Asia foreign-policy experts said that Taiwan-US relations under US president-elect Donald Trump’s administration would likely remain close.
Conservative US think tank the Heritage Foundation met in Washington on Friday to discuss post-election Taiwan-US relations. Frank Januzzi, a former adviser to US vice president Joe Biden, Gordon Chang (章家敦), a former China-based lawyer and the author of The Coming Collapse of China, and Dennis Halpin, a former senior professional staff member of the US Foreign Affairs Committee, attended the meeting.
Chang said that while many view Trump as the most important variable in maintaining order in Asia, China is strongly motivated to challenge Trump and would compel him to respond.
Chang said if Beijing takes military action in the Taiwan Strait, Trump would be compelled to assist Taiwan, similar to the situation that former US president Harry Truman faced when his administration was forced to militarily assist South Korea.
Januzzi said that when Trump assumes office, his primary concern is likely to be his own interests, followed by those of his family and then the voters to whom he wishes to appeal, adding that Trump’s ability to shift policies should not be underestimated.
Trump’s “transactional diplomacy” should be of concern, Januzzi said, adding that China has the most bargaining chips where trade is concerned.
Since Beijing has more to offer economically than Taiwan or Japan, the US Congress might play an important role in slowing foreign policy changes, Januzzi said.
Chang said Trump would send troops in defense of Taiwan, despite popular belief that he would not to protect the US’ economic relationship with China.
Trump would not want to be known historically as being one who would “tolerate and nurture an evildoer,” Chang said.
“Taiwanese are tough and resolute in their protection of freedom. For the foreseeable future Taiwan will preserve its independence,” Chang said.
Aside from the US, Japan and India play important regional roles in Asia, Chang said, adding that Asian nations are becoming more open to Japan playing an active leadership role.
Chang said Trump would be unlikely to pull out of Asia, and China cannot become hegemonic even in the absence of the US.
Taiwan has three pillars to rely on for survival: the Taiwan Relations Act, which the Trump administration cannot repeal; Taiwan’s international economic relationships and its lively democratic system, Januzzi said.
Trump is likely to be the first US president to challenge Republican policies on trade, he said.
Even if the US pulls out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP), such a move would not be detrimental to the agreement, as the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership holds little appeal for Japan, he said.
He added that Taiwan and South Korea might be able to join the TPP after changes made by current member states.
Halpin said Taiwan is like West Germany during the Cold War: It is a small island of democracy surrounded by communists.
Former US presidents Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy were among those who were staunch in their support of West Germany during the Cold War era, Halpin said.
Today’s US Republican Party must decide whether it wants to be Reagan-like or Chamberlain-like, Halpin said, referring to former British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, who was known for his appeasement foreign policy.
Halpin said there are 216 representatives in the US House of Representatives, including four cochairs who are in support of Taiwan, adding that one is a Cuban whose background resisting communists means their support for Taiwan is particularly strong.
Taiwan should strengthen its relationship with the US and discuss bilateral trade agreements, Halpin said, adding that the two sides should cooperate on the “new southbound policy,” which aims to bolster economic ties with India and Southeast Asian nations.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater