Big news about Taiwan not sending troops to Iraq.

Suddenly there's big news about Taiwan not sending troops to Iraq.

US looks to stop talk of Taiwan role, Taipei Times, Most Taiwanese oppose troop deployment to Iraq, Taiwan News,
No plans to send Marines to Iraq, The China Post of Taiwan etc.

It looks like congressmen Dana Rohrabacher and Jim Ryun floated a proposal independently of a low level Taiwanese defense ministry group study on what they possibly could do.

If Taiwan actually did go around spreading democracy overseas, I suspect that Beijing would consider this to be dangerous anti-state activities.

The most interesting comment is buried a little deeper in the article.

> In addition, Nadine Leavitt Siak, an information office for the Taipei
> Office of the American Institute in Taiwan told the Central News Agency
> Monday that while Washington appreciates the humanitarian aid that Taiwan
> has extended to Iraq, the U.S. has never asked Taiwan to deploy troops
> there and never will.

Now, how can anybody lower than an full ambassador make such a comment?

And if there is a full American ambassador in the American Institute in Taiwan, doesn't this make it an embassy to an independent country?

Well, don't tell Beijing.

-HJC