In his comments made on June 10, a Taiwan Presidential candidate attributed US President George H. W. Bush’s decision to sell 150 F-16 to Taiwan in 1992 to the so-called “1992 Common Understanding”. Although this is not a blog on politics, the topic has to do with aircraft and so I want to set the record straight here. For your information, the origin of the so-called “1992 Common Understanding” can be traced to the meeting between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (海峽交流基金會) and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (海峽兩岸關係協會), both proxies of the respective governments, held in Hong Kong from October 28, 1992. On the other hand, President Bush announced the sale of F-16 on September 2 of the same year. I cannot say whether the two events have a cause-and-effect relationship, but the time sequence is clear: Bush’s announcement came well before the meeting.
On July 29, 1992, General Dynamics said it was planning to lay off 5,800 workers at its Fort Worth plant over the next two years because of a reduction in F-16 orders. Then-Texas Gov. Ann Richards, a Democrat, quickly blamed the loss of jobs on President Bush’s opposition to the F-16 sale to Taiwan. On his way to Texas the next day, Bush said that he would “strongly consider” whether the United States could export F-16 to Taiwan. In the mean time, several dignities wrote to Bush to lobby for the sale. Here are some selections from George Bush Presidential Library (all in .pdf):
Former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger (In this document, Doug refers to Douglas H. Paal, former Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Taipei Office)
Maryland Governor William Schaefer
Congressman Robert Torricelli (New Jersey)
Congressman Joe Barton (Texas)
Bush’s final decision was obviously an effort to save his own campaign. (He also approved the sale of 72 F-15 to Saudi Arabia.) On September 2, 1992, President Bush made the following remarks to General Dynamics Employees at the General Dynamics facility at Carswell Air Force Base:
Thank you all very much for that welcome. And Bill Anders, thank
you, Bill. It’s a great pleasure to be introduced by Bill Anders, a
friend of long standing. And it’s great to be back here, back home
in Texas, the home of Jose Canseco. [Laughter] I think we’re all in
the wrong line of work, don’t you? I’ll tell you.
But let me thank Jim Mellor here. I’m glad to be back here with him.
He reminded me that I flew the simulator when I was here last time.
He was gracious enough, given the circumstances, not to remind me
that the simulator obviously had a failure because it crashed with
me at the helm there. [Laughter] But it was pilot error, I’m afraid.
And let me also thank our two Congressmen here today, Pete Geren,
Joe Barton. Mayor Granger is with us, the Mayor of Fort Worth. And
look at this hardware. I guess they had General Dynamics in mind
when they said, don’t mess with Texas.
With all the Air Force types here, the true heroes of Desert Storm,
I hate to bore you with war stories. But 48 years ago to this very
day, September 2, 1944, I was shot down while on a bombing raid
flying off our carrier over the island of Chichi Jima. I think if
I’d only had F – 16’s, things might have been a lot different, a lot
different. In all seriousness, I can’t blame the plane I was flying.
It was the best torpedo bomber ever to land on a carrier. I did
learn, though, from that combat experience something that I think
everybody here knows and has contributed to: Give our pilots the
best, and then fight to win. Don’t tie their hands behind their
backs. And that’s exactly what they did over there in Desert Storm.
I am very pleased to be here this afternoon, even for a brief visit.
I wanted to come to General Dynamics to personally make a statement
that concerns all of you, your families, and this wonderful
community. I’m announcing this afternoon that I will authorize the
sale to Taiwan of 150 F – 16 AB aircraft, made right here in Fort
Worth. We’re proud to do this. This F – 16 is an example of what
only America and Americans can do. Only American technology, only
American skill could have produced this flawless piece of
craftsmanship which is sought all around the world.
Throughout this century, the marvels of American defense have saved
lives, kept the peace, and defended American values. The world has
seen the F – 16 in action. Over the skies of Desert Storm the F – 16
continued America’s tradition of military excellence in more than
13,000 combat sorties. At this very moment planes like these may
well be flying over Iraq to guarantee that the bully of Baghdad,
Saddam Hussein, will not brutalize his own people by striking at
them from the skies.
This sale of F – 16’s to Taiwan will help maintain peace and
stability in an area of great concern to us, the Asia-Pacific
region, in conformity with our law. In the last few years, after
decades of confrontation, great strides have been made in reducing
tensions between Taipei and Beijing. During this period, the United
States has provided Taiwan with sufficient defensive capabilities to
sustain the confidence it needs to reduce these tensions. That same
sense of security has underpinned Taiwan’s dramatic evolution toward
democracy.
My decision today does not change the commitment of this
administration and its predecessors to the three communiques with
the People’s Republic of China. We keep our word: our one-China
policy, our recognition of the P.R.C. as the sole legitimate
government of China. I’ve always stressed that the importance of the
1982 communique on arms sales to Taiwan lies in its promotion of
common political goals: peace and stability in the area through
mutual restraint.
Your airplane, this great airplane, and this sale also sends a
larger message to the American people as we consider how we’re going
to win the global economic competition. The weapons of defense that
the world saw perform so brilliantly in Desert Storm were conceived
by American research scientists, designed by American engineers,
crafted by the best workers in the world, the American working men
and women. They were guided and operated by the young men and women
of our volunteer Armed Forces, the very generation that will lead
America into the next century.
My message is simple: No nation can defeat us when we set our minds
to a task. Now we’ve got to turn those same energies and genius to
the challenge at home, to secure our economic base, to ensure that
the high-wage, high-tech jobs of the future are made in America. The
country that dropped missiles down smokestacks, that created a
technological miracle like the F – 16 can and will create the
products the world needs in the new era of economic competition. The
country that produced the most disciplined and high-skilled fighting
force in history can and will find a way to utilize the talents of
all of our young people.
America’s role as a military superpower was not preordained. It took
the ingenuity of our workers, the creativity of our scientists, and
the experience of our business leaders. Now we must maintain our
lead as the world’s economic superpower and export superpower. And
it will require the same magical combination of ingenuity and
creativity and experienced leadership, the same magical combination
that you’ve created right here at General Dynamics.
Let me make one final point, one final point. Though the world is a
much more peaceful place today, I will continue to fight for a
strong defense budget. We cannot take a chance. We cannot take a
chance.
Some are already proposing defense cuts far beyond the levels that
our military experts feel are reasonable. I’ve had sound budget
levels recommended to me by Colin Powell, by all the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, by the Secretary of Defense. And now some in this
political year want to slash defense budgets, slash the muscle of
our defense. I do not want to see us go back to the days of the
hollow Army or the return of an Air Force less strong than our needs
require. And not only would some of the cuts proposed in this
election year cut into the real muscle of our defense, they would
needlessly throw defense workers out of work. And I will not have
that.
Thank you very, very much for this welcome. And let me say it is a
great pleasure to be able to support this sale. It is a great
pleasure to come here and to salute you, the finest workers in the
world. Thank you all. And may God bless our great country. Thank you
very much. Thank you.