Like every Tawanese president before her, Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has received her fair share of criticism, varying from displeasure for her economic policies to her inability to maintain Taiwan’s diplomatic allies. Since she took office, the nation has lost five of its allies, reducing the number of countries that recognize Taiwan as an independent country to 17.
However, despite those losses — which could be attributed more to indiscriminate poaching by China using its financial resources and the promise of access to its giant market than to mistakes by the Tsai administration — the first female president of Taiwan has brought the nation to the attention of the international community, and has also boosted the support it is given by the US and Europe.
This would seem to be an unquestionable fact, yet many of her critics attribute her international support to an anti-China sentiment that comes from the White House and the US Congress, which are eager to stop China’s development, rather than to Tsai’s diplomatic skills.
It is true that US President Donald Trump has been displeased with China, which he sees as having taken advantage of the US for years and being unwilling to change its unfair practices, and that there are people in the Trump administration who are friendly with Taiwan, such as White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, who before taking his current position had suggested moving some of the US troops based in Japan to Taiwan.
It is also a fact that Congress has made a lot of effort to advance the Taiwan-US relationship, while support for Taiwan in Congress has always been a bipartisan issue, which it has made clear through a series of actions that show how serious it is about the relationship.
House Resolution 1811 Countering the Chinese Government and Communist Party’s Political Influence Operations Act and the Taiwan Travel Act, which was presented to Trump on March 5 and has been signed into law, passed with support from both sides of the aisle. The travel law’s aim is to increase visits at all levels, including state officials and business leaders, between the two countries.
Congress also introduced legislation to re-evaluate and even downgrade relations with any country that switches ties from Taipei to Beijing.
While introducing it, Congress said that “the Taipei act requires a US strategy to engage with governments around the world to support Taiwan’s diplomatic recognition or strengthen unofficial ties with Taiwan,” although the proposed legislation was never signed into law.
This and other signs of support could be described as unprecedented, which raises the question: Is Tsai’s international support her own doing or is it completely fueled by a worldwide anti-China sentiment?
While the second part of that question would be difficult to deny, believing that she has sat and done absolutely nothing to earn support would be a mistake.
On Jan. 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) delivered his New Year’s Day message, in which he warned Taiwan to “peacefully” unify with China and reminded the world that China has not given up on the idea of taking it back by force if necessary.
It was then that Tsai showed her diplomatic skills by giving an answer that was dignifying, but not too confrontational.
Neither of those options was acceptable to the people of Taiwan, she said.
She also called for international support to defend Taiwanese democracy in the face of the Chinese threat.
“We hope that the international community takes it seriously and can voice support and help us,” she told reporters, adding that if the international community did not support a democratic country under threat, “we might have to ask which country might be next.”
Her speech came a day after Trump signed the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act, which established a strategy to increase the US’ security and economic interest in the Indo-Pacific region.
Her message was undoubtedly not only heard by members of the international community, but also by Taiwanese, who just over a month earlier had punished Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party in local elections. The crushing results prompted her to resign as head of the party to assume responsibility, but after her speech, her approval rating rose more than 10 percent, a notable switch in the perception of Taiwanese.
The reaction was not only local. Not long after her response to Xi’s speech, Focus Taiwan reported that the EU had reiterated its support for the nation and vowed to continue to develop the bilateral relationship.
“The EU has a strong stake in the security, peace and stability of Asia, including across the Taiwan Strait,” an EU spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to the Central News Agency (CNA), adding: “We support the constructive development of relations between mainland China and Taiwan as part of the peaceful development of the Asia-Pacific region.”
The European support has not faded since that. In March, CNA reported that members of the European Parliament expressed support for Taiwan, and that Europe understands how important it is to establish and maintain a good relationship with the nation.
Werner Langen, chairman of the European Parliament Taiwan Friendship Group, stressed the “EU’s support for peace,” calling on both sides to keep working on constructive dialogue.
The Taiwan Friendship Group will continue its work and try to obtain more support for Taiwan, he said.
The US’ support for Tsai also remains strong and shows no signs of winding down. Not long ago, there was a letter signed by members of both parties asking US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to invite Tsai to address Congress.
More recently, former US congressional speaker Paul Ryan visited Taiwan to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the US’ Taiwan Relation Act, a document that has been the foundation for cooperation between the two nations since Washington switched recognition from Taiwan to China.
Ryan expressed hope that ties between Taiwan and the US would improve based on the many values that both sides share.
He also touted how the Taiwan Relations Act has remained strong for decades and said that he looks forward to more cooperation in democracy, law and trade.
If there are doubts that the Tsai presidency has played a role in the increased levels of international support that Taiwan is receiving, there is a comparison worth making: If Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) were still president, would Taiwan be receiving this level of support for its democracy and international recognition?
Even if Ma would have received the same backing, would he have been willing to receive it, knowing that by doing so he would possibly anger Beijing?
Whether Tsai’s diplomatic skills and performance in the international sphere would be enough to grant her a second presidential term is yet to be seen, but the role of her presidency in the increased support that Taiwan has received from the international community is difficult to question.
Juan Fernando Herrera Ramos is a Honduran lawyer residing in Taiwan with a master’s in business administration.
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