This study is a framing analysis of the coverage of the issue of Taiwan independence by the leading US newspaper -the New York Times. The identified major themes and meaning system illustrate how a politically sensitive issue on foreign soil is culturally translated into the mainstream American press: American elite press coverage of Taiwan's independence is packaged with the significant cultural symbols of democracy and freedom, marked by the threat from communism as well as surrounded by the rhetoric of social order and peace. The engendered ambiguity is argued to transcend partisan rifts, renew the dominant values and maintain the credibility of American politics.