Taiwanese-American entrepreneur Andrew Yang (楊安澤) on Thursday night said that US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden would handle foreign policy issues very differently from his Republican rival, US President Donald Trump, adding that there would be a re-evaluation of the traditional democratic approach to relations with Taiwan and China if a new president takes office next year.
Yang made the remarks in a speech at a virtual forum hosted by Taiwanese online news outlet Storm Media and Yangmingshan Future Studies to discuss issues relating to technology, social changes and the US presidential election on Tuesday.
Yang, who was one of the 24 candidates in the Democratic presidential primary, has joined Biden’s campaign after suspending his own in February.
During the question-and-
answer session, Yang was asked about his opinion on a poll by British data analytics firm YouGov that showed Taiwan is the only country in Asia that favors Trump over Biden in the election, as well as the perception in Taiwan that Biden would be soft toward China.
“During the last four years, there has been an evolution in the way that many people view the US-China relationship. I am not sure if it would be natural for the new administration to somehow revert to the previous administration’s approach to China, given the changes in the last four years. I think that there would be a desire for a reset, as the US-China relationship became very fraught in some dimensions. I would ask people who were focused on this set of issues to wait and see what Joe’s approaches look like, and they may see that something has shifted from the last democratic administration,” Yang said.
Another panelist asked Yang if he thought a Biden win would help reduce tensions between the US, China and Taiwan.
“I believe that Biden-led America is going to be very engaged in international issues in a very different way from the Trump administration. Joe was very distraught with what he sees as America’s receding place in the world. He wants to invest a significant amount of energy in changing the dynamics, and hopefully that is positive for reducing the level of tension in the Taiwan Strait,” Yang said.
“Taiwan has to try to make itself felt in American politics regardless of the party in charge of the administration. There is going to be a re-evaluation of the traditional democratic approach to the relations with Taiwan and with China in 2021. That is an opportunity for Taiwan,” he said. “It would be truly awful for one of the democratic success stories in the last number of decades to somehow change, and that perspective even transcends the US-China relations. That speaks to the fundamental principle of what America is and what it stands for.”
As an Asian American competing in the Democratic primary for president and an advocate for a universal basic income scheme, Yang added that he saw his rise to the national political scene as “an enormously positive thing” for the Asian-American community in the US.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
RSS