Program Overview

• Hosts: Ray Suarez and Deborah Amos
• Original Airdate: Apr 2008

For six decades, Taiwan’s political status has been unresolved. In that time, the small island’s economic dynamism has made it a major player in the global market. But its economic success hasn’t translated into political clout on the international stage. As China’s sphere of influence expands, the island it considers a rogue province is losing friends.

Taipei’s occasional gestures towards independence have stroked the ire of China, and the US has backed its democratic ally. But with the potential for serious conflict in the Taiwan Strait between nuclear powers, each side is treading carefully.

Ray Suarez examines Taiwan’s identity and politics in the shadow of a rising China in segment one.

In segment two, Deborah Amos traces the history of America’s relationship with Taiwan and how those ties have impacted US-China relations.

Ray Suarez examines the Clinton administration’s response to China’s firing of missiles in the Taiwan Strait in 1996 in segment three.

In the final segment, Deborah Amos looks at how the conflict between the two Chinas plays out in Panama, one of Taiwan’s most significant allies.

Guests on this program include:

Tain-Tsair Hsu, Mayor of Tainan City

Chong-Pin Lin, President of the Foundation on International and Cross-Strait Studies and former Deputy Defense Minister and First Vice Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council

Dr. Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, Professor of History at Georgetown University

Winston Lord, former US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs

Frederick Chien, former Foreign Minister of Taiwan

Kurt Campbell, former Deputy Secretary of Defense for East Asian Affairs

Scott Hallford, former Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Beijing

Jorge Federico Lee, former Supreme Court Justice and former Minister of Labor

Vladimir Franco, Director General of the Legal Office at Panama’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Javier Chiang, founder of the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in Panama

Bao Esheng, China’s commercial representative in Panama

Daniel Erikson, Senior Associate for US policy and Director of Caribbean Programs at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington