台灣人公共事務會8日上午在臉書發文，預告9日將有一封公開信投書媒體，內容為「美國退休官員以及國際關係學者呼籲台灣保持團結一致」。
此封公開信由44位來自美國、加拿大、英國及澳洲等國的學者、作家及前政府官員共同聯名發表，同時也投書媒體，副標題為「享有民主的台灣人民加油」，他們相當讚賞台灣的民主轉型，希望在台灣歷史的關鍵時刻，人民應保持團結。
公開信中提到，過去兩年來，中國不斷加強力道，壓縮台灣在國際上的空間，以擴張武力脅迫台灣，只有走向威權中國才是唯一道路。
而這些壓力在上週三（2日）中國國家主席習近平發表的談話中達到高峰，習近平在《告台灣同胞書》40週年紀念活動上，指出台灣問題是中國內政，依「一國兩制」完成統一是唯一的選項。
中國國家主席 習近平不過就在同一天，總統蔡英文也提出了強力反擊，強調「一國兩制」不被台灣人民所接受，他所主政的政府也從未承認過。蔡總統也表示，她所主張的「台灣共識」是建立在四個必須上，包含了中國得正視台灣的存在，還要尊重2300萬人民對於自由以及民主的堅持。
對於蔡英文回擊習近平的表現，學者們深信這是正確的反應，公開信中對此給出高度讚賞，也顯示了蔡總統在面對中國漸增的威脅下，所展現出穩健與盡責的領導能力。
儘管學者們對於台灣人民抗拒中國、護衛民主制度的行為感到欽佩，但也擔心北京最近採取欺騙與散布謠言的顛覆伎倆，意圖造成台灣內部的分裂，近而成為北京對台動武的藉口。
公開信接著寫道，在這44位學者認知中，蔡總統是位最具效率、知識豐富的政治人物，她沉穩的個性與謹慎持平的立場，不但得以帶領台灣在國際地位中有顯著進步，同時提升能見度，而且蔡英文針對強鄰侵略性霸凌所做出的冷靜回應也贏得其他國家的尊敬。
總統 蔡英文最後，學者們呼籲，台灣目前正受到中國極大的威脅，處於前所未有的十字路口，雖然內部社會尚有許多問題仍待解決，但在面臨外來的生存威脅之時，若台灣人民不了解及嚴重性，自己就先因為不同的政治立場有所紛爭，那將為北京領導人提供分化台灣的機會，使台灣被納入中國變成不可避免。
44位來自全球各地的學者、專家，聯名簽署了這封公開信，包括美國智庫「國際評估暨戰略中心」（International Assessment and Strategy Center）「未來亞洲計畫」主任譚慎格（John Tkacik）、前美國在台協會台北辦事處處長司徒文（William Stanton）與楊甦棣（Stephen Young）、紐約大學法學教授孔傑榮（Jerome Cohen）、英國倫敦大學亞非學院（SOAS）郝任德（Michael Rand Hoare）、丹麥組織「台灣角」（Taiwan Corner）主席麥可丹尼爾森（Michael Danielsen）、澳洲學者家博（Bruce Jacobs）等。
（民視新聞／蔡佩芯 報導）
【以下為公開信全文】
《Open letter to democratic Taiwan》
We the undersigned scholars, former government and military officials, and other friends of Taiwan who have witnessed and admired Taiwan’s transition to democracy for many decades wish to express to the people of Taiwan our sense of urgency to maintain unity and continuity at this critical moment in Taiwan’s history.
It is obvious that during the past two years, the People’s Republic of China has left no stone unturned in its attempts to squeeze Taiwan’s international space, threaten it with a buildup of military power and make it appear as if Taiwan’s only future lies in integration with an authoritarian China.
This pressure culminated on Wednesday last week with a speech by Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping（習近平）, telling the Taiwanese people that “the Taiwan question” was a Chinese internal affair, that unification under China’s “one country, two systems” principle was the only option for the future and Taiwan independence was a “dead end.”
In her response the same day, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) emphasized that the vast majority of the Taiwanese people strongly rejected “one country, two systems” and that her government had never accepted the so-called “1992 consensus.”
She then reiterated her “Taiwan consensus” based on the “four musts,” elaborated in her New Year’s address the day before. These include that China must accept the reality of the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and respect the commitment of the 23 million people of Taiwan to freedom and democracy.
As international scholars, writers and former officials we believe this is the right response. It is also illustrative of the stable and responsible leadership Tsai has displayed in the face of the mounting threat from communist China.
We applaud the courageous stance of the Taiwanese people in resisting Chinese pressures and protecting their own democratic system.
However, we express our concerns that Beijing’s latest subversive techniques of deception and disinformation could sow division and confusion in Taiwan’s body politic and create the kind of civil unrest that Beijing lists as one of the pretexts for using force against Taiwan — which would nevertheless constitute aggression in violation of the UN Charter.
In our view, Tsai is a most effective and knowledgeable statesperson. With her quiet demeanor and careful balancing she has not only significantly advanced Taiwan’s place in the international community, and elevated Taiwan’s profile on the international radar screen, but also stood firm in defending Taiwan’s hard-won freedom and democracy.
Just as Taiwan has made itself a democratic model for the region, Tsai has earned the respect of other nations for her courageous and composed response to the aggressive bullying of Taiwan’s powerful neighbor. We urge our own governments to make clear to Beijing that Taiwan does not stand alone.
Taiwan is at a crossroads as never before. It is under an existential threat by the People’s Republic of China. While we respect the reality that Taiwan, like all democratic polities, has a range of domestic issues that must be resolved, that democratic process should proceed in a manner that does not detract from the overall national unity in the face of the larger threat to Taiwan’s existence as a free and democratic nation.
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