Interviews | Dangerous Straits | FRONTLINE

FRONTLINE

China specialists, journalists, and key government officials in Washington, Beijing, and Taipei



	He was deputy assistant defense secretary in the Clinton administration when the decision was made in 1996 to send two U.S. aircraft carrier groups to the Taiwan Strait after China, in an intimidation campaign, began firing missiles close to Taiwan's coast. He is currently senior vice president and director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Here, he talks about the challenges China poses for the U.S., China's complex feelings towards America, and why Taiwan is a potential flashpoint. Interview conducted early autumn 2001.

	As assistant to the president for National Security Affairs in the Nixon administration, he played a pivotal role in the 1972 U.S. decision to reestablish relations with mainland China. In this interview, Kissinger discusses the changes in China's political and economic system over the past 30 years, his views on a U.S. China policy, and why he doesn't consider China a communist nation anymore -- calling China "a one-party state without a firm ideological foundation, more similar to Mexico under the PRI than Russia under Stalin." Interview conducted early autumn 2001.

	He is the director of China studies at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the author of the recent book, Same Bed, Different Dreams: Managing U.S.-China Relations, 1989-2000. Here, he discusses China's remarkable changes over the past 20 years, its "abandonment" of communism as an ideology, the country's potential social instability, its own terrorism threat, and his thoughts on U.S.-China relations over the next 10 years. Interview conducted early autumn 2001.

	He has been a strong critic of China and of the Clinton administration's policies on China, which emphasized engagement. In this interview, he discusses how the U.S. should approach its relations with China, why it's a potential enemy, and how the "poker game" is being played over the Taiwan issue. Interview conducted early autumn 2001.


	He is a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. In this interview, he explains China's position on the "one China" principle and warns against U.S. interference in the matter. Zhu tells FRONTLINE that "Taiwanese independence is equal to war." Interview conducted early autumn 2001.

	He is China's ambassador to the United States. In his interview, he talks about the Taiwan issue and how it can be worked out, China's rich-poor disparity, the West's misconceptions about his country, and why China's policy is to cooperate with the U.S. Interview conducted early autumn 2001.


	He is a deputy director of the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, where he specializes in democratization issues. Dr. Wu tells FRONTLINE that public opinion shows the majority of Taiwanese want moderate relations with China. He also discusses the military, economic, and political tactics China is using to try to resolve the "one China" question. Interview conducted early autumn 2001.

	He is Taiwan's vice defense minister. He argues that the missiles China positioned across the Taiwan Strait could not only devastate Taiwan's infrastructure, but also could seriously disrupt global shipping channels. He warns FRONTLINE that "to succumb to China is not going to be the peace of our times; it's going to be the beginning of potentially a war." Interview conducted early autumn 2001.


	He is the Beijing bureau chief of The New York Times. Here, he discusses Taiwan's importance for China, and offers an overview of the country's internal social, economic, and political problems -- including constraints on free speech and the press, and the over 100 million rural migrants seeking work in China's cities. Interview conducted early autumn 2001.

	He is a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. In this interview, he describes the split in the Republican Party over how to approach China. Sanger tells FRONTLINE that China likely sees the war on terrorism as an opportunity to counteract what they perceive as President Bush's tilt towards Taiwan. Interview conducted early autumn 2001.


	He was the pilot of the U.S. EP-3 spy plane that collided with a Chinese F-8 fighter jet on April 1, 2001. Describing the incident and its aftermath, he tells FRONTLINE, "I thought 24 people were going to die in the middle of the ocean, and I wondered if anyone would know why." Interview conducted early autumn 2001.