There is a great deal of concern in the Chinese military that Taiwan's reunification with China is drifting further and further away.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The PRC is the big brother in this relationship, and it has the capacity to be generous to Taiwan on this issue in a manner that might do much to defuse that issue internally in Taiwan.
It's very important for Taiwan to maintain its international contact.
Our policy for the last many years has been to deter the Chinese government in Beijing from ever coming into the position where they thought they had enough leverage over the U.S. to cross the Straits of Taiwan.
Ultimately, China may use force to push for unification with Taiwan, a scenario we all must work to prevent.
We see China becoming an unstoppable force. It's a huge threat and a huge opportunity.
I have spent time discussing the American political system and current events in Taiwan with the junior diplomats, and they have repeatedly expressed their country's desire to avoid confrontation with China.
Taiwan is a major economy.
When the Taiwan Relations Act passed in 1979, our biggest concern was preventing the use of military force against Taiwan. Little did we know that our friends on Taiwan could so effectively use the space created by our friendship to revolutionize their political system.
China and the U.S. have a very symbiotic relationship which will not decline any time soon. There are more shared interests as compared to shared differences and for this reason relations will continue to be good.
Taiwan and China are related ethnically and close neighbors geographically. There's no reason to resent or to fight against each other.