A myth has it that although Richard Nixon was a corrupt person he did accomplish some great things as president. The greatest of these accomplishments, so the myth goes, was the opening of relations between the United States and China. We even find Spock telling a Vulcan proverb to Klingon-hating, xenophobic Kirk in the sixth Star Trek movie: “Only Nixon could go to China.”

The truth of the matter is that the history of U.S.-China relations since Nixon’s allegedly triumphal peace mission is little more than one of theUnited States’ capitulation to China’s destruction of democracy, culture, and of course, human lives.

My purpose here, however, is not to go into detail on the Chinese government’s brutalizing of Chinese and Tibetans. I have already discussed these unfortunate phenomena in my June column, “China does not deserve ‘favored nation’ status.”

Rather, I wish to bring attention to the even more problematic issue of Taiwan. Few nations have made as much progress in the past two decades as Taiwan has. Industrialization and modernization have advanced to the point that products “Made in Taiwan” no longer carry the stigma that products “Made in Japan” did in the 1970s.

Much more important than economic development, however, is the fact that Taiwan has made great strides in terms of democratization. Once a single party “democracy” dominated by the Kuomintang, its Democratic Progressive Party now continues to grow in power.

The social health which increased democracy and freedoms have brought to the people of Taiwan can easily be illustrated by a comparison with China. All rational individuals will agree that Mao Zedong was an amoral mass murderer willing to kill millions, as well as that Chiang Kaishek was an amoral opportunist willing to receive aid from whoever might give it, including Hitler, Stalin and the U.S. Today, under a dictatorship which hides behind Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology, China still celebrates Mao’s cult of personality. In contrast, Taiwanese have been allowed to develop the ability to more accurately judge the vices of its founding father. In Taiwan, Chiang Kaishek is more often the object of ridicule than of sentimental indulgence.

A sense of nationalism has also grown among Taiwanese, as is shown by the growth in popularity of the Democratic Progressive Party mentioned earlier. Taiwanese realize that their culture has developed in a very different direction than in China. Even the Mandarin dialect as spoken Taiwanese has begun to develop differences with that spoken in China, and moreover, there is an increasing pride in their own Taiwanese dialect. Such considerations, when combined with the fact that retaking the mainland is an utter absurdity, have made the one China policy endorsed by the Republic of China (an antiquated name) and the People’s Republic of China increasing unpopular.

But China does not want to relinquish its self-proclaimed sovereignty over Taiwan, nor even allow Taiwan to relinquish its still existing claim to sovereignty over China. The situation will probably seem strange to those who are not familiar with Chinese rhetoric. Basically, if Taiwan continues to claim that it will one day displace the government of China, then China is content to let the situation sit just the way it is for the time being. On the other hand, China has threatened to invade if Taiwan renounces its claim to being China’s legitimate government. China has already promised to bring an end to democracy in Hong Kong, and no doubt it would do much worse on Taiwan if they actually gained control of the island.

If Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party ever does get enough power to declare independence the United States should be willing to protect Taiwan from the wrath of China. Taiwanese are by no means confident that the United States would do so, and this is probably the only real reason that Taiwan has not moved further toward independence. Unfortunately, their lack faith seems justified in light of the United State’s continual failure to stand up to China in a number of its so called “internal affairs.”

It is time for the United States to stop heeding the infantile threats of China. President Clinton, not Al Gore, should be meeting with the Dalai Lama. Hillary Clinton should be confidently naming names, not making veiled accusations. The United States should affirm the cultural, political, and economic independence of Taiwan by being willing to protect its actual independence as a nation. All that is required is that the United States stop capitulating.

As for the reason that Mr. Spock is so illogical as to serve as an apologist for China, I suggest that you look on the back of Star Trek merchandise boxes. In all too many cases you will find, “Made in China.”

Tyler Wayne Roach is a senior in philosophy, English and religious studies from Des Moines.