On March 20, the people of Taiwan will vote in a closely contested presidential election and controversial referendum. This exercise in democracy, however, has provoked a spate of saber rattling from mainland China, which fears that Taiwan may be laying the groundwork for a formal declaration of independence. It also prompted a rebuke from President Bush, who had previously pledged that the United States would do "whatever it takes" to protect Taiwan's democracy.

As Taiwan grows more assertive, how should U.S. policy in the region adapt? Is it time for the United States to abandon the polite fiction of the "One ChinaĦħ policy and support Taiwanese independence? In the face of China's military buildup in the Taiwan Straits, should the United States balance its defense of Taiwan's flourishing democracy with its traditional interest in a stable relationship with China?