Leaving a political mess in her wake, 82-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) left Taiwan for friendly territory in South Korea, leaving the Peoples Liberation Army [PLA} blockading Taiwan at least for now. Pelosi said on leaving Taipei that the U.S. would never abandon democratic, free Taiwan, now dealing with the fallout from here brief visit. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi threatened Pelois for weeks before her visit, insisting it violated the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, signed into law by former President Jimmy Carter. Carter acquiesced to Beijing’s demands that the U.S. only recognize one China, the one in Beijing. Beijing hoped to erase the Republic of China [ROC] in establishing permanent diplomatic and trading relations with the U.S. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade republic, a part of Mainland China.
Well, anyone that knows the history and geography knows that Taiwan, on the Island of Formosa, is anything but a part of Mainland China. Chinese nationalists, led by Gen. Chaing Kai-Shek, fled Mainland China during the 1949 Maosist Revolution, setting up a democrat government with a long history of U.S. support. In the early days since the Maoist Revolution, the U.S. established the 1954 Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, guaranteeing the democratic island nation U.S. military protection in case of Beijing invasion. Well, 73-years later, Taiwan continues to be an independent, prosperous nation, assuring its citizens a democratic way of life. Pelosi reminded Taiwan of the proud democratic history, resisting attempts by Beijing to dominate the political landscape. Pelosi now watches from afar, as Beijing cracks down on Taiwan with a military blockade over the next week.
Sending fighter jets and destroyers into the Taiwan Strait, China retaliates for Pelosi’s visit, now more uncertain than ever as to the U.S. role in defending the democratic island nation. Since Carter signed the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. maintained a position of “strategic ambiguity” over the U.S role in defending Taiwan. President Joe Biden created an uproar in Beijing May 23 saying the U.S. would defend Taiwan against a Mainland Chinese invasion. Pelosi hopes her stop in Taipei changes U.S. policy under the Taiwan Relations Act, letting Beijing know that the U.S. intends to keep Taiwan an independent democratic state. For the last 73 years, Taiwan has lived free of Mainland China, developing some of the most valuable companies in the world like Taiwan Semiconductor [TSMC], the world’s biggest chip maker. TSMC CEO Mark Liu said a Communist takeover would be as disaster.
Circling the island of Formosa, Beijing hopes to send a loud message to Washington and Taipei, that the Peoples Republic of China [PRC] claims Taiwan as its own. Pelosi’s visit made clear that the U.S. government won’t accept a Beijing takeover of the island nation. Now that Pelosi’s away from Taipei, it’s time to discuss with other Pacific Rim partners creating a new military alliance, analogous to NATO, for Asian countries to challenge Beijing’s aggression. When the International Court of Arbitration at the Hague ruled against Beijing in 2015 about freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, Xi Jinping rejected the ruling. Countries like Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Australia weren’t happy with Beijing’s defiance. If the U.S. really wants to defend Taiwan, they need a broader coalition of Asian nations to join in the effort to keep Taiwan an independent democratic state.
Taiwan plans to suck it up for the next five days while the PRC asserts its dominion over the region. Taiwan’s 65-year-old President Tsai Ing-wen knew there would be consequences to Pelosi’s visit. Just like Chinese flights into Taiwan’s Defense Identification Zone, Tsai is prepared to weather the storm for the next several days. When it comes to Pelosi’s visit, it left Beijing no doubt that the U.S. continues to back Taiwan’s independence from Mainland China. Xi Jinping, who faces a vote on his next five-year-term in office, wants to project to the CCP that he’s not capitulating to U.S. and Taiwan demands. Unlike the Ukraine situation, China isn’t on Taiwan’s immediate border, making any invasion more complicated. If Biden and Pelosi want to protect Taiwan’s independence from Beijing, they needs to put a new mutual defense treaty into place with Pacific Rim partners.
China’s response to Pelosi’s visit is more of the same saber-rattling and intimidation seen by Beijing over the last few years. No other Chinese premier since the 1949 Maoist Revolution has demanded that Taiwan join Communist China. Surviving 73 years since fleeing the Mainland, Chinese nationalists want no part of Beijing’s crackdown on democratic values. Taipei watched, along with the rest of the world, Xi crack down on Hong Kong, squelching a fledgling democracy movement, defying Beijing’s heavy hand. Taiwan residents value their freedom and won’t surrender it simply because the CCP lays claim to Taiwan. Mainland China has plenty of land-mass of accommodate its 1.4 billion population. No need to conquer Taiwan except to takeover the lucrative chip-making business, the envy of the world. Biden should work toward a new Taiwan mutual defense treaty.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
