NEW YORK, April 1. /TASS/. The Taiwanese administration should not rely on US military aid; instead of resorting to hostile rhetoric, it should seek reconciliation with mainland China, according to Taiwanese writer, essayist, and cultural critic Lung Yingtai.
"Relying entirely on the United States while rejecting and antagonizing China is no longer a viable path forward. After what happened with Ukraine, there is a very real risk of [US President Donald] Trump casting Taiwan aside to strike a trade or geopolitical deal with [China's President] Xi [Jinping]," she wrote in an opinion column for The New York Times.
"With Mr. Trump casting aside democratic values and America's friends, Taiwan must begin an immediate, serious national conversation about how to secure peace with China," Lung emphasized. She cites data from a recent survey of Taiwanese students asked what they would do in the event of military escalation with the PRC: "Most opted for surrender," she notes.
According to Lung, 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 opting for fear, confrontation, and a revival of dark Cold War rhetoric."
"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 December 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. <...> Trump's tough stance is just a difference in style, not substance," the political scientist concluded.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, Taiwan has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. According to Beijing's official position, supported by most countries including Russia, Taiwan is one of the PRC's provinces.