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OPINION: Taiwan conflict highlights U.S.-China challenges
America’s policy toward Taiwan is complicated to say the least. Taiwan is a democratic society in the shadow of autocratic China. It’s an economic and technological power and a key U.S. trading partner. We have similar values and strong people-to-people ties. We support Taiwan’s self-defense. But we don’t have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan; relations […]
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America’s policy toward Taiwan is complicated to say the least. Taiwan is a democratic society in the shadow of autocratic China. It’s an economic and technological power and a key U.S. trading partner. We have similar values and strong people-to-people ties. We support Taiwan’s self-defense.
But we don’t have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan; relations are managed by the American Institute in Taiwan, a nongovernmental organization. U.S. officials are careful with language when they talk about Taiwan. Any misstep will offend China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan.
Tensions broke into the open recently when U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taiwan. In an overnight stay, Pelosi praised Taiwanese democracy and met with President Tsai Ing-wen, legislators, and human-rights activists. China responded with bluster and threats. It launched missiles and conducted military drills alarmingly near Taiwan.
Some critics said Pelosi provoked China needlessly. But most members of Congress, Republicans as well as Democrats, defended the trip, arguing the speaker should be free to visit areas that are important to the United States.
China, of course, had been threatening Taiwan well before Pelosi’s visit, which provided a pretext for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to escalate. Xi, who has a history of being fearful of democracy movements, may see Taiwan as a threat. He may also want to distract from domestic problems. China’s economy has been contracting, dragged down by repeated COVID-19 shutdowns, and unemployment is high.
Geography and history help explain Taiwan’s precarious situation. It’s about the size of the state of Indiana, with a population of 24 million. Its capital, Taipei, is modern and attractive. Taiwan’s advanced economy produced nearly $800 billion in goods and services in 2021. It is the United States’ eighth-largest trading partner.
But only the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait separates it from China. Taiwan was long a Chinese territory, but Japan ruled it from 1895 until World War II. When Communists won China’s civil war in 1949, Chinese nationalists established a government in Taiwan. Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek died in 1975, and Taiwan moved toward self-rule and democracy.
Meanwhile, the U.S. recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1979. Since then, we have maintained a “One China” policy that is deliberately ambiguous. We count Taiwan as a friend, but we have formal relations with China, not with Taiwan. Walking a diplomatic tightrope, we acknowledge but don’t endorse China’s claim to Taiwan.
After a crucial election in 2000 that produced a peaceful transfer of power, I visited Taiwan. Traveling as a private citizen, I met with the president-elect and other officials, and I later shared my impressions with friends in the U.S. government. It was a hopeful time, with democracy growing stronger.
But for the past decade, China has grown more hostile toward its neighbors. Xi said last year that controlling Taiwan is part of the “historic mission” of the People’s Republic. China’s recent threats suggest he may be ready to force the issue.
This is a dangerous situation: for the Taiwanese, obviously, but also for the U.S. and our allies. President Joe Biden has said the U.S. would use force, if necessary, to defend Taiwan from an attack by China. No one wants things to reach that point, but there’s no guarantee they won’t. Would the world stand against a Chinese attack as it has against Russia’s war in Ukraine?
I’ve written before that the U.S.-China relationship is the most consequential relationship in the world today. We need to work with our allies to deter Chinese aggression, especially in Taiwan but also elsewhere in the region. We also need to communicate clearly, forcefully, and respectfully with China’s leaders. Getting this right is one of the most important — and difficult — foreign-policy challenges we face.
Lee Hamilton, 91, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south-central Indiana.

