The Reagan Administration had just, after a bitter debate, decided to send Taiwan the F5E fighter, instead of the FX that Taiwan wanted. Many of Taiwan's friends, including Dr. Judd, feared a slippery slope ("the Chinese mainland is reasonably convinced that if the United States continues to retreat, we will downgrade our support of the Republic of China on Taiwan to the point where it has no choice except to give in"). Realpolitikers like Mr. Holbrooke think even the FX is too much; we should accept the fact that there is one China and its capital is Peking, and "American policy must be dictated by our sense of our own national interest." For Mr. Buckley, the issue is that "You can't be friendly with the Chinese people and with the Chinese government. You can't be friendly to slaves and to slave masters. You've got to choose."