Early yesterday morning, before I embarked the aircraft in Taipei, I read in the newspaper a story about my visit to the United States. It said that mainland China was not so happy about [this visit]. The question was raised to the State Department and the spokeswoman of the State Department answered in this way: "Minister Chang's visit to the United States is private and unofficial." So, ladies and gentlemen, based on that, I think that I can only talk to you privately and unofficially, and the title of my private and unofficial speech is: "No Easy Walk to Reunification."

On May 22, less than one month ago, I had the honor to be invited to speak to the European Parliament in Brussels, and the title of my speech there was, of course, a formal and official one: "We, the Republic of China, Shall Rise Up Again." I felt immediately that the occasion was very important for my government to make our position better known to the European leaders. I sensed that my speech was very well-received because I was told that mainland China's ambassador and his staff had gone to the European Parliament several times to lodge their very, very strong protest. I was telling the people that it was the first time for a Foreign Minister of the Republic of China to be able to formally and publicly address a European political forum since 1971, the year when the Republic of China was forced to depart form the United Nations. To give a speech to such a forum certainly is no big deal for many countries around the world, but we, the Republic of China on Taiwan, had waited for the moment for more than 26 years.

I have long associated myself with the United States. In 1974, I arrived in Washington D.C. as the Third Secretary at my embassy . The so-called Third Secretary is the lowest, the most junior-ranked officer in the service, so always I ran errands ordered upon me by senior officers, including some speech engagements to which they did not have time to go or they simply did not want to go. Therefore, most of the audiences and listeners whom I faced during my four-year stay in Washington D.C. were largely junior high school or primary school students. The last speech which I gave before I returned to Taipei in 1977 was supposed to be with a big group of thirty to forty businessmen who were on their way to Taiwan to sell their agricultural goods, including apples. But in the end, only six of them had shown up in a very small conference room in the Washington Hilton. Of course, I was let down and disappointed. Later that night, I told myself, "John, you surely must come back to the States again—definitely no longer as the Third Secretary, but hopefully as the Foreign Minister. And you surely have to speak to a prestigious forum of chosen, talented, successful and professional members and people." And here I am this evening. I am happy to be here in the city of Los Angeles, the most hospitable, warmest city around the United States, and I am honored to be with the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, the most prestigious, respectable forum of its kind around the world. My dear friends, I have waited for this hour for exactly twenty years.

Maintaining Friendly Relations Without Formal Recognition

Twenty years ago, the bilateral relationship between the United States and the Republic of China was fragile and difficult. It was only less than two years later that the United States decided to shift her formal recognition from Taipei to Beijing. Yet both sides have tried very hard to keep our substantive ties not affected in the absence of diplomatic relations. We have worked it out very successfully and very satisfyingly. Let's take trade, for instance. In 1979, eighteen years ago, our two-way trade volume was merely $9 billion. In 1996, it had reached $46.8 billion—an impressive increase by more than five times. What is more noteworthy is the successful effort on the part of the Republic of China's government in getting the trade imbalance situation between our two sides under control. With the fast expansion and growth of our two-way trade, very soon the gap of the trade imbalance became quite alarming. The peak of the imbalance came in 1987, with a deficit on the side of the United States of $16 billion out of a trade of $33 billion. In 1988, President Lee Teng-hui ironed out an action plan for five years, determined to reduce the trade imbalance by ten percent annually. The plan was extremely effective and successful. The U.S. deficit has been continuously cut down substantially, and stood at only $6.8 billion last year.

Figures Indicate Success in Trade

Your trade with mainland China is also expanding quite fast: from $19.9 billion in 1990 to $63.4 billion in 1996, an increase of three times. Yet, your deficit with mainland China trade has also grown quite fast: from $10.3 billion to $39.5 billion in the same period of time, an increase of four times. We are not seeing that mainland China is going to do anything to address this situation. Mainland China is sixty times bigger than the Republic of China on Taiwan in terms of the population. It is 250 times bigger in terms of the area. But, Taiwan is still buying more from the U.S. than mainland China does. Our import from you last year was $16.9 billion, but mainland China purchased from the U.S. only $16.1 billion.

