Summit diplomacy is a legacy of World War II. From the Cairo Conference to the Potsdam Conference, the Allies determined their war aims and postwar spheres of influence. British prime minister Winston Churchill said of such meetings, “It is not easy to see how matters could be worsened by a parley at the summit.” Summit diplomacy has continued to develop down to the present day, with the G20 meetings being a prime example of this concept in action.

Former ROC foreign minister Fredrick ­Chien said in a seminar held in conjunction with the exhibition that in the past “­diplomacy” was focused exclusively on military affairs, alliances, and political ties, but today international relations are increasingly complex. Issues like economic policy, trade, education, culture, health measures, environmental protection, and combating terrorism are all on the foreign policy agenda. In addition, the UN is frequently holding summit meetings, inviting leaders from around the world to study specific issues; this is another reason why summit diplomacy is increasingly common.

Chien stated that the most important bilateral summit was the visit to Taipei by Dwight Eisenhower in 1960. Eisenhower met with Chiang Kai-shek several times, and the two governments issued a formal joint communiqué. In 1979, the ROC broke off diplomatic relations with the US, and the US entered into negotiations with mainland China on the issue of military sales to Taiwan. In July 1982, a month before the US and mainland China issued the “August 17 communiqué,” James R. ­Lilley, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, verbally delivered “six assurances” to President Chiang Ching-kuo on behalf of US president Ronald Reagan; these assurances, which were only later made public, are still considered critical today by scholars of Taiwan–US relations. Today, although the US and ROC do not have formal diplomatic relations, we still see the meaning and purpose of summit diplomacy being realized through their representatives. For example, at the annual APEC Leaders’ Meeting the representative of the ROC leader has the opportunity to have personal conversations with the US leader, which can be considered summit diplomacy in a novel form.

Shaw Yu-ming, formerly chairman of the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (Taiwan’s de-facto embassy in the US) and currently chairman of Taiwan’s Public Television Service, said at the seminar that Taiwan has been deeply influenced by the US in many ways—security and defense ­coordination, economic aid, democracy and freedom. Take for example the impact of the large number of students who studied in the US in the 1970s and 1980s. They brought back ideas of democracy, freedom, and human rights to Taiwan, and they played a critical role in the processes of democratization, social liberalization, and normalization of relations with mainland China.

Christopher J. Marut of the American Institute in Taiwan added that interpersonal interaction has been one method of advancing US–Taiwan relations. Since 1949 there has been a lot of interaction, of people going back and forth. Taiwan’s ­entry into the US Visa Waiver Program a year ago was the result of the efforts of both sides, and he expects bilateral relations to continue to deepen.