He cannot determine Taiwan's sovereignty

Despite the US' praise for Chen Shui-bian's recent offer to start talks with China, Secretary of State Colin Powell said some really ignorant things on Monday during his visit there. From a Reuters article:

"Taiwan is not independent. It does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation, and that remains our policy, our firm policy," Powell told Phoenix TV.

In a subsequent interview with CNN's Mike Chinoy, Powell spoke of eventual "reunification," in contrast to the US' more ambiguously-stated policy of "the peaceful resolution of [Taiwan and China's] future relations ... by mutual decision":

MR. CHINOY: Last year President Bush said in the presence of China's Premier and I quote, "the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan, that's President Chen Shui-bian's, indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo which we oppose." It's clear China, even today, still feels that way about President Chen. Do you still feel that his comments, his actions, his attitude indicate that kind of direction and does it worry you?

SECRETARY POWELL: We have made it very clear to the authorities in Taiwan, to President Chen Shui-bian, that we do not support independence for Taiwan. Our One-China Policy, resting on the Three Communiqués and the Taiwan Relations Act, has served all of the parties quite well for a long period of time, and we would not support anything that would change that approach.

We want to see both sides not take unilateral action that would prejudice an eventual outcome, a reunification that all parties are seeking. And we think that this is the time for both sides to reach out to each other and find ways to discuss these issues. We were hoping that we would see an improvement in cross-straits dialogue, but our position is rather clear, we do not support independence for Taiwan. That would be inconsistent with our One-China Policy. And There is no doubt by either Chen Shui-bian's mind or any other Taiwanese leader's mind that that is a firm US policy that is not going to change. [Emphasis mine]

While the Taiwan Relations Act may have prevented war from breaking out so far, it hasn't stopped China from continually threatening Taiwan nor from increasing the number of missiles -- now said to be over 600 -- aimed at its tiny neighbor across the Taiwan Strait.

Chinoy is known for mentioning that "China considers Taiwan to be a renegade province," but he doesn't ever seem to emphasize the facts that Taiwan considers China a military threat, only buys defensive weapons, or continually tries to open talks with China which are not based on preconditions such as acceptance of the "one China" principle.

Taiwan's president Chen Shui-bian once again held out an olive branch to China in his recent National Day speech. China quickly responded by calling Chen's overtures "insincere" and again threatening to "to reunify Taiwan with the mainland by force if necessary."

In the weeks preceding Chen's speech, China had flown "over 30 sorties ... of bomber and fighter aircraft" which approached the middle line of the Taiwan Strait, creating an "extremely tense" and potentially quite dangerous situation. This may be what Chen was talking about when he suggested establishing a "Code of Conduct across the Taiwan Strait."

Understanding Taiwan's sovereignty
The Taiwan Documents Project presents a scholarly summary of the legalities and common misconceptions regarding such documents as the Treaty of Shimonoseki (secession of Taiwan from China to Japan in 1895), the 1943 Cairo Declaration (a "press release" with no binding signatures), the 1945 Yalta Declaration (and its failure to deal with "Formosa"), and more. See number 13 in particular, regarding the various definitions and means of acquisition of sovereignty. For further study, the summary also contains links to full text versions of all of the documents mentioned within.

Taiwan may currentlly live under a fucked up constitution (that of the "Republic of China"), but that does not cancel out the reality of the situation, in which the government in Taiwan does not exercise control over Mongolia or any part of the PRC.

Coming soon?
* Shooting down Bulletgate
* Kerry's landslide victory?

[Edited for spelling]