State’s annual minority and women-owned business enterprise forum set for early October
ALBANY, N.Y. — Those interested can register for the 12th annual Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Forum that is set for Oct. 6-7 at

ERIN DAVIES has joined Hayner Hoyt as a creative manager. She brings a multitude of experience in the film industry and previously wrote, produced, and directed two award-winning documentaries, called “Fagbug” (2009) and “Fagbug Nation” (2014). Davies is a full-time artist, filmmaker, inspirational speaker and storyteller, speaking at over 300 businesses and schools. She received
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ERIN DAVIES has joined Hayner Hoyt as a creative manager. She brings a multitude of experience in the film industry and previously wrote, produced, and directed two award-winning documentaries, called “Fagbug” (2009) and “Fagbug Nation” (2014). Davies is a full-time artist, filmmaker, inspirational speaker and storyteller, speaking at over 300 businesses and schools. She received her bachelor’s degree in visual and performing arts from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and her master’s degree in art education from Sage Graduate School.
MEGAN CLEVELEY has come aboard Hayner Hoyt as a facilities administrator. Most recently, Cleveley worked as a facility assistant manager with Miller Environmental. She is a graduate of Niagara Wheatfield High School.
MICHAEL ROBERTS has joined Hayner Hoyt as a project superintendent. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry and most recently ran his own residential and commercial construction company called MWR Contractors. Roberts is a graduate of the New York State Police Academy and was a police officer with the Town of DeWitt for 20 years.
TIM HUBER has come aboard Hayner Hoyt as a pre-construction project manager. He is an experienced estimator and project manager with 30 years of experience. Huber earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from UC Davis.

C2C Construction Solutions LLC has hired BRAD SCHULTES as a full-time project manager/estimator. A graduate of SUNY Delhi’s construction technology program, he has more than 10 years of experience as a design build project manager/estimator. Schultes’ past positions in the construction industry include six years with a Syracuse–area design-build general contractor, as well as five
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C2C Construction Solutions LLC has hired BRAD SCHULTES as a full-time project manager/estimator. A graduate of SUNY Delhi’s construction technology program, he has more than 10 years of experience as a design build project manager/estimator. Schultes’ past positions in the construction industry include six years with a Syracuse–area design-build general contractor, as well as five years with a sitework contractor in similar roles.

Watertown Pediatrics’ physician, JOSEPH C. GIANFAGNA will be joining the medical staff at Carthage Area Hospital’s Pediatric Clinic, beginning Sept. 6. He will serve as the pediatric medical director and will be seeing patients from Tuesday to Friday, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. each week. Dr. Gianfagna lives in Watertown with his wife Rachael and three
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Watertown Pediatrics’ physician, JOSEPH C. GIANFAGNA will be joining the medical staff at Carthage Area Hospital’s Pediatric Clinic, beginning Sept. 6. He will serve as the pediatric medical director and will be seeing patients from Tuesday to Friday, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. each week. Dr. Gianfagna lives in Watertown with his wife Rachael and three children, having returned to his hometown after completing a pediatric residency in 2013. He attended SUNY Geneseo, where he obtained degrees in biology and French, prior to attending Upstate Medical University. Upon receiving his doctorate in medicine, Gianfagna remained in Syracuse to complete training in pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, achieving board certification in 2014. Gianfagna continues to stay abreast of current trends in pediatric medicine through continuing medical-education activities. His medical interests include perinatal medicine, global health, rural medicine, and resident education. He is also fluent in French. Dr. Gianfagna has worked as a pediatrician in Watertown over the past 10 years. Carthage Pediatric Clinic treats the illnesses and injuries that occur in children. Its staff of specialists provide care to patients from newborns to adolescents and everyone in between. Its procedures include physical exams, sick visits, vaccinations, and more.

BENJAMIN FRUCE has joined Advanced Dental Arts, (ADA), as a full-time dentist. The practice is owned by Dr. Frank J. Fruce, his father and practice owner. Dr. Benjamin Fruce, a Fulton native, earned his degree in biology from Le Moyne College in 2017 and his dental degree from the University at Buffalo School of Dental
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BENJAMIN FRUCE has joined Advanced Dental Arts, (ADA), as a full-time dentist. The practice is owned by Dr. Frank J. Fruce, his father and practice owner. Dr. Benjamin Fruce, a Fulton native, earned his degree in biology from Le Moyne College in 2017 and his dental degree from the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine in 2021. Fruce completed a one-year general practice residency at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, which encompassed all phases of dentistry, including cosmetic, endodontic, pediatric, periodontal, oral surgery and implant dentistry.

