The US would likely continue supporting Taiwan diplomatically and through arms sales, even though US president-elect Joe Biden has defeated US President Donald Trump in Tuesday’s election, a Chinese academic said yesterday.
Under Biden, Washington would continue to sell Taiwan sufficient military equipment to fend off an attack from China, said Shi Yinhong (時殷弘), an international studies professor at Renmin University of China.
A Biden administration would continue the fight for more international space for Taiwan, because both political parties in the US have considerable consensus on supporting the nation, Shi said.
In terms of the US’ China policy, Shi said that compared with Trump, Biden is “far less wild, vulgar and fickle” so that his approach would be more stable and predictable.
Biden might want to avoid a massive military conflict with China, Shi said, adding that he would likely instruct top US officials to communicate with their counterparts in Beijing to ease tensions.
With Biden’s more conciliatory approach, the chances of a US-China military conflict would drop dramatically, Shi said.
The US’ stance on other China-related issues would remain steady, he said, adding that tensions between Washington and Beijing would ease just slightly.
Contentious issues between the two sides include Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South China Sea, Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as religious freedom and human rights in China, Shi said.
If China was to attack Taiwan, the US would likely respond militarily, he added.
Biden would likely “repair” the relationships with other European and Asian countries, to build a stronger resistance to China, Shi said.
As for Taiwan-China relations, Shi said that he does not expect any changes, as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) refuses to accept the so-called “1992 consensus.”
As long as that position remains, Beijing would not forge official dialogue with Taipei and would continue to put pressure on Taiwan, no matter who is in the White House, Shi said.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Thirty-five earthquakes have exceeded 5.5 on the Richter scale so far this year, the most in 14 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Facebook on Thursday. A large earthquake in Hualien County on April 3 released five times as much the energy as the 921 Earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, the agency said in its latest earthquake report for this year. Hualien County has had the most national earthquake alerts so far this year at 64, with Yilan County second with 23 and Changhua County third with nine, the agency said. The April 3 earthquake was what caused the increase in
INTIMIDATION: In addition to the likely military drills near Taiwan, China has also been waging a disinformation campaign to sow division between Taiwan and the US Beijing is poised to encircle Taiwan proper in military exercise “Joint Sword-2024C,” starting today or tomorrow, as President William Lai (賴清德) returns from his visit to diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a national security official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said that multiple intelligence sources showed that China is “highly likely” to launch new drills around Taiwan. Although the drills’ scale is unknown, there is little doubt that they are part of the military activities China initiated before Lai’s departure, they said. Beijing at the same time is conducting information warfare by fanning skepticism of the US and
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
DEFENSE: This month’s shipment of 38 modern M1A2T tanks would begin to replace the US-made M60A3 and indigenous CM11 tanks, whose designs date to the 1980s The M1A2T tanks that Taiwan expects to take delivery of later this month are to spark a “qualitative leap” in the operational capabilities of the nation’s armored forces, a retired general told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview published yesterday. On Tuesday, the army in a statement said it anticipates receiving the first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks from the US, out of 108 tanks ordered, in the coming weeks. The M1 Abrams main battle tank is a generation ahead of the Taiwanese army’s US-made M60A3 and indigenously developed CM11 tanks, which have
RSS