The Legislative Yuan on Tuesday unanimously passed two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) resolutions in a rare example of cross-party agreement.
The first resolution urges the government to encourage the US help Taiwan in the event of aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The second calls on the government to endeavor toward re-establishing diplomatic ties with Washington.
The resolutions are eminently practical, given the heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the CCP’s increased saber-rattling. It should not be surprising that all parties are willing to unite in the face of displays of aggression from a hostile nation.
However, Taiwan’s situation is far from normal, and below this simulacrum of unity lies a squirming nest of political calculation.
The unity was the surprising element. The nature of the resolutions themselves should not be. They passed with the support of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus, because they are consistent with the DPP’s long-standing political trajectory.
Even though they do not at first seem consistent with the KMT’s trajectory, this is only because the party, especially under the leadership of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), has strayed from its original course to one more pro-China, putting Taiwan’s sovereignty at risk for temporary cross-strait peace.
However, the resolutions are consistent with KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang’s (江啟臣) vision of party reform, which seeks to return the KMT to its earlier spirit.
During the time of former presidents Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), the KMT welcomed the US’ patronage and protection.
The second resolution proposes working toward re-establishing ties between the Republic of China (ROC), not Taiwan, and the US. That, too, is consistent with the KMT’s position.
The DPP would not object, as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has said that she has no intention, for the time being, to change the official name of the nation.
The CCP’s displays of aggression are ostensibly the reason for proposing the first resolution. The reason for proposing the second was to score political points against Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who in an interview with Washington-based National Public Radio last month said that the government is “not seeking full diplomatic relations with the US at this moment.”
With the resolutions, the KMT is trying to reclaim the ground it has lost to the DPP, with regards to being the party with the closest relationship to the US.
On Sept. 24, two days after Wu’s interview was broadcast, KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said that the US could best support Taiwan by resuming formal ties and signing a mutual defense treaty, something the nation enjoyed when Taiwan-US relations were “at their best,” referring to the ROC under Chiang Kai-shek, in what the KMT sees as its heyday.
In the current political climate, the KMT needs to remind the electorate of its anti-CCP — as opposed to anti-China — roots if it is to stop its slide into insignificance as a political force.
In a post-vote news release, the KMT caucus — disingenuously — said that it was surprised the DPP caucus supported the resolutions. It also goaded Tsai and Wu to follow through on them.
It knows that the government straying from its cautious approach when the US is not ready to comply would leave Tsai and Wu vulnerable to accusations of inciting war with China. The KMT could then present itself as being committed to stability and peaceful cross-strait development, but one that is willing to push back against the CCP.
However, it also risks leaving itself open to blowback if it continues to stymie the government’s attempts to strengthen ties with the US.
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
US President Donald Trump’s alleged request that Taiwanese President William Lai (賴清德) not stop in New York while traveling to three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, after his administration also rescheduled a visit to Washington by the minister of national defense, sets an unwise precedent and risks locking the US into a trajectory of either direct conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or capitulation to it over Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities have said that no plans to request a stopover in the US had been submitted to Washington, but Trump shared a direct call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平)
Heavy rains over the past week have overwhelmed southern and central Taiwan, with flooding, landslides, road closures, damage to property and the evacuations of thousands of people. Schools and offices were closed in some areas due to the deluge throughout the week. The heavy downpours brought by the southwest monsoon are a second blow to a region still recovering from last month’s Typhoon Danas. Strong winds and significant rain from the storm inflicted more than NT$2.6 billion (US$86.6 million) in agricultural losses, and damaged more than 23,000 roofs and a record high of nearly 2,500 utility poles, causing power outages. As
The greatest pressure Taiwan has faced in negotiations stems from its continuously growing trade surplus with the US. Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US reached an unprecedented high last year, surging by 54.6 percent from the previous year and placing it among the top six countries with which the US has a trade deficit. The figures became Washington’s primary reason for adopting its firm stance and demanding substantial concessions from Taipei, which put Taiwan at somewhat of a disadvantage at the negotiating table. Taiwan’s most crucial bargaining chip is undoubtedly its key position in the global semiconductor supply chain, which led