Taiwan’s leading edge in semiconductors and other high-tech sectors would play a very important role in forging stronger alliances with democratic countries, headed by incoming US president Donald Trump, to counter the authoritarian regimes of China and Russia, experts said at a forum in Taipei yesterday.
Once he is inaugurated, it would be “Trump 2.0,” World United Formosans for Independence chairman Richard Chen (陳南天) said.
Trump has appointed a new slate of people to take charge of strategies to “reshape the world order,” as current world economies, international relations and wars are very different from those of his first presidency in 2017 to 2021, Chen said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Trump’s central tenets are “America First” and “Make America Great Again,” which won the support of disenchanted US voters who want industries and jobs to return home to drive new economic growth, Kuma Academy (黑熊學院) cofounder Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) said.
“During the campaign, Trump focused on the social instability and insecurity of Americans, brought on by the flood of illegal immigrants, and fentanyl and similar opioid drugs pouring into US. Trump wanted to ensure control by appointing a ‘border czar’ and threatening Canada and Mexico with higher tariffs so they would employ stricter enforcement at their borders with the US,” Ho said.
Trump and the Republicans also criticized Washington, saying it had not faced up to China’s rise as a world power. China has registered growth in its economy, industries, new technologies and military build-up over the past decades, and is challenging the US’ leadership on the global stage, he said.
“Trump has stated his position on these issues and pointed to China as the largest threat to US interests, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. Much of Trump’s new geopolitical strategies are aimed at countering China’s rise and its military expansionism,” Ho said.
Experts agreed that Trump and his new administration would forge a much stronger alliance of like-minded democratic countries, where Taiwan would have a pivotal role, given its central position in the “first island chain,” and its leading edge in semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) and computer electronics industries.
The US and Western nations would rely on Taiwan for new high-tech products, electric vehicles and smart military weapons, they said.
Taiwan National Security Institute research fellow Stanislaw Kwiatkowski said that the people Trump appointed to offices that handle foreign affairs and have a direct impact on Indo-Pacific strategies were mostly China hawks who have been friendly to Taiwan and have espoused a tougher stance on US dealings with China.
Trump has sought to end the fighting in the Middle East and to pivot US geopolitical strategy and foreign policy initiatives to the Indo-Pacific region to face China’s rising power, he said.
The US would also seek closer partnerships with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and India to counter Chinese military expansion and conflict, Kwiatkowski added.
Taiwan would have an even closer relationship with the US and have an enhanced democratic alliance, since Trump, Washington officials and European partners have realized Taiwan’s importance in the supply chain and production of semiconductors, AI technologies and smart weapons, he said.
Countries would want to have a good relationship with Taiwan in the expected economic and trade war, and work together on deterring the so-called “axis of upheaval” — China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, he added.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS