PRC, Taiwan and Cross-Strait Relations

In examining United States relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC), which now encompasses virtually the full spectrum of political, security, economic and cultural interests, the East Asia Program focuses in particular on political and strategic relations. Taiwan, both as its own focus and as a central element in cross-Taiwan Strait relations, is an area of concentrated work. Despite current relative stability in the Strait, the issues of contention remain unresolved, and no other problem in the region, or in the world, contains the same level of risk of confrontation escalating into a major power conflict. Thus, it is imperative to understand what drives each party and contribute to thinking that can lead toward lasting peace and away from the brink of disaster. This entails not only a continuing, nuanced examination of developments relating directly to cross-Strait relations-and to US involvement-but understanding and assessing Taiwan's ever-active political scene, Taiwan's domestic as well as international economic developments, and especially security-related issues. The East Asia Program looks to elucidate and make policy recommendations not only for the United States, but also for the two cross-Strait players.

Alan D. Romberg, Distinguished Fellow

Analyses and Commentaries

• Presidential Inbox 2013: Finding the Right Balance in Asia Policy, co-authored by Alan D. Romberg, Stimson, (January 29, 2013)
• "Following the 18th Party Congress: Moving Forward Step by Step," China Leadership Monitor, No.40, Hoover Institution Stanford University (January 14, 2013)
• Across the Taiwan Strait: From Confrontation to Cooperation, 2006-2012, authored by Alan D. Romberg, Stimson, (November 19, 2012)
• "Shaping the Future- Part II: Cross-Strait Relations," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 39, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (October 1, 2012)
• "Shaping the Future-Part I: Domestic Developments in Taiwan," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 38, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (August 6, 2012)
• "After the Taiwan Elections: Planning for the Future," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 37, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (April 30, 2012)
• "Taiwan Elections Head to the Finish: Concerns, Cautions, and Challenges," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 36, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (January 6, 2012)
• "The 2012 Taiwan Election: Off and Running," Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 35, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (September 21, 2011)
• Alan Romberg comments on U.S.-Taiwan relations with Taiwan's Central News Agency (May 31, 2011)
• "Cross-Strait Relations: Setting the Stage for 2012," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 34, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (February 22, 2011)
• Alan Romberg comments on Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit and its impact on U.S.-Taiwan relations (January 20, 2011)
• "Managing the Cross Strait Issue" sponsored by National Committee on American Foreign Policy and Tsinghua University (November 9, 2010)
• Alan D. Romberg comments on ECFA, the cross-strait economic agreement (June 30, 2010)  
• "Ma at Mid-Term: Challenges for Cross-Strait Relations," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 33, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (June 28, 2010)
• Alan D. Romberg Comments on the Possibility of 'FTA-like' Deals for Taiwan (June 2, 2010)
• "All Economics Is Political: ECFA Front and Center," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 32, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (May 11, 2010)
• "2010: The Winter of PRC Discontent," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 31, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (February 15, 2010) Read in Chinese on the Carnegie Insight website
• Alan D. Romberg Comments on US Arms Sales to Taiwan in an interview with CNA; December 17, 2009 (available in Chinese only)

• "Cross-Strait Relations: Weathering the Storm," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 30, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (November 19, 2009)

• Alan D. Romberg: Obama's First Trip to China Will Highlight his China Policy, an interview with Taiwan's Central News Agency (November 11, 2009)  (available in Chinese only)
• "Cross-Strait Relations: A Confederacy of Skeptics," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 29, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (August 11, 2009)
• Alan D. Romberg Comments on Ma Ying-jeou's First Year in Office, an interview with Taiwan's Central News Agency (May 20, 2009) (available in Chinese only)
• "Alan D. Romberg: Taiwan Entry in the WHA - A Step in the Right Direction," World Journal (San Francisco) (April 30, 2009)

• Jorge Liu, "Alan D. Romberg: Taiwan Attendance at the WHA Demonstrates Cross-Strait Flexibility and Originality," Taiwan's Central News Agency (April 29, 2009) (available in Chinese only)
• Jorge Liu, "Alan D. Romberg: The Three Agreements Signed at the Third Chiang-Chen Meeting Deepen Cross-Strait Relations," Taiwan's Central News Agency (April 27, 2009) (available in Chinese only)
• Alan D. Romberg discusses the future of U.S.-Taiwan relations at a conference U.S.-Taiwan Relations in a New Era: Looking Forward 30 Years After the Taiwan Relations Act organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (April 22, 2009)

