embrace his inner Mao by predictably enough selling out the last remnants of Taiwan's sovereignty vis a vis the political successors of Mao's monstrous Communist butchers, the People's Republic of China.

"I have been clear in the past that my administration fully supports a one-China policy, as reflected in the three joint communiqués that date back several decades, in terms of our relations with Taiwan as well as our relations with the People's Republic of China. We don't want to change that policy and that approach... and it is my deep desire and hope that we will continue to see great improvement between Taiwan and the rest of -- and the People's Republic in resolving many of these issues."

Barack Hussein Obama, Bejing, Nov 17, 2009

To understand just what Obama did here, we would have to go back across the long tragic history of  relations between America and Taiwan. Suffice it to say that after Jimmy Carter chose to unilaterally break a mutual defense treaty between the United States and Taiwan (an illegal act that resulted in a Supreme Court case filed by none other than Senator Barry Goldwater), the United States has maintained a slippery balance in its relations with Taiwan.

Before Obama, the United States has maintained the understanding that there is "One China", an understanding held by both the Communist People's Republic of China and the Nationalist Republic of China in Taiwan, who agree that there is only one government for all of China, but disagree which of them is that government. In the wake of Nixon and Carter's betrayals of Taiwan, the United States adopted the position that Taiwan is not a state, but neither is it part of the PRC. In a handful of sentences, Obama has aligned the US interpretation of the One China policy with that of the Communist PRC's interpretation of the One China Policy.

Obama first stated that he "supports" a One China policy, rather than following the traditional US formula of "acknowledging" a One China policy. The difference is that acknowledging the policy, does not mean that the US adopts it. By contrast by supporting the policy, Obama has committed the US to backing the PRC position on One China.

Even the second of the Three Communiques, a work of the Carter Administration, maintained that distinction

The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.

The difference may seem technical, but keep in mind that entire countries have been given away based on "technical" diplomatic language. Obama knew exactly what he was saying here and what he was giving away by pledging support for the PRC's version of the One China policy.

Obama further referenced the Three Communiques as bearing the definitive American position on the matter. This sidelines the Taiwan Relations Act passed by Congress in the aftermath of Carter's betrayal of Taiwan. The significance of that is that the Taiwan Relations Act provided for American guarantees for Taiwan's defense. The Three Communiques which were signed by the US and China, cut both Congress and Taiwan out of the loop. In turn Congress has repeatedly passed resolutions to reaffirm the primary of the Taiwan Relations Act in the relationship between America and Taiwan. The latest such resolution was passed this year though the reference to the TRA as the "cornerstone" of American policy toward Taiwan was removed from it, a forerunner of what was to come. After some work the original wording was restored, only for Obama to once again undo it.

The Clinton Administration had already undermined Reagan's Six Assurances to Taiwan. Now Obama has thrown out the fifth assurance altogether. The PRC leadership certainly understands what they have gained. Hu was quick to issue a statement that Obama has recognized his regime's "One China" policy.

Chinese President Hu Jintao hailed U.S. President Barack Obama's recognition of sovereignty issues dear to China, after a bilateral meeting in Beijing on Tuesday.

"China approves of President Obama's repeated reiteration of the one-China principle," Hu told reporters.

Finally Obama stated that Taiwan was not part of China, but rather part of the People's Republic of China. This is effectively a denial of any sovereignty for Taiwan whatsoever. Obama has erased the deliberate ambiguity that the US has cultivated with regard to the position of Taiwan by stating that Taiwan is part of the PRC. This reduces it to the status of a rebellious province, a position that China has always held. And while Obama did not explicitly disavow further US arms sales to Taiwan, considering his disregard for the TRA and the Six Assurances, such a move may not be long in coming.

Obama's actions are not completely unprecedented. Nixon and Carter paved the way, and Clinton on his own visit to China in 1997 significantly downgraded Taiwan's status. The question is whether Congress will respond to Obama's remarks, the way it did to Clinton's "Three Noes".Considering the current Democratic congress, the answer is probably no.

This policy should not be seen as a complete surprise either. Rejected former nominee for Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, was openly on the PRC payroll and an apologist for its worst atrocities. By drafting the National Intelligence Estimate, Freeman would have been in an ideal position to put pen to paper and make the argument that Taiwan was no longer threatened by the People's Republic of China, and thereby drastically limit or cut off arms sales to China entirely.

Dennis C. Blair, Obama's Director of National Intelligence, who nominated Freeman and backed him all the way, served as a collaborator in the Muslim Indonesian genocide of East Timor, also got rather cozy with China, assuring the Bush Administration that there was nothing to worry about with regard to an invasion of Taiwan, until he was finally forced out by Rumsfeld. That is the character of the Obama Administration's position on Taiwan.

As a Senator running for office, Obama refused to back the sale of F-16's to Taiwan. As Taiwan's air force continues to age, it will have less ability to resist the People's Republic of China, without additional US arms sales. Obama dodged the question about arms sales to Taiwan, and it's likely that he will continue to dodge it, thereby weakening Taiwan and strengthening China.

In 1973 Mao assumed that the People's Republic of China would have to wait another century to seize Taiwan. But he had not counted on Carter and Obama who less than 50 years later, have brought the vision of that red handed mass murderer closer to being than ever.