Word: strait
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...national identity" in his speech, he dropped a controversial plan to write a new constitution that was to be endorsed by a referendum-a step Washington feared could be perceived by Beijing as tantamount to a declaration of independence, and which could push the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to the brink of war. Asked by a TIME reporter what he thought of Chen's address, Paal smiled and said: "I am happy with what I heard today...
...geopolitics of the Taiwan Strait is a delicate balancing act between Taiwan, China and the U.S. What's said and unsaid can either generate harmony (or at least a temporary truce in the continual war of words between Taipei and Beijing), or friction, or at worst outright conflict. In this complex triangular relationship, Washington is in the most awkward position. It has a "one China" policy but is obligated by its Taiwan Relations Act to come to the island's defense if Taiwan is attacked by the Chinese military. Indeed, in 1996, Washington dispatched two aircraft carriers to the waters...
...change the status quo with China; a clarification that any changes to the current constitution would not touch on sensitive areas such as the definition of national territory; and the notable omission of his often repeated phrase, condemned by Beijing, of "one country on either side of the Taiwan Strait"-were the result of intense negotiations between Washington and Taipei after Chen won Taiwan's bitterly contested presidential polls by a razor-thin majority in March. "We spent a great deal of time with the Taiwanese, talking about what we thought was constructive," says a senior U.S. State Department official...
...that if Taiwan's leaders took any steps toward independence, it would "crush their schemes firmly and thoroughly at any cost." But although it made them contingent on Chen's accepting Beijing's "one China" policy, the same statement also put forward seven points seemingly designed to put cross-strait ties on a more stable footing. They ranged from confidence-building measures, such as proposals for increased visitor exchanges, to suggestions of closer economic cooperation. Beijing even seemed to address Taiwan's deepest concerns-military security and the island's place on the world stage-by calling for the establishment...
...attitude of Taiwan's people toward their national and cultural identity was stereotypical at best. It was uncannily similar to the tone adopted by Taiwan's President, Chen Shui-bian, in his attempt to purge Chinese culture from Taiwan and segregate Taiwan's people from their counterparts across the strait. If the people of Taiwan truly wish to declare themselves non-Chinese, they will have to stop speaking the Chinese language and will need to pretend that the mainland is just a place far, far away that never played a significant role in the history of Taiwan. Wang Yinchu Singapore...