U.S. Policy Toward Taiwan: Strategic Clarity And Strategic Ambiguity

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The Taiwan Question is an internal affair of China and a problem leaving over from China's civil war. Hu Jintao, The General Secretary of CPC (Communist Party of China) pointed out clearly that:" Although the mainland and Taiwan are yet to be reunified, the fact that they belong to one and the same China has never changed. Here we would like to make a solemn appeal: on the basis of the one-China principle, let us discuss a formal end to the state of hostility between the two sides, reach a peace agreement, construct a framework for peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, and thus usher in a new phase of peaceful development. We will make every effort to achieve anything that serves the interests of our Taiwan compatriots, contributes to the maintenance of peace in the Taiwan Straits region, and facilitates peaceful national reunification." Clearly, the Chinese Government and people hope for the early and peaceful reunification of the two sides.U.S. policy toward Taiwan not only affects the process of China's reunification, but also affects the policy of neighboring countries and other countries around the world toward Taiwan. U.S. policy toward China is "containment and engagement" for its global hegemony interests. It uses Taiwan to contain China, and wants to control the Asia-Pacific region, to expand the political, economic and strategic interests greatly in the cross-strait. Since the establishment of Sino-US relations, the American government has been adhering to the"strategic ambiguity". After George W. Bush was in power, American policy toward Taiwan began to change from "Strategic Ambiguity" to "Strategic Clarity".The full text altogether is divided into four parts. First, I embark from the definition the concepts. I defined Strategic Ambiguity and Strategic Clarity. The second part analyzes strategic ambiguity and strategic clarity from the following aspects: the United States national interests and ideology, the global strategy of the United States,the change of development of Sino-US relations and of the development of cross-strait relations and of the situation in Taiwan . The third part analyzes the essence of Strategic Ambiguity and Strategic Clarity. Strategic Ambiguity and Strategic Clarity are different and at the same time they are connected closely with each. Since the emergence of the Taiwan Question, China, the United States, the Taiwan authorities have repeatedly game and contest. The change from Strategic Ambiguity to Strategic Clarity shows a double threat to China and Taiwan. It also wants to prevent the war in the Taiwan Strait. Part IV of the article forecast the trend United States'Taiwan policy. U.S. policy toward Taiwan in the future is still in the development of Sino-US framework and the policy will contain ambiguity and clarity together. China attaches great importance to the development of Sino-US relations. However, China will never allow the United States to play the "Taiwan card" to undermine China's reunification and power. At the last I concluded: China should deeply think American strategy behind the Strategic Ambiguity and Strategic Clarity and its influence for the relationship of the two countries and cross-strait while China pays attention to the Sino-US relations and the expansion of common interests of the two countries.China should analysis the intention behind the strategic. Only if can we understand correctly American policy toward Taiwan can we deal with the change of its policy and achieve the reunification as early as possibly.