Taiwan’s recent diplomatic quandaries, notably the severance of ties with the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, are serious problems that must be addressed — to the extent they could be addressed at all. To be sure, with fully six allies having withdrawn recognition of Taiwan in the past two years, the nation of Taiwan faces a near-emergency.
Of course, this is a decades-old issue, and virtually every other country worldwide has done the same thing in the past 60 years. Thus, it is not really surprising, and it is a challenge that Taiwan must regularly face. Taiwan’s remaining 15 allies find themselves in a ticklish position, “supporting” a country (the Republic of China, ROC) that few other nations do, one which has largely been cast in the dustbin of history. What is Taiwan able to do?
We should note here that what the six nations have done with Taiwan in the past few years is their perfect right and prerogative. Claims that they should be punished — and the US is at the forefront here — are brazen and in essence illegal (call it interfering in another state’s internal affairs).
What they have done is perfectly lawful, hard though it might be to face and considered a good idea by many. Critics of these moves treat them as if they are negligible affairs, and such an attitude is disrespectful to nation-states worldwide. These nations are making serious decisions about international diplomatic affairs, and they must be treated with dignity in so doing. This insistence on retribution is shameless and must be abrogated.
To be sure, Taiwan’s situation looks dire. It seems likely that many other countries might do what other recent countries have done (and as well what the other 178 UN members have done). In the end, Taiwan could be left with no diplomatic allies.
Taiwan might one day find itself in this position — there might be no other option. This is an uncomfortable reality to face, but perhaps not without a solution, as to be examined below.
Taiwan as a nation has very little status in the world, and the ROC is doing no better. Yes, this seems odd in terms of the reality of the nation of Taiwan, a country with culture, history, peoples/ethnicities, languages, geography, world trade, laws, customs, norms, identity and a functioning government (with all of its associated necessities of nationhood).
The simple reality is that this nation does function as just that in the international system, and few other countries would doubt this. Indeed, many another country has taken the ultimate step and “recognized” Taiwan as just this in the world (the US comes that close, as do many others).
However, this does not alter the reality of Taiwan’s diminishing role and connection in world affairs. A country with no diplomatic allies, after all, could hardly be called a country at all. There are a handful of such counties in the world right now (the Republic of South Ossetia, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Somaliland come to mind).
There have been observers in Taiwan who have said that allies do not matter much anyway, and in any case, the cost of maintaining the few allies that Taiwan has left — most of them underdeveloped and impoverished — is not worth it.
These people argue that losing diplomatic allies is tolerable, and in the same light it would not be the end of the world for Taiwan if its diplomatic allies dropped to zero, as long as it has the support of world powers such as the US, the EU and Japan.
This is not being fully explained, and the cold reality of this happening is not being squarely faced. While no doubt important, the above entities are only three powers, and if the other hundreds of UN member states still refuse to recognize Taiwan, then that is not significant progress.
What would it really mean if Taiwan were reduced to zero? Could it continue to survive at all? It seems that it would not be much like survival, but one wonders if Taiwan could launch a new model of diplomatic concurrence, becoming a one-off, stand-alone entity that, yes, does not even need the recognition of others. It could still function as an independent state in the world (some would say this is essentially the nation’s position now).
Quite frankly, I rather like this idea, and the introduction of an innovative new paradigm of international diplomacy could be a bold move by Taiwan. This might evolve into something of the stateless world, populated by “world citizens,” who have abandoned those often labored, synthetic attachments to home nations, an idea that has created endless conflict in the world and given rise to jingoistic and populist/nationalist risings.
Such an idea might alter the very idea of the UN, and we might find ourselves modifying relations into a new UM, from the French Union Mondiale (Global Union).
There are states even now that hardly count as states as such, but they are recognized by hundreds of UN members: the State of Palestine and the Republic of Kosovo, for example. Thus, it could be true that a “stateless state” could be deeply involved in international affairs (which most would say is true of Taiwan even now). Jilted nationalism stains these populations as much as any other state/country, and that is an effect we hope could be moderated and one day eliminated.
With these problems in mind, one suggested move has been for the US to re-establish formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, proposed by former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) on Sept. 14. This is an absurd idea, not least because it would violate US law.
Yu said he “believes under [US President Donald] Trump, Taiwan has its highest chance to see the US officially recognize it, as Trump is a non-traditionalist who is not afraid of changing the ‘status quo’ to serve US interests.”
Possibly true, and something that Trump might indeed attempt to do. However, this would be a one-off move by the president and would not represent any particular concordance at all.
There is no chance such an action could take place, and only a handful of the most fervent Taiwan supporters in the US government could think of suggesting such a thing. The US Congress and Senate would never agree to it, and the very idea of severing ties with China — which would have to happen in turn — is outrageous and no doubt impossible.
I hope the above description could be seen in a positive light in Taiwan. The situation might look dire on the surface, and for that reason alone, a new approach might be called for. Taiwan might be faced with “going it alone” in the future, but maybe that is not the worst possible outcome. Let the UM begin today.
David Pendery is an associate professor at National Taipei University of Business.
I came to Taiwan to pursue my degree thinking that Taiwanese are “friendly,” but I was welcomed by Taiwanese classmates laughing at my friend’s name, Maria (瑪莉亞). At the time, I could not understand why they were mocking the name of Jesus’ mother. Later, I learned that “Maria” had become a stereotype — a shorthand for Filipino migrant workers. That was because many Filipino women in Taiwan, especially those who became house helpers, happen to have that name. With the rapidly increasing number of foreigners coming to Taiwan to work or study, more Taiwanese are interacting, socializing and forming relationships with
Whether in terms of market commonality or resource similarity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). The two companies have agreed to set up factories in the US and are also recipients of subsidies from the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by former US president Joe Biden. However, changes in the market competitiveness of the two companies clearly reveal the context behind TSMC’s investments in the US. As US semiconductor giant Intel Corp has faced continuous delays developing its advanced processes, the world’s two major wafer foundries, TSMC and
Earlier signs suggest that US President Donald Trump’s policy on Taiwan is set to move in a more resolute direction, as his administration begins to take a tougher approach toward America’s main challenger at the global level, China. Despite its deepening economic woes, China continues to flex its muscles, including conducting provocative military drills off Taiwan, Australia and Vietnam recently. A recent Trump-signed memorandum on America’s investment policy was more about the China threat than about anything else. Singling out the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a foreign adversary directing investments in American companies to obtain cutting-edge technologies, it said
The recent termination of Tibetan-language broadcasts by Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a significant setback for Tibetans both in Tibet and across the global diaspora. The broadcasts have long served as a vital lifeline, providing uncensored news, cultural preservation and a sense of connection for a community often isolated by geopolitical realities. For Tibetans living under Chinese rule, access to independent information is severely restricted. The Chinese government tightly controls media and censors content that challenges its narrative. VOA and RFA broadcasts have been among the few sources of uncensored news available to Tibetans, offering insights
RSS