DPP Double Standard on Cross-Strait Relations
Taitung County Executive Rao Ching-ling participated in the Straits Forum through a pre-recorded video. The Lai administration, changing its previous approach of having anonymous officials leak messages through the media, formally revealed its position. The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) stated that they will investigate whether Ms. Rao was involved in “cooperative conduct” in violation of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. However, when President Lai Ching-te previously expressed a desire to drink bubble tea with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) described it as “exchange.” Now, Ms. Rao’s efforts to promote Taiwanese fruit is regarded as “United Front work.” Whether an act is “love Taiwan” or “sell out Taiwan” is apparently for the DPP to decide, once again demonstrating the attitude of “the rules apply to others, not to us.”
...read more
Using Japan–Philippines EEZ negotiations as Pretext, China Circumnavigates Taiwan
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines announced on May 28 that the countries would conduct an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) delimitation in waters east of Taiwan. The two leaders even happily celebrated by singing karaoke together (a Beatles classic). Little did they realize that this move would instead hand mainland China an opportunity. From now on, law enforcement operations by mainland Chinese Coast Guard and maritime authorities in waters east of Taiwan may become normalized, leaving Taiwan as the only party to suffer the consequences.
...read more
Beijing Seizes Opportunity: First Island Chain Effectively Fractured
Japan and the Philippines have launched negotiations on delimiting their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and continental shelf maritime boundaries. The area under discussion lies in the waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast. The administration of President Lai Ching-te not only failed to protest but even echoed the move by stating that it was “consistent with our country's long-standing position” and expressing its “affirmation.” The government later revised its stance, saying that the Japan–Philippines negotiations “should not undermine Taiwan’s interests,” or that “consultation with Taiwan should occur if Taiwan’s interests are affected.”
...read more
Taiwan Independence Platform: DPP's Predicament
Following the meeting between President Donald Trump of the United States and Chinese President Xi Jinping, while the Department of State declared that its “policy towards Taiwan remains unchanged,” the attitudes of Mr. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio towards Taiwan have arguably changed. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has consequently fallen into a strategic dilemma, while Taiwan’s society, regardless of political affiliation, has become increasingly anxious and uneasy, with signs of shifting public opinion blocs emerging.
...read more
Three Possible Scenarios for a Trump–Lai Phone Call
President Donald Trump of the United States publicly confirmed to the media that he plans to hold a direct phone call with President Lai Ching-te. If this indeed takes place, then it would mark the first direct communication between the leaders of the United States and Taiwan since 1979, when Washington shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. This is the historical significance behind Mr. Trump’s statement.
...read more
Trump-Xi Consensus: Taiwan Must Not Rely on the U.S. to Seek Independence
After holding back for two days, President Donald Trump of the United States finally poured out his remarks regarding the Taiwan issue after Air Force One took off from Beijing. It turns out that Mr. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had talked through the night about Taiwan, and Mr. Trump even claimed that he now understands Taiwan better than he understands other countries. He told the media that he does not want to see anyone moving toward independence, and that Taiwan should not expect a blank check of military support from the United States. Mainland Chinese state media also released remarks from Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi stating that the Chinese side felt that the United States understood China’s position, valued China’s concerns, and neither recognized nor accepted Taiwan moving toward independence. The greatest consensus from the Trump-Xi Beijing night talks was, unexpectedly, that Taiwan must stop “seeking independence by relying on the United States.”
...read more
President Lai's High-Stakes Diplomatic Gamble
President Lai Ching-te arrived in the Kingdom of Eswatini aboard the country’s official aircraft, publicly announcing a breakthrough of diplomatic blockade. On the surface, this appeared to be a diplomatic visit to Taiwan’s only African ally; however, against the backdrop of intensifying U.S.-China competition, rising cross-strait tensions, and the upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump of the United States and Chinese President Xi Jinping, it was also a highly politicized battle of international signaling.
...read more
Rift Between KMT and U.S.
The Kuomintang’s (KMT) recent handling of the proposed “Special Act for Defense Procurement” has sparked major internal controversy. KMT Vice Chairman Chi Lin-lien declared at the Central Standing Committee that he would put righteousness above personal ties and expel Speaker Han Kuo-yu of the Legislative Yuan from the party. The divide between pro-American and American-skeptic factions within the party has intensified. At its core, the reason lies in the fact that since the KMT became an opposition party, its distance from the United States has grown ever wider. The resulting mistrust and lack of understanding have led to the current deadlock. The scale of the contradiction is likely something even the United States, which has been actively lobbying recently, did not anticipate.
...read more
View of China as Enemy Provoked Hostile Obstruction
President Lai Ching-te’s visit to African diplomatic ally Eswatini has been postponed after overflight permits for the presidential aircraft were canceled by three countries including Mauritius. The interference was, of course, orchestrated by the Communist China, but the originator is President Lai himself.
...read more
DPP Administration Refuses Dialogue, Blocking Cross-Strait Exchanges
After the meeting between Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, mainland China revealed that its Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits (ATETS) had recently once again sent a letter to the Taiwan Visitors Association (TVA), calling for the swift and comprehensive restoration of cross-strait passenger direct flights. This was originally an opportunity to restart functional negotiations and resume cross-strait people-to-people exchanges, but it ultimately remained shelved under President Lai Ching-te’s policy stance of political confrontation.
...read more