The first-ever global conference of democratic countries, a gathering hosted by the Polish government and the United States, is scheduled for Warsaw at the end of June. Foreign ministers from democratic countries around the globe will gather there to discuss strengthening democratic institutions and processes. The State Department boasts on its website that this will include "the full range of countries that have taken the democratic path."
Except Taiwan. And this exception despite the fact that the change in government in Taiwan this year represents the first peaceful and democratic transfer of power in 5,000 years of recorded Chinese history -- an event rich with significance, one might think, for promoters of democracy.
No doubt embarrassed by the obvious omission of such a deserving participant, the State Department is attributing the decision to a policy of including only United Nations members -- a transparent bit of legalism that happens to exclude only Taiwan. Oh, and besides, says a State Department official when asked about the omission, the invitations are "coming from the Poles."
Perhaps it's a useful lesson for the infant Chinese democracy on Taiwan. For all the benefits democracy bestows, it still doesn't guarantee principled forthrightness and courage at the top.