Following China’s recall of its ambassador to Lithuania, the Baltic country said it remains committed to developing mutually beneficial relations with Taiwan. This highlights China’s diplomatic dilemma in the COVID-19 era as well as Taiwan’s diplomatic opportunities.
China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy is a sign of how Beijing’s international tactics are aimed at a domestic audience. This has shifted its diplomatic focus from the Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平)-era policy of China concealing its ambitions and biding its time, which gained international recognition and gave China an advantage, to nationalist propaganda focusing on punishing those who cross China even if they are far away.
The logic behind this shift is the search for a new legitimacy for the Chinese Communist Party’s one-party dictatorship after the slowdown of economic growth.
Only by molding Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) into the savior of the Chinese nation would the “little pinkies” — the country’s nationalist keyboard warriors — forget about the growing troubles in their lives and replace them with flag waving and slogan chants.
Such anxieties and needs have become increasingly intense amid a US-China trade dispute, supply chain restructuring and the ravages of the global COVID-19 pandemic. It was also this situation that led to a display of complete disorder in the US-China talks in Alaska.
The pandemic is another important factor affecting diplomacy. As many countries find themselves in dire circumstances with mass infections and deaths, it is only natural that China — with its poor human rights record, diplomatic misconduct, rising nationalism, constant expansionism and increasing isolation as a result of the pandemic — would become increasingly resented.
Just as Taiwan’s government encountered difficulty following a COVID-19 outbreak that started in May, many governments around the world are facing problems such as public anxiety, declining support and challenges from political opposition.
With an urgent need to establish political legitimacy, it is becoming increasingly difficult for China to accept diplomatic threats, so Beijing instead tries to strengthen its political legitimacy by sticking to its position and forcefully resisting opposition.
From the Canadian parliament’s support for the Halifax International Security Forum resolution to present the 2020 John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to several countries donating COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan; and from the revision and discussion of the phrase “Chinese Taipei” for Taiwan at the Tokyo Olympic Games to Lithuania’s insistence on developing a mutually beneficial relationship with Taipei, Taiwan is the beneficiary of other countries’ conflicts with China.
Taiwan’s recent diplomatic breakthroughs have not only been a result of its inherent strengths and the efforts of its diplomats, but the conflict between China and the rest of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic has also been an important driver of these changes.
Because of China’s diplomatic failures, Taiwan has been seen, discussed and assisted by more people.
The present time has been the most difficult for Chinese diplomacy in the past 30 years. It is also a time that presents Taiwan with the best chances for making diplomatic breakthroughs.
Hsieh Wen-che is an assistant research fellow at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.
Translated by Perry Svensson
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) challenges and ignores the international rules-based order by violating Taiwanese airspace using a high-flying drone: This incident is a multi-layered challenge, including a lawfare challenge against the First Island Chain, the US, and the world. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) defines lawfare as “controlling the enemy through the law or using the law to constrain the enemy.” Chen Yu-cheng (陳育正), an associate professor at the Graduate Institute of China Military Affairs Studies, at Taiwan’s Fu Hsing Kang College (National Defense University), argues the PLA uses lawfare to create a precedent and a new de facto legal
Chile has elected a new government that has the opportunity to take a fresh look at some key aspects of foreign economic policy, mainly a greater focus on Asia, including Taiwan. Still, in the great scheme of things, Chile is a small nation in Latin America, compared with giants such as Brazil and Mexico, or other major markets such as Colombia and Argentina. So why should Taiwan pay much attention to the new administration? Because the victory of Chilean president-elect Jose Antonio Kast, a right-of-center politician, can be seen as confirming that the continent is undergoing one of its periodic political shifts,
On Sunday, elite free solo climber Alex Honnold — famous worldwide for scaling sheer rock faces without ropes — climbed Taipei 101, once the world’s tallest building and still the most recognizable symbol of Taiwan’s modern identity. Widespread media coverage not only promoted Taiwan, but also saw the Republic of China (ROC) flag fluttering beside the building, breaking through China’s political constraints on Taiwan. That visual impact did not happen by accident. Credit belongs to Taipei 101 chairwoman Janet Chia (賈永婕), who reportedly took the extra step of replacing surrounding flags with the ROC flag ahead of the climb. Just
Taiwan’s long-term care system has fallen into a structural paradox. Staffing shortages have led to a situation in which almost 20 percent of the about 110,000 beds in the care system are vacant, but new patient admissions remain closed. Although the government’s “Long-term Care 3.0” program has increased subsidies and sought to integrate medical and elderly care systems, strict staff-to-patient ratios, a narrow labor pipeline and rising inflation-driven costs have left many small to medium-sized care centers struggling. With nearly 20,000 beds forced to remain empty as a consequence, the issue is not isolated management failures, but a far more
RSS