Less than a week into its term, the new US administration under President Joe Biden has already shown itself to be a trusted ally of Taiwan and a determined counter against China.
New and incoming US officials have not been shy with their rhetoric, including declarations of support from new Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Biden’s pick for secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, as well as strong denunciations of Chinese actions from Biden himself, and concrete moves have already been taken to back up these claims.
Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Wednesday last week attended the inauguration of Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington at the invitation of the US Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which would have required approval from Biden’s team.
It was the first time since the severance of diplomatic ties in 1979 that an official invitation had been extended to a Taiwanese representative — a splashy move clearly intended to convey an unequivocal message of support for Taiwan from both branches of government.
Then on Saturday, the same day that 13 Chinese military aircraft were spotted encroaching on Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone, a US aircraft carrier group, led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt, entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas” navigation and “build partnerships that foster maritime security.”
Having now seen real action from Biden’s team, it reveals the emptiness behind the fear and uncertainty that had been brewing since the US election. After four years of divisive politics under former US president Donald Trump, it was not only the US that has fallen under the spell of polarization. Many in Taiwan have also succumbed to the belief that to be anti-China means being pro-Trump and vice versa, leading to an unfounded fear that a White House under Biden would spell disaster for Taiwan.
The new administration is clearly working hard to rein in frenetic politicization. Even while rolling back some policies, it is not rescinding all of them just because they were enacted by Trump. Engagement with China and Taiwan are key areas where both parties agree, providing an expedient arena for bipartisanship where Biden can extend rather than retract the efforts of his predecessor.
As Biden settles into the Oval Office, Taiwan must be sure to follow his example and refrain from politicizing its relationship with its “most important ally,” as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said in her congratulatory message to the new administration.
That being said, the stink of polarization will take some time to fade away. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) has already tried to use the deepening Taiwan-US relationship under Trump as a cudgel against the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), saying on Wednesday that the Tsai administration’s friendliness toward the previous US administration would inevitably harm its chances with the next, leaving “no way in.”
This is of course a misguided belief, immediately proven wrong by Hsiao’s presence later that day at the inauguration. If Taiwan had spurned the Trump administration’s advances for the sake of politics, Biden’s team would not have been able to add to the foundation it built. There is a reason politicians when looking outward adopt a unified voice, because without continuity across administrations, nothing could advance.
Taiwan should stick to this principle as it continues to engage with Washington while remaining aware of how partisan rhetoric can skew reality. Just as US Democrats and Republicans look to be coming together to oppose China and support Taiwan, the DPP and the KMT should stand together as they seek to further deepen Taiwan’s relationship with the US — after all, it is Taiwan-US relations, not DPP-Democrat relations.
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