Spotlight on Taiwan

Now, that the President of China, Hu Jintao, has finally been formally greeted by the white house, it seems the first effects of his visit are starting to show. On a quest to embarrass and bully Taiwan, China has obviously put the hard lean into Bush to not only not "officially recognize" Taiwan, but also to ignore the sovereign democratic island all together. Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's president, intended on an overnight stay in New York on his way to Paraguay. But he was denied the request and told he could refuel in... Alaska! (which he promptly declined) Are we insane.... Bush talks about how important it is to promote democracy in the world (even willing to go to war in the name of it) and we diss a potential democratic ally like Taiwan, all because the world's largest COMMUNIST country tells us to. That doesn't fly in my book, it is utterly unjust and outrageous! "China's suppression against Taiwan has gone from bad to worse," said President Chen Shui-bian, "China should not push Taiwan into a corner, leaving Taiwan without a living space in the international community." Click here to read about this recent low point in Taiwanese U.S. relations. And here to read an outstanding editorial about the importance of including Taiwan in the U.N.