Faced with two great powers — the US and China — some people in Taiwan say: “It is hard to be a small country between two big ones.”
These people advocate “equidistant diplomacy” as a survival strategy. However, this fancy argument cannot deceive people who have at least some sense of right and wrong, and who support the idea of Taiwan as a sovereign state.
If China recognized Taiwan’s national status and had no ambition to annex it, it would make more sense to advocate “equidistant diplomacy.” However, China’s intention to annex Taiwan is written clearly in its constitution and its “Anti-Secession” Law, along with its frequent intimidation and saber-rattling.
This is what gangsters do and to accept being extorted by gangsters would mean going back to the law of the jungle.
After the end of World War II, the US earned the title of “the world’s policeman” by using its monetary and military strengths to safeguard the ideas of democracy and freedom, and to prevent communist expansion and aggression. The communist world called the US “imperialist,” but the US did not invade Cuba, which is on its doorstep, or annex Taiwan, which Japan abandoned after the war. From Taiwan’s point of view, the US is a policeman, not a gangster.
Although the US cut diplomatic ties with the Republic of China in 1979, it immediately enacted the Taiwan Relations Act. While the US has not recognized Taiwan as a nation, the way it applies the law treats it as such. The US provides Taiwan with weapons for its self defense and promises to ensure its security.
Faced with the Chinese gangster and the US policeman, it is clear which choice Taiwan should make.
Taiwan can show goodwill and avoid provoking the gangster, but it would be unreasonable to maintain an equidistant relationship between the gangster and the policeman, as if there were no difference between good and evil.
The post-war international order is dominated by the US and the US clearly knows that, according to the Treaty of San Francisco — the document that officially and legally ended the Pacific War — Taiwan’s status is undetermined.
This means that the US and other signatories did not recognize China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime, in its own selfish interest, did not dare remind the signatories about the treaty’s terms regarding Taiwan’s status or insist that Taiwanese have the right to decide their own future. It just held on to Taiwan while playing a zero-sum game with China.
The Democratic Progressive Party government should change the tune by reminding the 49 signatories about its provisions regarding Taiwan’s status, as well as Taiwan’s democratization.
To become a normal country, Taiwan should stand on the side of the policeman and the law, rather than letting itself be recruited by a gangster.
James Wang is a media commentator.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has prioritized modernizing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to rival the US military, with many experts believing he would not act on Taiwan until the PLA is fully prepared to confront US forces. At the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress in 2022, Xi emphasized accelerating this modernization, setting 2027 — the PLA’s centennial — as the new target, replacing the previous 2035 goal. US intelligence agencies said that Xi has directed the PLA to be ready for a potential invasion of Taiwan by 2027, although no decision on launching an attack had been made. Whether
A chip made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) was found on a Huawei Technologies Co artificial intelligence (AI) processor, indicating a possible breach of US export restrictions that have been in place since 2019 on sensitive tech to the Chinese firm and others. The incident has triggered significant concern in the IT industry, as it appears that proxy buyers are acting on behalf of restricted Chinese companies to bypass the US rules, which are intended to protect its national security. Canada-based research firm TechInsights conducted a die analysis of the Huawei Ascend 910B AI Trainer, releasing its findings on Oct.
In honor of President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, my longtime friend and colleague John Tkacik wrote an excellent op-ed reassessing Carter’s derecognition of Taipei. But I would like to add my own thoughts on this often-misunderstood president. During Carter’s single term as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, despite numerous foreign policy and domestic challenges, he is widely recognized for brokering the historic 1978 Camp David Accords that ended the state of war between Egypt and Israel after more than three decades of hostilities. It is considered one of the most significant diplomatic achievements of the 20th century.
Pat Gelsinger took the reins as Intel CEO three years ago with hopes of reviving the US industrial icon. He soon made a big mistake. Intel had a sweet deal going with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the giant manufacturer of semiconductors for other companies. TSMC would make chips that Intel designed, but could not produce and was offering deep discounts to Intel, four people with knowledge of the agreement said. Instead of nurturing the relationship, Gelsinger — who hoped to restore Intel’s own manufacturing prowess — offended TSMC by calling out Taiwan’s precarious relations with China. “You don’t want all of
RSS