What George W. Doesn't Know Colliding aircraft and a Pentagon paper may sway Washington to sell arms to Taipei. China's handling of the Amercian aircraft and crew after the collision will put greater pressure on Bush to sell. Bush and his advisers must calculate if the benefits of the sale are worth the antagonism it will provoke in Beijing. Adding to the case against the sale is the argument that Taiwan's navy doesn't have adequate know-how, personnel or support systems to make the sophisticated Aegis platform fully operational. But the root of the problem runs far deeper than a simple lack of manpower.
Many armed forces face flagging morale, insufficient recruitment, and scaled-back training.
The election of Chen, an opposition politician who for years advocated Taiwan independence, swept the ruling Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, out of office for the first time since 1949. Taiwan's 20th century history is inextricably linked with the history of the KMT and the retreat of the Nationalist army to the island after its defeat by the communist forces. Chiang, who led Taiwan for 25 years, rose to power through the Nationalist army. They have the basic belief that soldiers should belong to the nation, not the party. At the same time, however, he and others within the military acknowledge a division between new recruits and long-serving officers.