Seeking a Cross-strait Diplomatic Truce: Theory and Practice

During his presidential campaign, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou pledged to “seek a cross-strait diplomatic truce by ending the so-called ‘money diplomacy’ in maintaining Taiwan’s limited number of official allies,” and has taken steps since he was inaugurated to stabilize relations between Taiwan and China. However, uncertainties about future cross-strait rapprochement linger, especially the extent to which Beijing would allow more international space for Taipei. In this CNAPS Visiting Fellow presentation, Shih-chung Liu explored the theory and practice of seeking a cross-strait diplomatic truce by examining its contents and comparing it to the policies of President Ma’s predecessors. Mr. Liu also discussed the extent to which such a truce is possible, whether it is pragmatic or idealistic, and how China may respond to policies designed to foster a truce.

Shih-chung Liu recently completed eight years of service in Taiwan’s government, as counselor (2000-2004) and senior counselor (2004-2006) to the president, and then as vice chairperson of the research and planning committee in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006-2008). He has also been a political columnist for the Taipei Times and Taipei News since 1999, writing about domestic politics and international relations. He served previously as deputy director of the department of international affairs in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Mr. Liu received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Soochow University and a master’s in political science from Columbia University, where he is a Ph.D. candidate. The topic of his CNAPS research project is “Taiwan’s Role in Building a Northeast Asia Order.”