Former US national security adviser H.R. McMaster yesterday called on like-minded partners to “amplify Taiwan’s voice” on the global stage to counter the expansionism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
McMaster made the remarks via videoconference at the Ketagalan Forum — 2020 Asia-Pacific Security Dialogue, which opened in Taipei yesterday.
In his speech, McMaster said the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and other CCP officials is driven by the fear of losing control, instead of care for citizens, which results in a series of policies that inflict pain on Xinjiang and Hong Kongers, and pose a threat to Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
In the post-pandemic era, the CCP would increase all forms of social control as well as its “authoritarian exportation,” he said.
To counter the CCP’s aggression and espionage efforts, people should “amplify Taiwan’s voice” in academic institutions and international forums, as well as media platforms, he said.
Fostering ties between US institutions and their Taiwanese counterparts can help counterbalance the CCP’s influence on US campuses, McMaster said.
In terms of global issues, “Taiwan’s example” in public health is well-known, while the nation is also a leader in technology, energy, environment and other areas, he said, adding that Taiwan’s paradigms can foster positive changes in the region to counter Beijing’s authoritarian models.
Amplifying Taiwan’s voice could also help counter the CCP’s co-option of US media and Hollywood, he said.
“It is time to broaden the reach of Taiwanese news platforms, in particular those written in English, such as the Taipei Times and the Taiwan Journal,” he said.
“The need is urgent, as Hong Kong‘s traditional place as a main source of English-language news of the region is now, sadly, editorially compromised,” he said.
Taiwanese publications might help educate Americans and other foreign audiences about the history of cross-strait relations, as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea are focal points of geopolitical tensions, said McMaster, who now chairs the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center on Military and Political Power.
Former US assistant secretary of state for East Asia Daniel Russel also spoke via videoconferencing, suggesting that Taiwan increase its national defense budget, and implement economic reforms to attract foreign investment and boost economic ties with the US and other partners to counter Beijing’s pressure.
McMaster served as US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser from February 2017 to April 2018, while Russel held his US Department of State post under former US president Barack Obama’s administration.
Additional reporting by CNA
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