Ahead of US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) meeting today on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea, an op-ed published in Time magazine last week maliciously called President William Lai (賴清德) a “reckless leader,” stirring skepticism in Taiwan about the US and fueling unease over the Trump-Xi talks.
In line with his frequent criticism of the democratically elected ruling Democratic Progressive Party — which has stood up to China’s hostile military maneuvers and rejected Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework — Lyle Goldstein, Asia engagement director at the US think tank Defense Priorities, called Lai “reckless” for reiterating Taiwan’s sovereignty in a June speech, which Goldstein said angered China and would likely come back to burn the US.
The same day Time published an op-ed by retired Chinese People’s Liberation Army senior colonel Zhou Bo (周波), who claimed that “time is not on the American side thanks to China’s growing [military] capability,” adding that Trump should pressure Taiwan to accept the so-called “1992 consensus.”
Goldstein’s and Zhou’s articles are part of escalating cognitive warfare narratives by pro-China forces to compel Washington to give up its support for Taiwan in exchange for potential trade concessions from Beijing. They also seek to spread skepticism of the US in Taiwan and build momentum for China ahead of the meeting.
In criticizing Lai, Goldstein quoted Taipei Times columnist Courtney Donovan Smith (“Lai’s ‘nation’ speech a multi-faceted strategic strike,” June 28, page 12) as saying that “never before has a Taiwanese president devoted an entire speech to laying out clearly, point-by-point and unequivocally how Taiwan is unquestionably a sovereign nation.”
Smith’s column actually concluded that Lai delivered a “strategically brilliant speech,” showing how Taiwan meets the definition of a state codified in the 1933 Montevideo Convention that soundly refuted Beijing’s false claims on Taiwan. Lai’s speech would only be considered “reckless” for those oblivious to Taiwan’s sovereignty, or to those fearful of Taiwan’s democracy and self-determination to decide its own future.
While the “Taiwan issue” would unsurprisingly be brought up in the meeting, as Xi has made the most of any opportunity to reiterate China’s ambitious claims over Taiwan, Trump would likely seek to ease tensions in the region. Following the Gaza peace plan and Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire agreement, Trump would be eager to promote peace in the Indo-Pacific region. Any discussion of Taiwan at the meeting should be focused on de-escalating cross-strait and regional tensions.
Trump on Friday last week said he would bring up Taiwan with Xi, and expressed “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” China would not make any move on Taiwan, the US president said, adding that “it would be very dangerous for them to do.”
US trade representatives said the US aims to reach a trade deal in the meeting, covering tariffs, fentanyl, rare earths, TikTok and agriculture products. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that Taiwan should not be worried about being used as “a bargaining chip,” adding that the US would not seek a favorable trade agreement with China at the price of “walking away from Taiwan.”
Taiwan has long been a sensitive issue in US-China relations, but not necessarily an urgent one, especially for a China facing a weakening economy and domestic market slump. Any deliberate move by Xi on Taiwan in the meeting with Trump would only prove that China is the true “reckless” troublemaker.
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