Probably not many people know that my country has become the fifth-largest market for your agricultural products; we are also the fifth-largest market for your automobiles; and we are your third-largest market for medical equipment. All in all, the Republic of China is your eighth-largest trading partner around the world. [We are] your sixth-largest nation in terms of export volume and your eighth-largest trading partner in terms of import volume. Last year, we really had a very good trade relationship with California. We purchased a huge quantity of electronic items, electrical appliances, industrial equipment, and transportation products from California, which totaled $4.7 billion, and we are the fifth-largest trading partner for the state of California. Investment from Taiwan has come to the United States at a very, very fast speed. In the past two years, people from Taiwan have come over to the States to set up 2,600 companies and firms, and I am happy to note that 1,380 of them are in California, taking up more than fifty percent of the total. People from Taiwan have invested more than $600 million in California in the past two years, and by so doing, we have created 6,000 jobs in California alone. I have deliberately cited a number of statistics, trying to verify how strong our bilateral ties truly are. The importance of the relationship between our two countries are many, many-fold. Trade is only a small part of it. Generally speaking, we have succeeded in keeping almost all aspects of our relationship nearly intact after the official relationship broke off diplomatically on 1 January 1979.

Defending Democracy on Both Sides of the Pacific

Many may have wondered why the bonds of friendship, why the ties of cooperation and the links of mutual trust, could all be well-preserved and protected after we had pulled out our embassies from our two respective capitals. Various reasons, based on different perspectives, can be found justifiable to explain this quite unusual situation. But personally, I believe the most fundamental element which binds our two sides and our two peoples inseparably together is our commonly-shared value system and our unyielding belief in democracy.

I think people in this room tonight may all recall March 1996, when our people in Taiwan were busy in the process of electing their president and vice-president through popular vote for the first time in the whole history of China — some 5,000 years. Mainland China launched missile tests in the Taiwan Strait to bully the people of the island. The United States reacted immediately and very strongly. Let me quote a few lines of the testimony from Secretary of State Albright before the U.S. Senate on 10 June 1997, only five days ago. She stated:

In the above statement, Secretary Albright rightly pointed out that the purpose of mainland China's missile tests was attempting to "influence" our presidential election. In other words, targeting to interfere with and sabotage our democratization process. It came as a stark challenge to the basic conviction of all democracy-loving [nations] around the world. It definitely should have been stopped and the United States came out to stop it. For this, the people of the Republic of China feel deeply grateful, and on behalf of my government, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly express our profound appreciation to the government of the United States. In a certain sense, what the United States did last March not only prevented a kind of bloody, regional war from happening in the Taiwan Strait, but the United States prevented the repetition of another Tiananmen Square massacre, which shocked the entire world in 1989.

But mainland China told a total different story to her own people and to the outside world. They claimed that the presidential election in Taiwan was a part of the so-called "separatism conspiracy" of the Kuomintang, collaborating with warring powers to try to create a new and independent state called the Republic of Taiwan. Out of nationalism, the People's Republic of China had no other choice but do all that she could—at any cost—to destroy the plot. They even went far enough to connect the presidential election together with President Lee's private visit to his alma mater, Cornell University, in 1995. President Lee's private trip was integrated and charged against as one giant step forward in a flagrant intrigue of Taiwan to move silently towards the establishment of two Chinas, or one China-one Taiwan. All these words are used by many Chinese, not by me.

