Analysis: The Evolution of Jimmy Carter’s Legacy in Taiwan

TaiwanPlus News

To learn more about the legacy former U.S. President Jimmy Carter left concerning Taiwan and how views of his life and career have changed over the decades, TaiwanPlus spoke with Vincent Chao, former director of TECRO's political division in the United States.

Transcript

00:00Vincent Chow, can you speak a little bit to the legacy which former U.S. President Jimmy

00:05Carter left behind, especially here in Taiwan?

00:10I think views towards former President Carter have really evolved over time, particularly

00:14after his groundbreaking 1999 visit to Taiwan.

00:18And I do think that his legacy as a result has become a lot more nuanced and mixed since

00:23the break in relations in 1979.

00:26Certainly President Carter, I think, as we look back on it now, had engaged in a relationship

00:33change that was, I think, a continuation of the events that were set in motion by President

00:39Nixon in the early 70s.

00:41And as we look back, I don't think anybody holds him singularly responsible for that

00:47change in relations that we later saw.

00:50We do see that President Carter, during his term until 1980, had also engaged in a balanced

00:56approach to Taiwan, despite the severance of diplomatic relations with the ROC, meaning

01:02that he saw the passage of the Taiwan Relations Act.

01:05He continued this policy of arms sales towards Taiwan, and he continued to emphasize, both

01:11throughout his term, but also following as well, the importance of peace and stability

01:15over the Taiwan Strait.

01:17And so I think here in Taiwan, we do see differences in how former President Carter's

01:22view today vis-a-vis 50 years ago.

01:24Can you talk a little bit about the Taiwan Relations Act and how that continued to support

01:29Taiwan and its defense in the 1980s and beyond?

01:34Of course, the Taiwan Relations Act was really a seminal piece of legislation back when it

01:38was discussed in the late 70s.

01:40And certainly there were a number of people in Congress that were very, very strong and

01:45consistent supporters of Taiwan that wanted to see some sort of security assistance and

01:52support for Taiwan continue despite the severance of relations.

01:54And I mean, this was a legislative effort, but we have seen the executive branch faithfully

02:00carry these actions out in the decades since.

02:03And so this seminal piece of legislation, I think, is something that is very rare that

02:09we've seen over time, which is that it has continued to maintain strong bipartisan support.

02:14I think people agree, and the consensus is that the TRA has been absolutely vital to

02:19the continuation of peace and stability here.

02:21You mentioned earlier Carter's 1999 visit to Taiwan, where he met with Taiwan's President

02:26Lee Teng-hui.

02:28That visit, however, was not without controversy at the time.

02:32Can you speak a little bit to the legacy of that 1999 visit?

02:37So in 1999, former President Carter come at the invitation of former President Lee Teng-hui.

02:42And it was a very interesting visit, to say the least.

02:45I don't think both sides had envisioned that this sort of visit would take place.

02:49Certainly, I think former President Carter had said at one point that he didn't expect

02:53that he would be visiting Taiwan of all places one day, but nevertheless, here he was.

03:00And I do think that the visit was not without controversy.

03:03Certainly, we had seen Annette Liu, who later became the former vice president between 2000

03:09and 2008, had some choice words for former President Carter during his visit, accusing

03:14him of betraying Taiwan's democracy and setting it back.

03:19And I do think that what we saw in the late 90s, I think feelings were still a bit raw.

03:24But I do think that as time has gone by, those feelings have mellowed somewhat and that there

03:31has been now further attention paid towards the strong partnership between Taiwan and

03:36the United States and all the efforts, whether we're talking about security, economic, trade,

03:42people-to-people, cultural education, and so forth, that have matured over time.

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