A Law unto Themselves
A Law unto Themselves
This chapter discusses the reasons behind, the alternatives to, and the consequences of, American military personnel and their families enjoying diplomatic immunity in Taiwan. Chapter 5 argues that giving immunity to these groups (as opposed to only members of the embassy) was an abuse of a sacred principle in international relations. The chapter also explains how unfortunate it is that the U.S. government did not sign a SOFA with the ROC. Despite the concerns raised by U.S. military and diplomatic personnel, inertia or willful refusal prevented bureaucrats from taking problems seriously. If Taiwan was so vital to U.S. containment policy, the United States should have been willing to give the ROC a SOFA with the NATO-Netherlands formula rather than humiliate its ally and demand exclusive jurisdiction. Moreover, Chapter 5 purports that the United States should have worked to establish safeguards, due process, and justice if an American brought harm to any of the Taiwanese people: not as colonial subjects, but as equals before the law. Such measures could have prevented the chaos that would erupt after Sergeant Robert Reynolds shot and killed an ROC national.
Keywords: MAAG, ROC, United States, China, Taiwan, NATO-Netherlands formula, SOFA, ROC
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