1987 to 1997: Ten Years Toward Democracy

It is completely not the case as what the People's Republic of China has so maliciously distorted. What the Republic of China has embarked upon in the past ten years—notably since 1987, when late president Chiang Ching-kuo was still alive—was a successful journey toward national stability, economic growth, and social advancement, particularly democratic, political modernization. We have come a long way in terms of political achievements. It was not very long ago that martial law was still in effect and minimal contacts were allowed between us and our compatriots on the Chinese mainland. In 1987, late President Chiang Ching-kuo lifted the martial law and allowed the major opposition party, the Democratic Progress Party, to form. President Chiang Ching-kuo also eliminated the restrictions and bans on newspapers, public assemblies, and demonstrations.

President Chiang Ching-kuo's decision to lift martial law laid the foundation for a series of additional political reforms beginning in the early 1990s. He passed away in 1988, and was immediately succeeded by President Lee Teng-hui, in accordance with our constitution. It was President Lee who later chartered all of those important political reform programs in the 1990s, until the National Assembly amended our constitution to allow the government to hold Taiwan elections to replace assembly members and lawmakers who had not faced an electoral race for more than forty years. Most importantly, the amended constitution allowed our president to be elected by all voting-age citizens in the Republic of China's jurisdiction in 1996. So, in March 1996, Lee Teng Hui defeated three presidential rivals and became the first popularly-elected president of my Republic. In 5,000 years of Chinese history, this was the first time that the Chinese people were able to elect their head of state directly.

The Quiet Revolution

The legitimacy of my government of the Republic of China was rightfully strengthened. The effect to which the government of the Republic of China is fully exercising its sovereignty and jurisdiction in the area has become absolute. President Lee Teng-hui has rightfully transformed Taiwan's old single-party government into a working democracy. He has successfully orchestrated a so-called "Quiet Revolution," bringing new freedoms to the people. This transformation was achieved in a quiet manner. There have been no class confrontations, no military coups, and no political suppression in the entire process. My government today is committed to the principles of democracy, civil liberty and political replantation for all.

The Republic of China's peaceful and sweeping reform movement of the past decade has altered every facet of life for our citizens, guaranteeing to them the same freedoms and opportunities to which Americans are accustomed. Controls over society and the individual have been completely relaxed and eliminated as replantational government has replaced traditional authoritarian rule. By any standard, the Republic of China on Taiwan is functioning today as a genuine pluralistic democracy, one with real political choices and fully responsive institutions. The stark contrast with political and human rights conditions on the Chinese mainland could not be more obvious. Together with the success of the democratization process, the political ecology in Taiwan, Republic of China, has all changed. The demand from the general public upon the government to play a more active role and to pursue a higher profile in the international arena has become much louder than ever. In a public opinion poll conducted during the presidential election in March 1996, nearly 78 percent of the respondents were in favor of the government pursuing its policy of pragmatic diplomacy and its drive to re-enter the international organizations. Public opinion in Taiwan clearly demands that my government pursue a program of international outreach. This is not simply a matter of dignity to our people; it is a very practical matter of survival.

"Pragmatic Diplomacy"

Unlike Hong Kong, which has been a colony of Britain for the past century, the Republic of China has been and remains a sovereign state. Despite our economic strength and political liberalization, we have formal diplomatic ties with only thirty nations in the world. Yet, we have engaged in a numerous variety of commercial and cultural activities and ties, with more than 140 countries and territories worldwide. For example, Taipei currently maintains 96 representatives in 64 nations with which we have substantive ties. Forty-two of these 64 nations have also set up representatives in the Republic of China. All this was accomplished by so-called pragmatic diplomacy.

What is this so called "pragmatic diplomacy?" I would say that it is a diplomatic behavior which is based on the recognition of the fact that China was divided in 1949, and remains divided today. The People's Republic of China is a political entity which has firm and effective control of the Chinese mainland area. At the same time, Taiwan is under the tight control and legal jurisdiction of the government of the Republic of China. We will not compete with the People's Republic of China on the so-called "representation right" issue. Our international relations may well represent the mainland and we represent the Taiwan area. Hence, one China with two separate political entities is a reality no one can deny, and, in fact, the world should find ways to deal with this realistically. No policy can ever stand the test of time if ever it is founded on untruth. Our pursuit of pragmatic diplomacy is not designed to irritate or provoke the authorities of China's mainland, nor do we seek to challenge the People's Republic of China's right of membership in international bodies. On the contrary, in fact we believe that our joint participation in international activities can create opportunities for Taipei and Beijing to meet and interact as equals in the world community. We have set aside the dispute over which [government] has the right to represent the whole of China in the international forum, replacing it with a more practical proposal that before national reunification is achieved, the two sides should enjoy parallel rights of representation.

