Taiwan’s interests are unlikely to be bartered away by US President Donald Trump at a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in exchange for China’s cooperation on North Korea, academics said.
Beijing hastily demanded the summit because it wants to restore US-China relations to their level under the administration of former US president Barack Obama, National Chung Hsing University professor of international politics Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said, adding that Xi also needs to maintain the image that he can effectively manage relations with the US.
“As such, China will have more expectations from the summit than the US,” he said.
Asked about the risk of Taiwan being used as a bargaining chip, Tsai said that while it is possible for China to try to test Trump’s position on Taiwan, the influence of many Trump Cabinet members who are wary of Beijing should not be overlooked.
The summit is likely to focus on North Korea and US-China bilateral security and trade issues, on which Washington expects Beijing to take more concrete action, he added.
As a result, the US is unlikely to concede Taiwan’s interests in exchange for Chinese concessions on North Korea, Tsai said, adding: “Instead of asking China for help, the US is putting pressure on China.”
National Sun Yat-sen University professor of China and Asia-Pacific studies Kuo Yu-jen (郭育仁) concurred, saying that the Trump administration’s attitude “makes it unlikely that China will gain much on the Taiwan issue this time.”
However, while it is not likely that a fourth joint US-China communique will be issued at the summit, Taipei should take seriously the possibility of such a statement being issued, Kuo said.
Taipei should observe the summit closely to take timely action to forestall China’s attempts to take advantage of Taiwan, especially in light of Beijing’s efforts to shape the narrative after a joint statement in 2009 by Obama and then-Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), he added.
Taipei should be ready to immediately demand clarification from Washington if Beijing attempts to manipulate political language to refer to China’s “one China” principle or other Taiwan-related issues, regardless of whether a joint statement is issued at the summit, Tsai said.
Trump’s main concern is North Korea’s nuclear weapons and its support of terrorism, problems that China has not been active in solving, National Sun Yat-sen University professor of China and Asia-Pacific studies Lin Wen-chun (林文程) said.
If Trump begins to see China as a threat, Taiwan’s importance could rise, and as many members of his Cabinet have been dependable friends of Taipei, there would be an opportunity to secure the sale of advanced fighter aircraft, he said.
Trump’s unpredictability might prompt Xi to adopt a more cautious approach on cross-strait issues, which could be advantageous for Taipei, he added.
Many US voters who supported Trump dislike China, so he might need to balance maintaining a relationship with Beijing and not making concessions, meaning the summit is likely to be more symbolic than substantive, Japan-based Doshisha University professor of law Koji Murata said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
RSS