Taipei, Aug. 14 (CNA) Former U.S. Representative to the United Nations John Bolton said Tuesday that the United States should "expand or restore" its diplomatic relations with Taiwan and suggested Taiwan to try to seek the repeal or modification of U.N. Resolution 2758.
Bolton also expressed his disappointment at what he described as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's "massive error" in rejecting Taiwan 's application for U.N. membership without submitting it to the member governments.
"The U.S. needs to take a decisive step -- the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Taiwan -- to avoid the situation becoming riskier and more dangerous for the U.S. as well as the PRC and the ROC, " Bolton said in a speech titled "U.S. Global Democracy Strategy and Cooperation with Taiwan."
What former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. George H.W. Bush proposed in 1971 as "dual representation" should "make sense now" as "dual recognition, " he said.
"Recognizing Taiwan in fact is simply recognizing reality, which is always the best grounding for any foreign policy, " he said.
By recognizing Taiwan, the ambiguity will be eliminated, he said, offering his opinion that ambiguity is a negative for the U.S. rather than a plus.
The ambiguity encourages China to believe it might actually conquer Taiwan without waging a war, he explained. Recognition would bring stability and certainty as well as strengthen the U.S. hand in the region by signalling to others the U.S. commitment to Taiwan, he said.
As for China's response to dual recognition, Bolton said there is "no way" China would break its relations with the U.S. nor impose economic costs.
"They will not be happy... But Beijing will not take any substantial steps, " he speculated.
Bolton went on to suggest that in terms of U.N. status, the real answer for Taiwan is to seek the repeal of U.N. Resolution 2758 because "applying for regular membership will produce a PRC veto if it gets that far."
"If the U.N. General Assembly can pass Resolution 2758, it can repeal it or modify it, " he pointed out, adding that prior UNGA resolutions have been repealed or modified.
Ban Ki-moon has rejected both Taiwan's U.N. membership applications and its effort to accede to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women treaty, which constitutes a huge mistake by Ban, according to Bolton.
As Ban was elected U.N. Secretary-General with the help of China and the U.S., the U.S. is observing which direction will Ban take if there is a dispute between China and the U.S., Bolton said.
"He went to the direction of China in his first test, " he said.
For the U.N. application name issue and referendum, Bolton said the name is for the people of Taiwan to decide. While the referendum is a mechanism to reflect popular choice, it is anomalous for the U.S. to object to people voting in a referendum after all the pressure to make Taiwan a democracy, he said.
Looking ahead to the presidential elections in Taiwan and the U.S., Bolton said the U.S. presidential candidates should publicly commit to "no deals over Taiwan without the consent of the people" while Taiwanese candidates should make sure they "get the best deal possible" for the people.