The government is asking the public not to“overinterpret” its negligent handling of the disaster relief effort in southern Taiwan and its initial rejection of foreign aid before accepting US assistance.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), however, insists that US assistance is a sign of restored trust between Taiwan and the US.
The unspoken implication, of course, is that if former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his administration had still been in power, the US would have stood by and watched Taiwanese die.
Such farfetched conclusions only prove that it is part of Ma’s character to take credit for other people’s achievements while shirking responsibility for his mistakes. “They” don’t want the rest of us to interpret the significance of the US’ disaster relief assistance, because that could put the spotlight on government negligence and incompetence, separate Taiwan’s friends from its enemies and make China lose face.
The US’ actions and a number of phrases used by its officials, such as “humanitarian assistance” and assisting “the Taiwanese people,” as well as a statement that there is “no need to inform China,” highlight the significance of this assistance.
The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) stipulates that the US shall “resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan,” making it a matter of legal implementation. The US does not recognize Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China, so it does not have to inform China of its actions.
The US’ disaster aid gives a clear response to the question of who Taiwan’s friends and enemies really are.
The US makes no territorial claims on Taiwan, and the TRA provides unilateral protection for Taiwan’s security and well-being, while China wishes to annex Taiwan, with its “Anti-Secession” Law threatening the use of force.
The government’s negligence included waiting until Aug. 13 before it asked for US assistance.
The next day, US aircraft landed in Taiwan in a display of the US’ organizational capabilities and highlighting the Taiwanese government’s incompetence and inability to understand that US helicopters could not fly from Guam or Japan to Taiwan.
By making this preposterous suggestion, Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) showed he has no grasp of how the US carries out disaster relief in the region.
The US’ display was also a show of strength as far as China’s military was concerned. If the US could mobilize so quickly for disaster relief efforts, then of course it could do the same in the event of conflict.
Ma relies heavily on the legacy of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), but doesn’t understand that it was the US’ military capabilities that saved Chiang’s skin in August 1958.
The Nationalist army on Kinmen could not compete with China’s firepower, so the US sent in eight-inch guns, which arrived on Sept. 19, finally giving the army the firepower to respond to the bombardment.
The significance of the US’ disaster aid does not lie in mutual trust.
Instead, it proves the folly of the government’s policy to move closer to China and distance itself from the US.
The TRA allows the US to assist Taiwan, and the US is the friend that will help to protect Taiwanese freedom and democracy.
James Wang is a media commentator.
TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not