Tsai Gov’t Mustn’t Be Complacent about Disproportionate Breakthroughs

  Tsai Gov’t Mustn’t Be Complacent about Disproportionate Breakthroughs

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

August 15, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

President Tsai Ing-wen visited Los Angeles when transiting through the United States, touring the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, while the media were also granted an ampler reporting environment; the media and scholars generally interpreted this as significant breakthroughs after President Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Bill into law, and moreover, “sending warmth” to Taiwan after being repeatedly oppressed by the Mainland.

However, these mini breakthroughs, even if they are combined with a series of bills friendly to Taiwan passed by Congress, are obviously disproportionate when contrasted with the harm done to our national interests by the US Executive Branch in recent months; they not only are unworthy of pleasure on the part of the Tsai government, the public, all the more, need to calmly ponder and pass judgment.

Take for instance the map introducing China on the US State Department's official website; it is a big blow, American-style. On the map introducing China on the website, both China and Taiwan are colored beige. President Tsai has always believed that the United States would strongly support Taiwan, but after incidents of removing the ROC national flag and US airline operators succumbing to Beijing’s demands, this time the map on the website page introducing China again used beige to color both sides of the Strait, making it difficult for readers to distinguish, showing that the United States seems to be, willy-nilly, cooperating with the Mainland’s oppression of Taiwan.

As the Tsai government enters the third year in office, regardless of whether Tsai Ing-wen dispatched Chen Ming-tong, chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, or Chen Chu, secretary general to the President, to Washington, meeting certain US officials, or Randy Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs, and even Secretary of State Pompeo made certain statements sounding pleasant to Taiwan, none could be compared with the harm done to the Republic of China by the removal of the ROC national flag, the changing of our designation and downgrading of Taiwan by three American airline operators, and including Taiwan in the map of China.

President Tsai Ing-wen has placed all her bets on the United States, obviously committing a taboo in the art of war. After all, US President Trump has endlessly been sacrificing Taiwan’s interests to satisfy the Mainland’s demands. On the other hand, the favors released to Taiwan by the US seem to have been only lip service, or some mini improvements in the treatment of transiting the United States, showing that the Tsai government has exhibited serious blind spots and faults in its US policy and cross-Strait policy, while it was not only difficult for external policies without leverage points to reap harvests, they were even more difficult to safeguard Taiwan’s security.

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