Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has stepped down from the leadership of his Democratic Progressive Party after the DPP and its more radical allies failed to gain a majority in the Dec. 11 parliamentary elections.
Chen, in seeking to appease his allies, succeeded only in earning another rebuff from the United States. That may have contributed to the election losses -- because most voters want stability across the Taiwan Strait. Chen will have to act more prudently to convince Washington that the origins of the "Taiwan problem" lie in the nature of the regime in Beijing, not Taipei.
Although Taiwan has more leverage in Washington because it has become a democracy, democracy is not a panacea for strategic problems. The key strategic nexus in East Asia is between China and the U.S. They have many shared interests, including the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But both countries pursue opposing interests that could lead to war if unchecked.
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