“For a country like Taiwan to survive in the world, it needs to be deeply connected with a trustworthy partner such as the United States,” said Jason C. Yuan, ROC representative to the U.S. “This is why President Ma Ying-jeou has worked tirelessly to resume mutual trust between the two sides.”
A veteran diplomat with over 30 years experience in North America, Yuan heads the Washington-based Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office. He is responsible for 13 offices nationwide and considered the ROC government’s point man on Taiwan-U.S. relations.
In an exclusive interview with Taiwan Today, Yuan discussed the current state of ties between the longstanding friends, highlighting key advances made since Ma and his Kuomintang administration returned to office in May 2008.
“During my time in the U.S., it has never been as easy for me to conduct embassy business as in the last two years,” he said. “The reason for this is simple: Washington feels reassured by Taipei’s surprise-free policy.”
According to Yuan, the genesis of this dramatic improvement in bilateral ties can be traced back to when Ma was campaigning for the ROC’s top job in late 2007.
“The president knew that to get Taiwan-U.S. relations back on track, he needed to earn Washington’s trust and find common ground between the two sides,” Yuan said. “And if this shared interest included mainland China, then it would be even easier for him as leader of the ROC to work with the U.S.”
An integral part of the process involved opening up cross-strait dialogue. But after 60 years of isolation, accomplishing this goal would be no easy task.
The backing of former U.S. President George W. Bush was essential for Ma in the early days of cross-strait rapprochement. On the day of Ma’s election as ROC president, Bush publicly congratulated him on his victory, describing Taiwan as a beacon of democracy for Asia and the rest of the world.
“This clear U.S. support for President Ma and his efforts to improve the cross-strait economic relationship came as welcome encouragement,” Yuan said. “It told him that he was heading in the right direction, that he was changing course the right way.”
Yuan sees the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Cooperation as prime examples of this new policy, confirming that Taiwan and the U.S. are on the same page when it comes to creating a win-win-win environment.
“Washington is very positive about the ECFA,” he said. “I have not heard of any U.S. government official or think tank member stating that the pact is not in their country’s best interests.”
Concluded June 29 by Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and his mainland counterpart Chen Yunlin of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, the ECFA will open up new opportunities for local firms, multinational companies and the governments of major trading economies seeking to carve out a presence on Taiwan while accessing mainland and regional markets.
“This is the beauty of the ECFA—it serves as a bridge for doing business with mainland China,” Yuan said. “And given that we already have the Trade Investment Framework Agreement with the U.S., Taiwan is now the best place for American firms seeking to operate on the other side of the strait.”
The trust created by pragmatic policies such as the ECFA has enabled the U.S. to support Taiwan in its dealings with mainland China. In terms of physical security, this takes the form of nearly US$13 billion in arms sales since Ma returned to office just over two years ago.
“To deal with a giant country, strength is required to negotiate,” Yuan said. “By supplying weapons, the U.S. is sending a clear sign to the other side, and the rest of the world, that it supports Taiwan in negotiations and to defend itself.”
“This kind of backing allows President Ma to reassure the U.S. that he does not expect American soldiers to lay down their lives in defense of Taiwan. As long as the U.S. provides us with adequate weaponry, we will defend ourselves using our own people.”
On the issue of U.S. arms sales, Yuan said he is “personally optimistic” that Taiwan’s longstanding request for F-16 C/D fighters will be approved at some point in the future, but counsels patience.
“The American people are very friendly toward Taiwan and would find it difficult to understand their government refusing to help a model for democracy in Asia and the world upgrade its air defenses,” he said.
But U.S. support for Taiwan is not limited to high-profile areas such as cross-strait relations and weapons sales. Under Yuan’s watch, it took just six months of consultations between Taipei and Washington to secure the latter’s backing for ROC observer status in the governing body of the World Health Organization.
On April 29, 2009, after 38 years of exclusion, Taiwan was invited by the WHO to take part as an observer in the World Health Assembly. The invitation was extended again March 23, resulting in the ROC’s second consecutive year of WHO participation.
“This invaluable support from the U.S. influenced our good friends around the world, particularly the EU, Canada and Japan,” he said. “As the breakthrough happened within two years of President Ma taking office, it is further affirmation that his direction for Taiwan is the right one.”
With Ma’s pragmatic “flexible diplomacy” policy delivering real improvements in the ROC’s international standing, the people of Taiwan are beginning to reap the rewards. The U.K., Ireland and New Zealand granted ROC nationals visa-free entry last year, and the EU is set to follow suit. So where does the U.S. stand on this issue?
Yuan sees no irony in the fact that despite Taiwan and the U.S. enjoying extremely close people-to-people ties, ROC citizens still require a visa to visit America. “The issue is extremely complicated,” he said. “But what people need to realize is that we are not on the roadmap.”
In his first week on the job, Yuan visited the assistant secretary of the U.S. Homeland Security Department and discovered that Taiwan was not even close to being considered as a waiting-list candidate for the U.S. visa-waiver program.
