CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Recent complications with regard to visits, or planned visits, by Taiwanese politicians to Indonesia and Thailand serve as new reminders of a most sensitive lingering East Asian issue. The purpose of this article is not to deal with the pluses and minuses of the visits but to try to view the overall China-Taiwan dispute with the least bias as possible. A long time ago, I was professionally involved with both parties of the dispute, a situation that resulted in my acquiring an increased level of appreciation for the great heritage and traditions, as well as the potential for progress and prosperity, that both share.

The uniqueness of this controversy in international relations calls for a dispassionate effort to approach it with measured doses of idealism and pragmatism. From a perspective separate from that of either of the two antagonists or of those who would be most affected by a clash -- the United States and neighboring countries -- one is tempted to ponder the deeper dimension of the problem: Calls for independence on one side and threats of a punitive invasion by the other.

While it is undeniable that a mature and vibrant democracy of more than 23 million enterprising people can legitimately claim the right to independence, the claim must be endorsed by a convincing majority of votes. At this stage, no one can say for sure whether a referendum would be conclusive. On the other hand, military action from the mainland would be deprived of moral legitimacy as it would be decided and carried forward by a small fraction of the Chinese people as a whole.