The last threads of the illusion they had built up concerning the movement of China's communist authorities towards democracy were broken. In stark contrast, the liberalization and process of political normalization on this side of the Taiwan Strait led the West to begin to accept the ROC as a member of the democratic camp.
這對歐美政府來說，無異當頭棒喝，打破了他們對中共政權走向民主理性的最後一絲幻想；相較之下，海峽此岸這幾年來政治解禁的過程平穩，則使他們從心底開始接納台灣為「民主陣營的一員」。