• "Cross-Strait Relations: First the Easy, Now the Hard," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 28, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (May 8, 2009)
• "PacNet 17A -- 'Cross-Strait Moderation and the United States' - A Response to Robert Sutter," by Richard Bush and Alan D. Romberg (CSIS Pacific Forum, March 12, 2009)
• "Cross-Strait Relations: "Ascend the Heights and Take a Long-Term Perspective," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 27, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (January 9, 2009)
• "­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Alan Romberg: Obama's Taking Office Will Benefit the Steady Development of U.S.-Taiwan Relations," by Alan D. Romberg, Taiwan's Central News Agency (November 2008)
• In a paper entitled "The Influence of China's Military Modernization on Security in the Taiwan Strait", Visiting Fellow Chen Jen-Shuai presents his research on the development of the People's Liberation Army and its impact on security across the Taiwan Strait (September, 2008).
• "Cross-Strait Relations: First the Easy Steps, Then the Difficult Ones," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 26, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (September 2, 2008)
• "American Scholar: President Ma's low key transit shows the sincerity of his effort to build mutual trust," by Alan D. Romberg, Taiwan's Central News Agency (August 2008)
• "U.S. Expert sees arms sales to Taiwan moving forward in coming weeks," by Alan D. Romberg, Taiwan's Central News Agency (July 2008)
• "After the Taiwan Election: Restoring Dialogue while Reserving Options," by Alan D. Romberg, China leadership Monitor, No. 25, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (June 17, 2008)
• "Taiwan: Opportunities and Challenges," Alan D. Romberg's keynote address at the CLSA China Forum in Shanghai (May 15, 2008)
• "Taiwan: George Bush meet Abba Eban" by Alan D. Romberg. This article was featured as a Stimson spotlight piece (April 21, 2008)
• "Alan Romberg Urges Beijing to Adopt Creative Measures to Improve Cross-Strait Relations" Jorge Liu (Central News Agency) reports on Alan D. Romberg's remarks in the Brookings seminar "Taiwan's Elections and What They Mean" (March 28, 2008)

• "U.S. Policy Toward Taiwan, Time for Change?" Alan D. Romberg's position paper for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace debate series, Reframing China Policy (March 26, 2008)
• "Alan Romberg: Election Victor Must Heal Societal Rifts," Alan D. Romberg's interview with Jorge Liu (Central News Agency), text in Chinese (March 23, 2008)
• "Taiwan Elections: Foundation for the Future," by Alan D. Romberg, China leadership Monitor, No. 24, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (March 12, 2008)
• "Young American China Watchers' Views on China" by Zhang Zhixin, Visiting Fellow. Published in 'Contemporary International Relations' (February 2008)
• "Shifting Political Currents in Taiwan" by Alan D. Romberg. This article was featured as a Stimson spotlight piece (January 15, 2008)
• "Cross-Strait Relations: In Search of Peace," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 23, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (January 23, 2008)
• "Future Cross-Strait Relations and a Possible Modus Vivendi" Alan D. Romberg's paper presented at the Foundation for International and Cross-Strait Studies-Brookings Institution Conference (December 3, 2007)
• "PacNet 45 - The U.S. "One China" Policy: Time for a Change?" based on Alan D. Romberg's October 24 Neuhauser speech (CSIS Pacific Forum, November 7, 2007)
• "The U.S. "One China" Policy: Time for a Change?" Alan D. Romberg's speech at the 16th annual Neuhauser Memorial Lecture at Harvard (October 24, 2007)
• "Applying to the UN "in the name of 'Taiwan'," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 22, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (October 5, 2007)
• "Election 2008 and Cross-Strait Relations," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 21, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (July 16, 2007)
• "Future East Asian Security Architecture: Implications for the PLA," Alan D. Romberg's analysis appears in Assessing the Threat, published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (July 12, 2007)
• "Politicians Jockey for Position in Taiwan's 2007-2008 Elections, While Japan Jockeys for Position Across the Strait," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 20, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (February 28, 2007)
• "Public Response is More Important Than Ma Ying-jeou's Standing in KMT," Alan D. Romberg's interview with Jorge Liu (Central News Agency), text in Chinese (February 14, 2007)
• The Dragon's Shadow: The Rise of China and Japan's New Nationalism: Benjamin L. Self discusses the evolution of Sino-Japanese relationship after the collapse of the Friendship Trope in the late 1990s (December 10, 2006)
• "Taiwan: All Politics, All the Time," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 19, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (October 24, 2006)
• "The Taiwan Tangle," by Alan D. Romberg, China Leadership Monitor, No. 18, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (July 7, 2006)
• Alan D. Romberg gave a keynote address at the international conference: "The 1996 Strait Crisis: Decisions, Lessons and Prospects" in Taiwan. The conference was sponsored by the Foundation on International and Cross-Strait Studies (FICS), Brookings Institution, and Tampkang University. His speech was reported in the China Post article: "U.S. visitor issues Chen administration one of the bluntest warnings" (May 26, 2006)
• "Promoting Cross-Strait Stability, Avoiding Catastrophe," by Alan D. Romberg, PacNet Newsletter of Pacific Forum CSIS (March 2, 2005)
• "Cross-Strait Relations: Avoiding War, Managing Peace," by Alan D. Romberg, Occasional Paper No. 38, Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies (November 1, 2004)
• "Political and Strategic Implications of China's Growth," a conference paper delivered on behalf of Alan D. Romberg to the China's Growth and the World Economy Conference, sponsored by People's University of China, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, and the United Nations Development Proogramme in Beijing (September 10, 2004)
• "Support Taiwan Democracy, Not Referenda," by Alan D. Romberg in the Asia Times Online (March 5, 2004)
• Rein In at the Brink of the Precipice: American Policy Toward Taiwan and US-PRC Relations, a book by Alan D. Romberg (October 22, 2003)

Complete Analyses and Commentaries for the East Asia Program

Related Projects:

Visiting Fellows Program for PRC

Visiting Fellows Program for Taiwan