In online comments and daily conversations, Taiwan’s people are expressing growing doubt over America’s commitment to Taiwan and asking: If the United States no longer seems willing to support a friendly nation like Ukraine in defending its freedom, did all those tens of thousands of young Ukrainians who fought and died for their country do so in vain? An informal poll in early March by an online platform popular with Taiwan college students asked whether, given the latest developments involving Ukraine, survey respondents were still willing to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack or preferred surrender. Most opted for surrender.
Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, appears oblivious to these sentiments. Rather than reaching out to all sides in Taiwan to initiate an urgent national discussion on the direction we should take, he is instead going for fear, confrontation and a revival of dark Cold War rhetoric.
On March 13, citing Chinese espionage, subversion and military threats, Mr. Lai officially labeled China a “foreign hostile force” and promised tighter scrutiny of business, cultural and other links with China. He also announced plans to reinstate a system of military courts to prosecute suspected national security crimes by Taiwan’s active-duty personnel, which was abolished in 2013 over human rights concerns. Taiwan’s leading opposition party, the Kuomintang, accused Mr. Lai of pushing Taiwan toward war, and China predictably warned that he was “playing with fire.”
The problem with Mr. Lai’s approach is that Taiwan can no longer bank on U.S. support. This isn’t something that we are just now realizing because of Mr. Trump, who, besides betraying Ukraine, has already sown doubt about his commitment to defending Taiwan, even accusing us of stealing the semiconductor business from America.
We have long been painfully aware that the United States, like any country, puts its own interests first. Taiwanese of all ages know what happened on Dec. 16, 1978, when Chiang Ching-kuo, our president at the time, was awakened at 2 a.m. and informed that the United States would sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan to recognize the People’s Republic of China, abandoning us — a Cold War ally — to deepening diplomatic isolation. Mr. Trump’s crude approach is merely a difference in style, not substance.
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