Hoover Institution Clarifies It Did Not Endorse Cheng Li-wen's Views on Cross-Strait Relations

(CNA, San Francisco/Taipei - July 1, 2024) The leadership team of the Hoover Institution's "Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region" project at Stanford University issued a statement clarifying that reports claiming the institution agreed with KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen's views on cross-strait relations following her visit on June 2 are "not accurate." The KMT stated that internal dialogues with think tanks would not be deliberately disclosed externally.

KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen recently visited the United States, visiting the Hoover Institution for exchanges on June 2 and holding closed-door discussions with scholars. This was the first stop of her two-week U.S. trip.

Following the seminar, the Hoover Institution had issued a press release stating that the meeting discussed issues concerning Taiwan, China, and how the U.S. could help promote regional peace.

The Hoover Institution's "Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region" project issued a statement saying that some media reports claiming the Hoover Institution agreed with Cheng Li-wen's views on cross-strait relations are "not accurate."

The statement was jointly issued by the leadership team of the "Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region" project, including Senior Fellows Admiral James O. Ellis Jr., Larry Diamond, and Kharis Templeman. Templeman posted the statement on his personal blog on the 29th.

The statement emphasized that the meeting was not public and the team deemed it inappropriate to describe Cheng Li-wen's remarks; "However, we believe it is necessary to point out that reports claiming we endorsed her views on cross-strait relations are not accurate."

The blog mentioned that this statement was in response to inaccurate news headlines regarding Cheng Li-wen's visit to the Hoover Institution, such as a video news report titled "Meets with Heavyweights in U.S. Strategic Circles! U.S. Praises Cheng Li-wen's 'Brilliant Strategic Wisdom.'"

The statement said the research purpose of the "Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region" project is to understand the challenges facing Taiwan's democracy and security. For many years, it has been committed to maintaining strict neutrality regarding Taiwan's party politics. To achieve this goal, members are happy to engage with leaders and representatives of all major political parties in Taiwan, both at the Hoover Institution and in Taiwan.

The statement emphasized that members have clear views on how to deter military conflict in the Taiwan Strait and have publicly elaborated on these positions multiple times, stating, "We remain concerned that China's intentions toward Taiwan are not benign; and if Taiwan were politically incorporated into the People's Republic of China, the outcome would be the same as Hong Kong, not 'one country, two systems,' but one country, one authoritarian system."

The statement argued that peace in the Taiwan Strait depends on Taiwan maintaining restraint, a firm stance, and strengthening its defense capabilities; the United States should continue its long-standing policy of assisting Taiwan in acquiring the defensive weapons necessary for self-defense. In this conflict, only one party is continuously engaging in escalating harassment and provocative actions against the other party with its military power, and that is China.

In response, KMT Culture and Communications Committee Chairman Chen Yi-hsin stated that he has no position to comment on such news but must emphasize that, based on mutual understanding, internal dialogues with think tanks are not deliberately disclosed externally. (Editor: Chen Hui-ping) 1150701

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