US President Donald Trump’s signing of the Taiwan Travel Act was followed by a series of exchanges between US and Taiwanese government officials, sending a message to Beijing and Taipei that the act is the real deal.
Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei banquet last week, Alex Wong (黃之瀚), deputy assistant secretary at the US Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that Taiwan’s constitutional democracy is “an example for the entire Indo-Pacific,” region and that “it’s no coincidence that Taiwan’s democratic flourishing has gone hand-in-hand with its economic one.”
Wong said the US is willing to “strengthen the free and open order of the Indo-Pacific,” that the US’ commitment to Taiwan does not change with administrations or presidents because the relationship is “undergirded — and animated — by shared and enduring values,” and that the US “has been, is and always will be Taiwan’s closest friend and partner.”
A day later, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing Ian Steff arrived in Taiwan for a six-day visit to meet with senior political and business figures.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) also visited the US, delivering speeches and meeting with US government officials, including US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton. Thorton conveyed the US’ constant support for Taiwanese participation in international organizations and affirmed that Washington would be proactive in helping Taiwan raise its international visibility.
Thornton also said that as Beijing’s pressure on Taiwan increases, Taiwan must find countermeasures. As democracies, the US and Taiwan should “stand on the same side.”
Reading between the lines, Wong’s promise that the US’ commitment would not change with administrations or presidents and Thornton’s proposal that the two nations should “stand on the same side” are indirectly aimed at the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Chen also met US Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Brian McFeeters, who mentioned two major points of Taiwan-US economic collaboration: creating a fair environment for US businesses to invest in and sell their products in Taiwan and proper legal protection of intellectual property rights, and further improving collaboration in high-end technologies, such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.
Similarly, Steff’s visit was, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, intended “to explore ways of collaboration to strengthen the bilateral trade, commercial and investment relationship between the United States and Taiwan.”
That the US wishes to improve bilateral trade relations is comforting amid a looming US-China trade war. Following China’s announcement of its “31 silver bullets,” the US’ increasing emphasis on the role of Taiwanese trade demonstrates the Trump administration’s changing Taiwan Strait policy, which is to make both strategic and economic and trade preparations.
This is a substantive rebalancing of the Taiwan-US approach away from those who advocate moving closer to China politically and economically.
The KMT should pay close attention as it decides whether to continue former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) efforts to move closer to China and away from the US if it wants to return to power.
Trump’s move is not surprising. A few months ago, the Korean Peninsula crisis and the stand-off between the US and North Korea almost spun out of control because China was fishing in troubled waters, but North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Trump managed to marginalized Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Xi then broke China’s collective leadership model and removed the constitutional limit on presidential terms, moving the nation from authoritarianism toward dictatorship. The Chinese dream is now one of a Chinese empire standing in stark relief to the US-led free and open Indo-Pacific strategy.
The geopolitical situation in the Asia-Pacific means Taiwan must withstand China’s political, economic and military threats, but the US shares Taiwan’s values and firmly supports its sovereignty.
Trump’s move was as swift as Xi’s imperial proclamation. It elevated the US-Taiwan relationship, and if Beijing decides to take revenge on Taiwan for the US move, it would negate its 31 incentives and expose its true colors.
Still, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration should work proactively to facilitate industrial innovation, boost the economy, improve employment and increase wages to stand up to China’s unification strategy. This would redirect the China connection that has destroyed Taiwan’s business and economic dynamics toward Taiwan-US trade, which would drive a Taiwanese industrial and economic renewal.
China will never end its diplomatic extortion and threats, regardless of whether Taiwan is ruled by the KMT or a Taiwan-centered government.
It is time Taiwan distances itself from the Chinese maelstrom and finds its own way. Big power politics has once again placed Taiwan at a crossroads. It is easy to see that we should follow the US, which stands on our side, rather than China, which wants to annex Taiwan.
Translated by Chang Ho-ming
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
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