Starting in 1949, Taiwan was ruled under martial law by the Nationalist KMT party that had ruled most of China before World War II. Some political reforms began in the ailing days of President Chiang Ching-guo, and were completed by President Lee Teng-hui. During this time when democracy started to take hold, Nat Bellocchi was Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the organization set up by the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to handle unofficial relations with Taiwan. Ambassador Bellocchi worked with the government of Taiwan to help the transition to democracy, but was often not in agreement with the U.S. State Department, which did not want to rock the diplomatic boat too much regarding mainland China.
Ambassador Bellocchi was at times the only American official grasping with the difficult but peaceful transition of what was often called a police state to a full-blown democracy, and dealt with the dangerous diplomatic dance with China. In 1996, China shot ballistic missiles into the Taiwan Straits as a warning against the will of the Taiwanese people to freely elect their President for the first time and to move away from the "one-China policy." It was also in response to then President Lee-Teng-hui's visit to his alma matter, Cornell University. This was made possible only after the U.S. Congress had voted 396 to 0 in the House of Representatives, and 91 to 1 in the Senate, to grant the President a visa. Prior to that the State Department had confined his U.S. travel to refueling and would not even allow him to get off the airplane in Honolulu. When President Lee was finally able to visit Cornell, he was greeted by Ambassador Bellocchi at the airport. This is the story of an American diplomat from a small town and his most difficult assignment.
About the Author
Mr. Nat Bellocchi, as Chairman of his consultant firm, assists American companies who wish to do business in Taiwan . He also writes analysis on political and economic developments in Taiwan and in cross-Strait relations, writes a column on U.S. - Taiwan relations for Taiwan 's largest newspaper, and works on a part-time basis in the State Department. Mr. Bellocchi, Ambassador (ret.), was Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan from August 1990 until December 1995. The Institute was established by Congress in 1979 as the instrumentality through which programs, transactions, and other relations are conducted by the President or any agency of the U.S. Government, with respect to Taiwan , pursuant to U.S. laws. Prior to that appointment, Mr. Bellocchi served as the International Affairs Advisor at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University , (1988-90), U.S. Ambassador to Botswana (1985-88), and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1981-85). Mr. Bellocchi entered the Foreign Service in 1955, and spent most of his career in Asia . He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Georgia Tech in 1949, and another from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1954. He served in the U.S. Army from 1950-53.
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