Taiwan just pushed back against bully China’s threats and elected a pro-Western, pro-sovereignty candidate to be president of the island nation.

William Lai Ching-te, the current Vice President of Taiwan and candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party defeated his rivals from the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). He won the election handily, as by 8 p.m. Taipei time, Lai had garnered 40% of the vote. His closest competitor, Hou Yu-ih, candidate of the KMT and mayor of New Taipei, lagged behind with 33%.

Moreover, Lai’s predecessor, current President Tsai Ing-Wen enjoyed eight years as leader of Taiwan, so it appears the Taiwanese strongly approve of the party’s leadership. The DPP has stood for continued independence and firmness against Chinese aggression.

Needless to say, Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party do not approve of the election.

Despite the name “progressive,” don’t confuse the DPP with the far-left, ostensibly Marxist politics seen in the United States. Tim Mak, who writes on Ukraine and Taiwan for his Substack The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, notes that the DPP is  a “newer centrist party.” It favors a pragmatic and non-partisan approach to reform and modernization, as well as greater independence from China.

What Inspires the Taiwanese is Ukraine

Tim Mak writes:

The last few elections in Taiwan have been heavily colored by outside factors – more often than not, China …

This year? The wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

You’d think that wars in two very disparate nations would not affect an election in Taiwan. But the Taiwanese have been watching and taking note of the fate of Ukraine in particular. They also firmly support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Some Taiwanese even dedicate prayers to the sea goddess Mazu for Ukrainian peace.

LBWS CAT 63/Instagram. Ukrainian artist in Taipei.

More ominous, however, is that the Taiwanese no longer trust the United States.

For example, Angelica Oung, who supported TPP in the election, told Tim Mak:

Here in Taiwan… there are some people who just don’t believe that the United States is ever going to step up for us. And I myself actually found it harder and harder to argue that case… [Taiwanese voters see] how the U.S. is treating Ukraine as a possibility for how it might treat us in the future. And there’s a strong fear… that Taiwan might become a second Ukraine.

In addition, Dr. Shen Ming-Shih, who heads National Security Research at a Taiwanese think tank, said:

If Ukraine loses the war, it will encourage Xi Jinping, because [he will say,] the United States, your power has decreased. You cannot help Ukraine… [therefore] you cannot help Taiwan.

It’s no wonder people in Taiwan look at Ukraine and worry. Especially since we have a weak president in Joe Biden and a noisy and growing isolationist wing in the Republican party.

As Mak wrote:

It’s a reminder of just how interconnected all these seemingly-disparate events are: fighting in the trenches in Zaporizhzhia, arguments in the U.S. Congress, and balloting on the islands of Taiwan. 

No matter how much anyone thinks they can hole themselves off from the rest of the world, it never, ever pans out like they expect. Just like socialism, isolationism doesn’t work.

What’s Next for Taiwan?

Taiwan may have voted for continued independence, but Xi Jinping will continue to bully the nation. In fact, the pressure will probably increase.

As writer Cindy Yu wrote in The Spectator World just before the election:

Xi has made it clear that, whoever holds power in Taipei, reunification with Taiwan is his “unswerving task.” “Re-uniting the motherland is a historical necessity,” he said in his new year’s message.

Helen Raleigh, writing in The Federalist as well as her own Substack Confucius Never Said, cites Beijing’s long-time meddling in Taiwan’s affairs.

Raleigh should know. She grew up in Communist China, came to the United States as a student, and became a US citizen in 2013. From her experience, she writes that a free Taiwan is a threat to Beijing:

Beijing sees a democratic Taiwan as a threat to the CCP’s legitimacy. It must thus be eliminated because a free and prosperous Taiwan discredits Beijing’s claims that Chinese culture and democracy are inherently incompatible and that the Chinese people can have peace and prosperity only under the CCP’s totalitarian rule. 

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping makes no secret as to his designs on the island nation. Last month he warned Joe Biden that Beijing will eventually reunite with Taiwan. And, in his New Years address to the Chinese people, Xi reiterated that the two countries “will surely be reunified.”

Plus, China has a history of meddling in Taiwan’s affairs. In 2019, for example, a Chinese spy claimed he interfered in Taiwan’s 2018 election through media and internet companies. China has also loudly disapproved of the teaching of Taiwanese history and culture in its schools.

Beijing has even gone so far as to investigate a popular Taiwanese rock band for the “crime” of lip-synching, or, as they term it, “deceptive fake singing.” (The investigation came about, as a source told Reuters, because the band “Mayday” refused to say something positive about China prior to the election.)

And then there are the missiles the Peoples’ Liberation Army has fired into the waters off Taiwan, as well as Chinese fighter jets that fly into their airspace. China also conducts frequent military exercises near the Taiwan Strait. On top of that, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has reported spy balloons — similar to the one that floated over the United States — have been flying over the island.

Despite the threats, Taiwan has chosen to continue to its status as proudly independent.  She will not be bullied. The question is, however, will the United States support Taiwan in her bid to remain free of China? Sadly, Joe Biden is a feeble leader, and the current populist climate in the GOP is to abandon President Reagan’s lofty goal of “peace through strength.”

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Featured image: “William Lai Ching-te 20170905” by w:en:Presidential Office Building, Taiwan is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped.