Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwan has religion within the assist of america, a high Taiwanese official has mentioned, regardless of widespread concern on the island that US President Donald Trump may use the East Asian democracy as a bargaining chip in its dealings with China.
“Taiwan and the US have a really sturdy and strong relationship, and Taiwan has cross-party assist from the US Congress,” Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng mentioned in an unique interview with Al Jazeera.
Not like the US and China, “the US and Taiwan have unprecedentedly shut relations,” mentioned Chiu, whose cabinet-level portfolio covers Taiwan’s relations with mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Nonetheless, Chiu mentioned it was nonetheless too early to completely assess the affect of the second Trump administration.
“The Taiwan authorities will proceed to look at the Trump administration because it has been lower than three months,” he mentioned via an interpreter.
“Taiwan’s authorities has a really constant place of defending our sovereignty, our freedom and democracy.”
Trump made headlines in Taiwan in 2016 when he accepted a congratulatory telephone name from then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, overturning a longstanding conference that US and Taiwanese presidents don’t talk straight.
Ties between the US and Taiwan continued to deepen all through Trump’s first time period and below former US President Joe Biden, with quite a few delegations of Democratic and Republican lawmakers visiting the island in recent times.
Since returning to the White Home, nevertheless, Trump has a launched a collection of broadsides on the island, though US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stays a agency Taiwan supporter.
The US president has varyingly accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip business, argued that Taipei ought to pay for its personal defence, and threatened high Taiwanese chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm (TSMC) with a “100% tax” if it doesn’t develop US-based manufacturing.
Trump additionally hit Taiwan with a 32 p.c “reciprocal” tariff – which has been paused till July – and expanded present metal and aluminium tariffs on its exports, amongst different initiatives.
Like most international locations, the US doesn’t have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China considers a part of its territory.
However Washington is dedicated to supporting the island’s defence below a 1979 legislation, although the laws doesn’t specify an obligation to straight intervene in a battle.
Whereas Taipei is taking a wait-and-see strategy, Trump’s “America First” rhetoric and politics have raised concern amongst many Taiwanese that he may abandon Taiwan to win concessions in commerce talks with China.
In a survey revealed by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Basis in March, simply 39.2 p.c of respondents mentioned they consider the US would ship troops to defend Taiwan, down from an all-time excessive of 65 p.c in 2021.
Regardless of these fears, Chiu mentioned he believes that Washington would by no means settle for an “unreasonable request” from Beijing to change the phrases of its relationship with Taiwan.
China has pledged to “reunify” Taiwan with the Chinese language mainland, by power if crucial, though the ruling Communist Occasion has by no means straight managed the island.
Chiu mentioned Taiwan has a lot to supply the US, from its strategic place inside Washington’s first island chain defence technique geared toward checking Chinese language growth within the Pacific, to its place because the world’s foremost chipmaker.
“We expect that we are able to show to the US individuals and to the US people who Taiwan is an excellent associate, and we’re irreplaceable,” Chiu mentioned.
Chiu’s cabinet-level portfolio oversees the planning and implementation of Taiwan’s cross-strait coverage, though Beijing has been formally incommunicado with Taipei because the Democratic Progressive Occasion took energy in 2016.
Beijing considers the DPP “separatists” and has ramped up navy, financial and diplomatic stress on the island over the previous 9 years.
‘United entrance’ ways
Chiu mentioned that Taiwan’s authorities continues to attempt to talk with Beijing via official channels, in addition to liaising via intermediaries from the enterprise world, nonprofit sector and academia.
Chiu, nevertheless, criticised China’s communications with the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which he characterised as a part of Beijing’s divide and rule and “United Entrance” ways employed in opposition to Taiwan.
The time period “United Entrance” refers to each an official division of the Chinese language Communist Occasion and actions carried out by get together members to advertise the CCP agenda – together with convincing Taiwan’s 23.4 million residents that unification with China is each inevitable and fascinating, regardless of polling exhibiting most Taiwanese favour the established order of de facto independence.
“We’re continuously dealing with United Entrance ways, infiltration and division in Taiwanese society. They’re in every single place,” Chiu mentioned.
Taiwan’s Nationwide Safety Bureau prosecuted 64 individuals for espionage in 2024 – primarily energetic members of the navy and veterans – up from 48 in 2023 and 10 in 2022.
Different threats are extra instantly apparent, Chiu mentioned, such because the escalation of Chinese language navy workouts and manoeuvres close to Taiwan over the previous 5 years.
China launched greater than 5,000 navy flights within the route of Taiwan in 2024 alone, Chiu mentioned, together with about 3,000 that crossed the “median line” of the Taiwan Strait – an unofficial border dividing the strategic waterway between China and Taiwan.
Beijing additionally despatched greater than 2,500 warships within the route of Taiwan, with some coming into its contiguous waters, he mentioned, referring to the zone that’s adjoining to the territorial sea and extends a most of 24 nautical miles (44km) from shore.
Chiu mentioned he was most involved in regards to the management type of Chinese language President Xi Jinping.
Xi, who’s serving an unprecedented third time period after eliminating time period limits in 2018, is typically seen as essentially the most highly effective Chinese language chief since Mao Zedong, the founder of recent China.
“The Xi regime is a brand new kind of authoritarianism. He has been inciting a fanatic nationalism, and that’s why we’re seeing navy hegemony and wolf warrior diplomacy,” Chiu mentioned.
“Mainland China proper now isn’t a really rational decision-making get together, and this nationalism poses an important menace to its neighbouring international locations,” Chiu mentioned.
“For those who ask me what considerations me essentially the most, I might say that it’s the essence of the Xi regime,” he mentioned.
