The people of Taiwan are heading to the polls to vote for a new president and legislature amid increasing military aggression by China’s communist regime.
The elections are seen by many in the international community as a referendum on the island’s sentiments toward communist China and the United States.
The incumbent democratic People’s Party (DPP), which favors increased engagement with the United States, is in a close race with the Kuomintang (KMT), which favors increased engagement with China’s communist regime.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, has made no secret of its feelings on the matter, and has launched a campaign to condemn the DPP’s candidate as a “severe danger” to China–Taiwan relations.
The regime has also attempted to aggressively assert its presence ahead of the election, and launched several spy balloons and a rocket over the island in the last week.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Friday that it detected five Chinese balloons flying over the Taiwan Strait over the past day, one of which crossed the island.
Taiwan’s Parties Strike a More Moderate Tone
The presidential race is currently considered a close call between Taiwan’s Vice President Lai Ching-te of the DPP and the KMT’s Hou Yu-ih, who previously served as director-general of Taiwan’s National Police Agency.A third presidential candidate is Ko Wen-je who represents the Taiwan People’s Party, which supports a middle-of-the-road path on cross-strait relations.
Yun Fan, a DPP legislator, said that the CCP’s efforts to sow internal discord in Taiwan are evidence that the island should continue building its relationship with the United States.
Taiwan, she said, is responsible for its own defense and would need to “fortify” itself with capabilities purchased from the United States.
“We understand that only with strength can we preserve peace without sacrificing the democracy that we have fought very hard to achieve,” Ms. Fan said during a Jan. 10 talk hosted by Politico.
Likewise, Ms. Fan said that the KMT is intentionally trying to undermine Taiwan’s faith in the United States in order to gain favor with the CCP.
“The KMT has been trying to convince voters that the United States is not trustworthy and therefore Taiwan should seek closer relations with China,” Ms. Fan said.
“The purpose of this American skepticism narrative is to undermine the progress made in recent years in forging U.S.-Taiwan ties, as well as to undermine the level of public confidence in whether international allies will assist Taiwan in resisting China’s coercion.”
Conversely, former KMT legislator Jason Hsu said that, while his party sought engagement with the CCP, it understands the malign ambitions of CCP leader Xi Jinping.
“We, KMT, have no illusion with China,” Mr. Hsu said. “We believe that the China we’re dealing with today with Xi Jinping as its leader is a very different China than we have dealt with ten or twenty years ago when the whole world was engaging with China.”
“We recognize the danger and potential miscalculation it could bring about without any communication channel. We believe that we need to manage the risks with China but also to have a healthy relationship and exchange.”
China Suggests War a Possibility
To what extent engagement with the CCP will prevent a war is an open question.The CCP claims that Taiwan is a rogue territory that must be united with the mainland by any means necessary. The regime has never controlled any part of the island, however.
John Dotson, deputy director at the Global Taiwan Institute think tank, said that the regime was thus seeking to influence the outcome of the election to prepare Taiwan for an eventual CCP takeover.
“The ultimate goal for the leaders of the CCP is to annex Taiwan and to bring it … under full Chinese Communist Party control. That’s the ideal end state, similar to what they’ve achieved in Hong Kong.”
To that end, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Ten.) said that the United States would need to hasten its delivery of arms to Taiwan, to ensure its people had the necessary capabilities to deter or else defeat a CCP invasion.
“It’s clear that they [the CCP] are making a move on Taiwan, whether it happens in the next few days or next few months or next year,” Mr. Burchett said.
“I think we better make sure that those folks are well-armed. But I [also] think we better make sure that our economic situation is in place [so] that we can economically defend Taiwan, because I think that’s ultimately a linchpin that we need in that situation.”
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), likewise, said that support for the people of Taiwan and their democratic government was the most bipartisan issue in Congress.
“We have a lot of divisions in Washington, as you well know, but there’s one consensus item that is absolutely bipartisan. And that’s the support of Taiwan, of its sovereignty, of its independence, of its freedom.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who serves as ranking member on the House Select Committee on the CCP, said that the United States would continue to support Taiwan, regardless of the result of the election.
“Regardless of who wins, the American people will stand with the people of Taiwan and the vibrant, beautiful democracy of Taiwan,” he said during a Jan. 10 talk hosted by Politico.
“We will continue to be there for the Taiwanese people.”
