Chess Pieces: Taiwan and the Great Game
Commentary
In diplomacy, there always is the public face and the secret or sub rosa dimension. Secrecy is a hallmark of diplomatic relations. During the secret negotiations between China, President Richard Nixon, and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, both Nixon and Kissinger wanted to conduct their diplomacy such that “the success of the secret negotiations with China overshadowed the fact that the process was non-democratic.”
Once they completed their negotiations with Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Chou En-Lai, they presented a fait accompli to Congress and the American people who mistrusted the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Nixon-Kissinger’s motivations.
Similarly, President Jimmy Carter did the same when he terminated relations with Taiwan in December 1978 and formalized diplomatic relations with China two weeks later—another fait accompli without the involvement of Congress and the American people….