Taiwan on Thursday received a welcome return on four decades of friendship when the Tuvaluan foreign minister said his nation would not only remain a staunch ally, but wanted to form an alliance with Taipei’s three other Pacific-island allies to bolster resistance to Chinese encroachment and interference in the region.
In a not-unrelated move, the Solomon Islands’ Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani on Thursday said that his administration would work with the US and others to develop a deep-water port at Bina Harbour.
It has also asked the US and Australia to be part of the province’s security to help protect it from Chinese developers and illegal fishing in its waters, even though the central Solomon Islands government switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China in September, a move that Suidani said his administration did not recognize.
While it would be nice to think that Tuvalu’s declaration and Malaita’s resistance to Chinese investment are solely the result of years of Taiwanese friendship, and concern about Beijing’s ulterior motives, they actually have more to do with a renewed interest in the South Pacific by the US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, who, however belatedly, have woken up to the threat posed not only to their national interests from Beijing’s aggressive moves to poach Taiwan’s allies in the region, but to the free flow of transportation, communications and commerce in the region.
Tuvalu and Malaita Province have been the focus of a renewed diplomatic push by Washington in recent months.
Officials from USAID, and the US departments of defense, state and commerce visited Malaita in August, while US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sept. 27 urged Tuvalu to work with Taiwan to push for democracy in the South Pacific, a call he repeated in his message congratulating the tiny nation on Oct. 1, the 41st anniversary of its independence.
Meanwhile, the US Congress wants to support Taiwan and its remaining diplomatic allies through the proposed Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act.
The US Senate unanimously passed its version of the TAIPEI bill on Oct. 29, as did the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs with its version the following day, although the full House has yet to vote on it.
Washington watching Taiwan’s back is nice, but the government cannot rely on that alone to combat China’s economic and diplomatic offensive. It needs to build alliances with non-governmental organizations in the region and around the world instead of spending so much time and money focused on the UN and its bodies.
Taiwan’s greatest strength is its democracy and commitment to human rights, which have made it a beacon of hope and an inspiration in Asia, something that has become ever more important in light of protests in Hong Kong and the growing exposure of Beijing’s crimes in Xinjiang.
That Taiwan was chosen to host the 40th Congress of the International Federation for Human Rights last month, the first time the group has met in Asia, is significant, just as was the decision by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to open its first Asian bureau in Taipei.
The federation’s members come from more than 120 nations, and the representatives who attended the congress had a chance to see firsthand the advances this nation has made, while every time RSF reports from Taiwan or issues a statement from Taipei, it is a reminder to the world that this nation is not part of China, regardless of Beijing’s claims.
Tuvalu might be tiny, but it made its voice heard this week by saying no to China and backing Taiwan, just as Taiwan has been voicing support for the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and criticizing Beijing’s abuse in Xinjiang and elsewhere.
China might be a big cat, but mice can roar.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
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