Defense from within
Ryan Hass’ analysis (“External uncertainty should concentrate minds on domestic compromises,” April 14, page 8) offers a sober and clear-eyed view of the political uncertainties facing Taiwan in this new era of US foreign policy improvisation. His call for domestic compromise within Taiwan could not be more timely. Yet, this is precisely where the real challenge lies.
The greatest threat to Taiwan today might not be China’s growing military power alone — it is Taiwan’s inability to unite in the face of it. Hass urges all parties in Taiwan to compromise on how urgent and serious the threat from China is. However, that assumes a shared reality exists. The uncomfortable truth is that to certain opposition politicians in Taiwan, China is not a threat — it is a business partner, a benefactor or quite possibly their next boss, assuming they are not already on the payroll.
As long as such figures remain influential, unrestrained and politically active, Taiwan’s ability to present a unified front in defiance of China would remain crippled. That is the core of the problem — and the most formidable task ahead for President William Lai (賴清德). Enforcing the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) more stringently is not about political witch-hunting; it is about national survival. Likewise, the ongoing recall campaign must be seen not merely as a political exercise, but as the public’s effort to defend democracy against those who would compromise it from within.
As Hass rightly points out, Trump’s transactional worldview means that Taiwan can no longer rely on abstract appeals to shared values. The era of strategic ambiguity from the US is morphing into one of strategic volatility. Taiwan must adapt — not just externally, but internally. Only a united Taiwan could credibly manage the “dual dependency” relationship with the US, and only a united Taiwan could resist Beijing’s strategy of exploiting division.
In short, before Taiwan can defend its sovereignty from external threats, it must first defend it from within.
John Cheng
Taichung
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