South Korea’s Taiwan policy
South Korea’s 22nd legislative elections are about to get under way. A few days ago, Lee Jae-myung, chairman of South Korea’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during a campaign rally.
Among other policy issues, his doubts over Seoul’s foreign policy toward Taiwan were also front and center, sparking widespread discussion inside and outside the country.
Lee talked about the Yoon administration’s foreign policy actions toward Taiwan over the past two years, saying they have caused massive harm to South Korea. He added that Yoon had incessantly invited China’s ire, leading to a massive widening in the trade deficit between the two nations.
Lee’s speech reflects the internal divisions of South Korea’s Taiwan policy. On the one hand, some South Koreans believe that their country should maintain friendly relations with China. On the other hand, there are South Koreans who advocate forging ahead with far more active measures in international affairs.
Regardless of who is elected to the legislature, South Korea’s Taiwan policy is sure to face new challenges and opportunities.
Lee Che-yu
Taipei
The return of US president-elect Donald Trump to the White House has injected a new wave of anxiety across the Taiwan Strait. For Taiwan, an island whose very survival depends on the delicate and strategic support from the US, Trump’s election victory raises a cascade of questions and fears about what lies ahead. His approach to international relations — grounded in transactional and unpredictable policies — poses unique risks to Taiwan’s stability, economic prosperity and geopolitical standing. Trump’s first term left a complicated legacy in the region. On the one hand, his administration ramped up arms sales to Taiwan and sanctioned
The Taiwanese have proven to be resilient in the face of disasters and they have resisted continuing attempts to subordinate Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Nonetheless, the Taiwanese can and should do more to become even more resilient and to be better prepared for resistance should the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) try to annex Taiwan. President William Lai (賴清德) argues that the Taiwanese should determine their own fate. This position continues the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) tradition of opposing the CCP’s annexation of Taiwan. Lai challenges the CCP’s narrative by stating that Taiwan is not subordinate to the
US president-elect Donald Trump is to return to the White House in January, but his second term would surely be different from the first. His Cabinet would not include former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former US national security adviser John Bolton, both outspoken supporters of Taiwan. Trump is expected to implement a transactionalist approach to Taiwan, including measures such as demanding that Taiwan pay a high “protection fee” or requiring that Taiwan’s military spending amount to at least 10 percent of its GDP. However, if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invades Taiwan, it is doubtful that Trump would dispatch
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has been dubbed Taiwan’s “sacred mountain.” In the past few years, it has invested in the construction of fabs in the US, Japan and Europe, and has long been a world-leading super enterprise — a source of pride for Taiwanese. However, many erroneous news reports, some part of cognitive warfare campaigns, have appeared online, intentionally spreading the false idea that TSMC is not really a Taiwanese company. It is true that TSMC depositary receipts can be purchased on the US securities market, and the proportion of foreign investment in the company is high. However, this reflects the
RSS