Creating an Environment for Reunification

I must emphasize here that the new pragmatic approach on our foreign relations has nothing to do with the so-called independence of Taiwan, and has nothing to do with the so-called establishment of the so-called one China-one Taiwan, or two Chinas. In this regard, [Taiwan] is simply striving to be recognized as what we are. We believe that our firm and secure status in world affairs serves as the only guarantee for an equal position, which we should absolutely possess in our eventual negotiations with mainland China for the reunification of the whole China. The German case is an example. It takes time, patience, wisdom, and, most important of all, world support to persuade mainland China to take us as her equal in the reunification process. It is no easy matter.

As I said, there is no easy walk to reunification. To promote mutual understanding and to build mutual trust are quite essential to prepare a positive and objective environment for the ultimate goal for that purpose. The loss of international standing for us would only lead to pressures for Taiwan independence, thereby aiding tensions across the Strait. The reunification of China remains our national policy and our political objective, but we never think that it can be accomplished overnight. We hope that mainland China will come to better understand the real changes which have taken place in Taiwan socially and politically. Only then will the leadership of the People's Republic of China have a correct perception of what has been going on on the island of Taiwan and our full-fledged democracy. We also hope that the People's Republic of China can carry out reforms continuously so that differences or gaps between the two sides can be gradually narrowed down. Both sides need to strive toward the reunification goal through a peaceful, evolutionary and cooperative process.

No one can deny that there remain differences and distinctions between the Republic of China on Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. But this does not mean that people are working for the independence or separatism of the island from mainland China. We are committed to China's "reunification," and those who share our values and our system of government should respect and honor [our right] to exist in distinctiveness by talking with us and working with us in a pragmatic fashion. That is the root of our international pursuit, our outreach to the world. We argue only for the concept of parallel engagement, rather than exclusion of one side or the other.

The Tiny Voice of Truth

Allow me to conclude my speech by telling you a story. It is a story that goes back to the fourth century. There was an ancient monk living in a little remote village, tending his garden, spending much of his time in prayer. Then, one day, he thought he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome. He obeyed the Lord's command and set out on foot. Many weary months later, he arrived in the capital city of the Roman Empire at the time of a great festival. The little monk followed the crowd that was surging down the street into the Coliseum. He saw the gladiators coming forth, standing before the emperor and saying, "We who are about to die, salute you." Then, the little monk realized that these men were going to fight to the death for the entertainment of the crowd. He cried out, "In the name of Christ, stop." As the games began, he fought his way down through the crowd, climbed over the wall and dropped to the floor of the arena. The crowd saw this tiny figure making its way out to the gladiators, saying, "In the name of Christ, stop." They thought it was a part of the entertainment, and they began laughing. As he was pleading with the gladiators to stop, one of them plunged a sword into his body and he fell to the sand of the arena. As he was dying, his last words were, "In the name of Christ, stop." Then, a strange thing began to happen. The gladiator stood, looking at this tiny figure now lying there in the sand. A hush fell over the Coliseum. Up in the upper tiers, a man stood and made his way to the exit. Others began to follow. In dead silence, everyone left the Coliseum. That was the last battle to the death between gladiators in the Roman Coliseum. Never again in the great stadium did man kill each other for the entertainment of the crowd—and all because of one tiny voice that could hardly be heard over the tumult. One voice that spoke the truth, in God's name. I hope that we witness this evening that this voice is alive today. May it continue to rise above the tumult and be heard.