Oswego Health has added REWATI BHATTARAI as a new advanced practice provider at the Center for Gastroenterology & Metabolic Diseases. Bhattarai earned her bachelor’s degree in biology in 2015 at Syracuse University. In 2017 she attended Utica College’s Accelerated Nursing Program to earn her bachelor’s in nursing, before completing her master’s in nursing in 2020
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Oswego Health has added REWATI BHATTARAI as a new advanced practice provider at the Center for Gastroenterology & Metabolic Diseases. Bhattarai earned her bachelor’s degree in biology in 2015 at Syracuse University. In 2017 she attended Utica College’s Accelerated Nursing Program to earn her bachelor’s in nursing, before completing her master’s in nursing in 2020 at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Bhattarai has previously held positions as a nurse practitioner at Sodus Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, and as a registered nurse in the Transitional Care Unit at Upstate Medical University. Bhattarai joins the Center for Gastroenterology & Metabolic Diseases at Oswego Health and will work alongside Dr. Ajoy Roy and Dr. Suri Karthikeyan, to offer care for a wide spectrum of diseases and disorders affecting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. That includes the esophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, pancreas, intestines, colon, and rectum.

Rome Health Prenatal Care, located at 155 W. Dominick St., has added women’s health nurse practitioner MARGUERITE SHIFRIN to its team. She provides the full scope of gynecologic and obstetric care to women in the community. Having grown up in rural New York, Shifrin went on to graduate from Duke University School of Nursing. Excellence
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Rome Health Prenatal Care, located at 155 W. Dominick St., has added women’s health nurse practitioner MARGUERITE SHIFRIN to its team. She provides the full scope of gynecologic and obstetric care to women in the community. Having grown up in rural New York, Shifrin went on to graduate from Duke University School of Nursing. Excellence in rural and underserved medicine is Shifrin’s calling. Prior to her graduate degree, she worked in a variety of capacities as a nurse in women’s health, starting in 2003 with immersion in a free-standing birth center and spending the next two decades committed to women’s health in a variety of roles including birth and lactation support. Shifrin believes women’s health is foundational to the wellness of the population at large, “ensuring access to quality preconception, pregnancy, and preventive care for women is critical to maintaining our community’s health.”

ANDREW NAPIERALA has joined Excellus BlueCross BlueShield as VP of Medicare and individual market sales. His oversight will include field sales, tele sales, retail sites, and broker operations for these lines of business. An upstate New York native, Napierala has two decades of experience in consumer sales in health insurance and the financial-services industry. Excellus
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ANDREW NAPIERALA has joined Excellus BlueCross BlueShield as VP of Medicare and individual market sales. His oversight will include field sales, tele sales, retail sites, and broker operations for these lines of business. An upstate New York native, Napierala has two decades of experience in consumer sales in health insurance and the financial-services industry. Excellus provides health-insurance coverage to 1.5 million people across 39 counties of upstate New York.

Paige’s Butterfly Run, Inc. announced that JENNIFER HUNTLEY has joined its team as director of development. She brings about 13 years of development and marketing experience in the Central New York community, most recently working with the Franciscans at Assumption Church on the north side of Syracuse. Huntley’s primary focus will be helping to spread
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Paige’s Butterfly Run, Inc. announced that JENNIFER HUNTLEY has joined its team as director of development. She brings about 13 years of development and marketing experience in the Central New York community, most recently working with the Franciscans at Assumption Church on the north side of Syracuse. Huntley’s primary focus will be helping to spread the word about the mission of Paige’s Butterfly Run to benefit current and future pediatric-cancer patients and their families in Central New York, nurturing existing relationships and making new connections. Huntley holds a degree in business management from Bryant & Stratton College.
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