The US' ambiguous treatment of the Taiwan question serves its interests well on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. While China continues to prop up the US economy, the US uses Taiwan as subtle leverage to pressure China on many fronts. Now, with the Taiwan Relations Act, the US plays its wild card in an effort to make Taiwan pay a heavy price for this "special" relationship.
Buying billions of dollars worth of weapons (some say antiquated and overpriced ones) for Taiwan would be futile. No matter how well prepared Taiwan thinks it could become, in a conflict with China, without outside assistance (ie, US intervention), China's huge military would be able to control Taiwan in just a matter of days.
Ironically, if Taiwan were really to unite peacefully (or not) with China, the US would lose a great deal of strategic power. China's military would be able to flex its muscles deep into the Pacific Ocean, separating the US' sphere of influence between the North and South Pacific.
Why should Taiwan be forced to play this extremely expensive and dangerous game between two superpowers? One of my Taiwanese friends has an ideal solution: if Taiwan really wants to remain a democracy, they could pay an annual tax to the US of several billion dollars.
We can call this "Protection Tax." This would probably go a long way to ensuring the US's genuine concern for Taiwan. After all, the real game is mostly about money and power, not simply worrying about a small nation's democracy.
Jesse Chalfin
Changhua
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with