Pelosi is just wrong about Taiwan

To the editor:

I cannot believe that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was so stupid as to make an official visit to Taiwan.

More than 40 years ago, the United States dropped its recognition of those in power in Taiwan as China’s legal government, and joined most of the rest of the world in recognizing the mainland government as the only legitimate one.

Its legitimacy does not turn on whether it is a democracy. We are a nation which fought a civil war in opposition to any of our states seceding from our union.

There is nothing in the Chinese constitution that permits secession either.

We maintain diplomatic relations with many undemocratic nations. If we are unhappy with positions of the mainland government, the least effective way of changing them is to threaten to support a secession of part of that nation.

When I voted the current American government into office in 2020, I did not expect it to imitate former Republican Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who led the  movement to keep supporting Chiang after he ran away to Taiwan.

I am sorry that China has not matched those on Taiwan in moving toward democracy, but supporting Taiwan secession will not advance the cause of democracy on the mainland.

Alan Saks