Staff Reporter
Want China Times
February 12, 2015
A pro-independence rally in Hawaii. (Internet photo)
The continuation of US arms sales to Taiwan may attract Chinese support for the Hawaiian independence movement, said Bill Gertz, an American columnist for Washington’s Free Beacon on Feb. 10.
Michael Pillsbury, a Pentagon consultant and author of the recent book 100 Year Marathon said that Beijing is extraordinary sensitive about American arms sales to Taiwan. He said that even the sale of one bullet or a spare tire for a jeep can provoke angry words from PLA generals. Pillsbury said he has held talks with 35 Chinese generals in recent years. During some of them, Chinese hawks told him that they are ready to provide arms to Hawaiian independence activists.
Pillsbury said Chinese support of an independence movement could be a concern. Some archival material in the United States indicates that American authorities acted unilaterally in the 1898 annexation of the islands and there are at least 10 groups in Hawaii that seek some form of independence from the United States and the re-establishment of the monarchy overthrown in 1893. It has been considered a non-violent movement by US authorities.
Nonetheless, the Hawaiian independence movement could serve China’s national interests if it would mean the withdrawal of US air force and naval bases from the islands. Leon Siu, a Hawaiian-born musician and an independence activist said that the US military facilities on the islands are contrary to the original monarchy’s neutrality.
Siu said he has been working through international organizations and international legal institutions for many years to gain recognition of Hawaii as an independent country. Siu admitted that he had met with representatives of the Chinese government but Beijing’s motivation to support the movement is still unclear. He also said that he does not know what level of support China would provide.
Zhu Haiquan, spokesman of the Chinese embassy in Washington, denied that Beijing had any policy on assisting any type of separatist movement in the US. “It is either a serious misunderstanding or a rumor with untold intentions,” Zhu said. He added that China opposes any arms sales to Taiwan.
