Taiwan should fortify its ties with US Democrats and Republicans at the federal and state levels, as divisions in the US would likely persist after the winner of the US presidential election has been confirmed, experts said yesterday.
Although vote-counting has not yet been finalized, as of press time last night, the narrow margin between the US presidential candidates would affect the “mandate” of the new administration, National Taiwan University political science professor Simon Chang (張登及) told a forum in Taipei.
The forum, organized by the Association of Strategic Foresight, focused on the future of ties among Taipei, Washington and Beijing at a time when Taiwanese are anxious about the election result.
Photo: CNA
Even if former US vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate, wins, he would be embroiled in lawsuits that US President Donald Trump, a Republican, has vowed to launch, Chang said.
If the Republicans continue to hold a majority in the US Senate under a Biden presidency, a rift between it and the White House would be expected, affecting budgets and the appointment of key personnel, he said.
With Trump’s odds of being re-elected shrinking, he might pursue a more radical policy to rally support, Chang said, adding that the US’ social discord would last for quite a while no matter the election’s outcome.
The possibility of Beijing using force against Taiwan during the period is low, but China would maintain pressure in the Taiwan Strait and continue to “tactically harass” Taiwan to prevent any risky scenarios caused by the US election’s uncertainty, he said.
Chang also addressed Beijing’s relations with Tokyo, Seoul, and nations in the South China Sea and Europe.
As Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) has scheduled a visit to Japan, Taiwan should watch interactions between Wang and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who assumed the post in September, Chang said.
The developments of China-Europe relations are also worth attention, after an EU-China leaders’ meeting in September did not culminate in signed agreements, he said.
Much uncertainty overshadows Washington, as Trump, if re-elected, might employ new personnel in his second term, while Biden would need time to clarify his foreign policy, said association president Li Da-jung (李大中), who is also associate professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies.
Although Washington has pursued many policies considered beneficial for Taiwan during the Trump presidency, further observation is needed to see to what extent they are carried out, he said.
Asked if President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration had shown a preference for Trump over Biden, Li said that a Ministry of Foreign Affairs video montage compiling congratulatory messages from US dignitaries for Tsai’s second inauguration in May unduly neglected US Democrats, as reported by the Washington Post.
The government should have been more careful and not left the impression that it was favoring either party, he added.
Asked how the government might improve relations with US Democrats, Li said that it should continue to solicit bipartisan support from the US to boost Taiwan’s international participation and Taiwan-US military cooperation.
Taiwan should also attempt to increase its connections with state governments, Li added.
The structures of Beijing-Washington-Taipei ties would not undergo significant changes, although a Biden administration might take milder approaches toward cross-strait issues, National Cheng Kung University professor Bernard Chou (周志杰) said.
However, Taiwanese officials should learn a lesson from the division in the US and stop manipulating populism for their own political benefit, he added.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats