US president-elect Donald Trump has yet to be inaugurated, but he has already caused raging waves throughout the world, from his suggestion that Canada should become the 51st US state to this threats to purchase, or even use military force to acquire, Greenland and the Panama Canal. His brash claims have caused turmoil among the countries involved and the international community as a whole.
It is clear that the rules of the international community would be rewritten over the next four years of Trumpism. In particular, Trumpism places focus on strength and contributions, and the new international order would be established with these characteristics in mind. Under Trump’s new international order, Taiwan has an opportunity to leverage its own strength to become a permanent member of the international community.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has attempted to maintain world peace. However, the world is far from peaceful. Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine remain deadlocked. Under the old international rules, the world has not attained peace.
Moreover, the international organizations charged with maintaining the existing order are themselves fraught with issues. Take the UN — one permanent member of the Security Council, Russia, launched an invasion against Ukraine, while China, another permanent member, supports Russia in its war. Meanwhile, other member states are powerless to change this. In this scenario, could the UN really maintain world peace? Not only that, but the UN continues to create innumerable obstacles for Taiwan. Even now, those using Republic of China (ROC) passports cannot enter UN offices — could it be that the nearly 24 million ROC citizens are not considered citizens of earth? Where is the fairness or justice in that?
Next is the WHO, which — despite the health of all humanity being its primary concern — has long excluded Taiwan. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan was excluded from the WHO, while China — the country from which the disease originated — was allowed to manipulate the organization from within. Looking back at the WHO’s absurd handling of the pandemic, could such an organization truly protect the health of humanity?
Lastly, throughout the past two decades, China has taken advantage of international trade organizations to gain significant benefits. Even today, it is still receiving development subsidies, using its profits to wage cognitive warfare against the countries of the free world — Taiwan is the first to bear the brunt of such tactics. Do such organizations truly allow for fair competition?
The US is the main source of funding for the international organizations responsible for maintaining the global order. While the US maintains that all countries have equal voices, many member countries have been bought off by China. Thus, these organizations have not fulfilled their original purpose. Instead, they have become China’s forum for suppressing Taiwan. These organizations created the existing global order, but this order is not peaceful. While they were established with noble goals, the situation has changed over the past 80 years. It is no longer possible to achieve their original objectives of peace and justice. The time has come for reform.
Under Trumpism, such organizations would either undergo reform or be completely overhauled. Under the new framework, the weight given to each country’s voice would be redistributed based on its capabilities and contributions, thus redefining the international order. Taiwan has the ability and willingness to make meaningful contributions to the international community. From exporting masks and vaccines to semiconductors, this would be Taiwan’s chance to re-establish itself in the international community of a new order.
Mike Chang is an accountant.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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