ABSTRACT
In the negotiations leading to normalization of US-People's Republic of China (US-PRC) relations, Washington acceded to Peking's long-standing demand that the United States end its military and diplomatic presence in the area of Taiwan. Peking no longer speaks of "liberating" Taiwan. Though Peking still categorically refuses to promise that it will never use force to recover Taiwan, because such a pledge would infringe upon Chinese sovereignty, an additional reason is now given: a formal pledge would lead the Nationalists to refuse all negotiations for peaceful reunification. However, China's leaders say that the PRC will use force against Taiwan only in extreme circumstances. The issue of US arms sales to Taiwan will fade as those sales decline, but a knottier issue of a fundamentally different political character may become more prominent: the Taiwan Relations Act. Peking's dark suspicions of US intentions regarding Taiwan are poorly founded.
