Faced with two great powers — the US and China — some people in Taiwan say: “It is hard to be a small country between two big ones.”
These people advocate “equidistant diplomacy” as a survival strategy. However, this fancy argument cannot deceive people who have at least some sense of right and wrong, and who support the idea of Taiwan as a sovereign state.
If China recognized Taiwan’s national status and had no ambition to annex it, it would make more sense to advocate “equidistant diplomacy.” However, China’s intention to annex Taiwan is written clearly in its constitution and its “Anti-Secession” Law, along with its frequent intimidation and saber-rattling.
This is what gangsters do and to accept being extorted by gangsters would mean going back to the law of the jungle.
After the end of World War II, the US earned the title of “the world’s policeman” by using its monetary and military strengths to safeguard the ideas of democracy and freedom, and to prevent communist expansion and aggression. The communist world called the US “imperialist,” but the US did not invade Cuba, which is on its doorstep, or annex Taiwan, which Japan abandoned after the war. From Taiwan’s point of view, the US is a policeman, not a gangster.
Although the US cut diplomatic ties with the Republic of China in 1979, it immediately enacted the Taiwan Relations Act. While the US has not recognized Taiwan as a nation, the way it applies the law treats it as such. The US provides Taiwan with weapons for its self defense and promises to ensure its security.
Faced with the Chinese gangster and the US policeman, it is clear which choice Taiwan should make.
Taiwan can show goodwill and avoid provoking the gangster, but it would be unreasonable to maintain an equidistant relationship between the gangster and the policeman, as if there were no difference between good and evil.
The post-war international order is dominated by the US and the US clearly knows that, according to the Treaty of San Francisco — the document that officially and legally ended the Pacific War — Taiwan’s status is undetermined.
This means that the US and other signatories did not recognize China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime, in its own selfish interest, did not dare remind the signatories about the treaty’s terms regarding Taiwan’s status or insist that Taiwanese have the right to decide their own future. It just held on to Taiwan while playing a zero-sum game with China.
The Democratic Progressive Party government should change the tune by reminding the 49 signatories about its provisions regarding Taiwan’s status, as well as Taiwan’s democratization.
To become a normal country, Taiwan should stand on the side of the policeman and the law, rather than letting itself be recruited by a gangster.
James Wang is a media commentator.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
Congratulations to China’s working class — they have officially entered the “Livestock Feed 2.0” era. While others are still researching how to achieve healthy and balanced diets, China has already evolved to the point where it does not matter whether you are actually eating food, as long as you can swallow it. There is no need for cooking, chewing or making decisions — just tear open a package, add some hot water and in a short three minutes you have something that can keep you alive for at least another six hours. This is not science fiction — it is reality.
Kinmen County’s political geography is provocative in and of itself. A pair of islets running up abreast the Chinese mainland, just 20 minutes by ferry from the Chinese city of Xiamen, Kinmen remains under the Taiwanese government’s control, after China’s failed invasion attempt in 1949. The provocative nature of Kinmen’s existence, along with the Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou City, has led to no shortage of outrageous takes and analyses in foreign media either fearmongering of a Chinese invasion or using these accidents of history to somehow understand Taiwan. Every few months a foreign reporter goes to
The war between Israel and Iran offers far-reaching strategic lessons, not only for the Middle East, but also for East Asia, particularly Taiwan. As tensions rise across both regions, the behavior of global powers, especially the US under the US President Donald Trump, signals how alliances, deterrence and rapid military mobilization could shape the outcomes of future conflicts. For Taiwan, facing increasing pressure and aggression from China, these lessons are both urgent and actionable. One of the most notable features of the Israel-Iran war was the prompt and decisive intervention of the US. Although the Trump administration is often portrayed as
Czech military intelligence last week revealed that Chinese diplomats and intelligence officers followed Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and allegedly planned to stage an incident during her visit to Prague last year. In March last year, Czech media reported that a Chinese diplomat ran a red light while tailing Hsiao’s car. A Czech public radio news Web site reported on Thursday that Chinese officials also had plans to stage a car crash, a claim later confirmed by Czech military intelligence. The radio report cited a Czech Military Intelligence spokesperson who described the incident as “a case of physically following, to the point
RSS