“Everyone in Taiwan had expected us to achieve VWP inclusion very quickly, but this was just not realistic,” he said. “We know how important this issue is and are working on it every day. Our people are pushing very hard but the ball is not in Taiwan’s court.”
While the ROC government has made great strides in improving travel security and reforming the nation’s passport system—basic conditions for VWP eligibility—more progress remains to be made. In addition, several key factors outside its control continue to frustrate VWP aspirations.
“Two major problems are visa refusal rates and incidences of overstaying,” Yuan said. “To satisfy VWP requirements, we have to get our refusal rate down from last year’s 4.4 percent to under 3 percent.”
Another factor affecting VWP eligibility is the existence and effectiveness of Taiwan-U.S. extradition agreements and procedures.
“Fortunately, after two years of effort, we are pretty optimistic that the extradition agreement is coming,” he said. “This is a good move for both sides and although some legal work remains to be completed, the agreement is in the pipeline.”
But Yuan’s Washington role does not revolve solely around hard issues. The ROC government’s drive to promote Taiwan’s soft power on the international stage requires him to manage a broad portfolio of U.S.-based cultural and creative initiatives.
“Soft power is the key for Taiwan,” he said. “If we shift American public perception to where it is friendlier toward us than before, then positive results will come when tackling the hard issues.”
Yuan makes a point to regularly remind all of his offices in the U.S. to use soft issues in furthering Taiwan’s cause. But this is easier said than done for some sections, especially those responsible for broaching policy issues with America’s political movers and shakers.
“For my political and congressional people, the reality is that their American contacts do not want to be bombarded with hard issues. Soft issues are more exciting and attract greater attention,” he said. “I remind them to talk sports, talk about the issues that Americans love and go from there.”
Leading by example, Yuan hosted Lu Yen-hsun while he was visiting Washington to contest the Legg Mason Tennis Classic Aug.1. The image of Taiwan’s latest sporting phenom standing in front of the pretty-as-a-postcard Twin Oaks—a U.S. National Register-listed mansion that served as the official residence of nine ROC ambassadors from 1937 to 1978, and which still belongs to the ROC government—was beamed around the world.
Yuan also presided over a promotional meeting for Washington Nationals star pitcher Wang Chien-ming at the 26-room property in June. Attended by Nationals President Stan Kasten and General Manager Mike Rizzo, among others, the function drew sizeable interest from the U.S. and Taiwan sporting media.
“These kinds of events are the ones we should be doing more of,” he said. “They are extremely effective at thrusting Taiwan into the spotlight for all the right reasons.”
Another sports-themed event in which TECRO has an organizing hand is the Washington DC Dragon Boat Festival. This year’s contest, which was held May 15 to 16 on the Potomac River, saw 56 teams from across the East Coast battle it out in front of almost 10,000 spectators.
“The festival captured a lot of media attention,” Yuan said. “It is a wonderful promotion that exposes Americans to Taiwan’s unique brand of authentic Chinese culture.”
The efforts of TECRO to promote Taiwan’s cultural and creative industries are not confined solely to the world of sports. Staging events with the Asia Society, National Geographic and Smithsonian Institution help bolster the nation’s visibility in the U.S. In addition, a visit by ROC First Lady Chow Mei-ching and the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre for a performance at the Kennedy Center in January was an effective promotional vehicle.
But it is the upcoming ROC Centennial Celebrations that have captured the imagination of Yuan. In June, he hosted Emile Chih-jen Sheng, minister of the Cabinet-level Council for Cultural Affairs, and the two discussed plans for promoting the event in the U.S.
Yuan and Sheng are working to develop a nationally coordinated campaign that will involve all of the ROC’s U.S. offices. “This is an exciting time and top-flight opportunity for Taiwan,” Yuan said, adding that he expects the celebrations to be a highlight of the U.S. cultural calendar next year.
By the standards of any Washington diplomat, Yuan has chalked up enough accomplishments during his 22-month tenure to be forgiven for resting on his laurels. A hard taskmaster—on none more than himself—he deflects accolades for a job well done, instead setting the bar higher.
“I have not done enough in my two years since taking this job,” Yuan said, adding that much more remains to be accomplished but there are simply not enough hours in the day.
Yuan admits that one aspect of his role he finds frustrating is the constant criticism from opposition figures in Taiwan. He urges those individuals to rise above party politics and move beyond negativity and pointless attacks.
“Everyone has to be on the same page and pulling together for the country to make headway in its relations with the U.S.”
“It is a fact that under the former administration, Taiwan-U.S. relations were moving in the wrong direction,” he said. “Scorched earth diplomacy got us nowhere and once we lost trust, we had even greater problems.”
Yuan’s message is that the situation is now very different, that trust has been restored, that the government’s policy is set, and that the wheels are in motion. Despite this positive state of affairs, however, delivering diplomatic breakthroughs as demanded by the people of Taiwan will not happen overnight.
“The Taiwan-U.S. relationship is good, with both sides committed to creating win-win-win outcomes,” he said. “But it is important to remember that when it comes to country-to-country relations, we must be patient.”
Write to John Scott Marchant at js_marchant@mail.gio.gov.tw