Taiwan Should Be Careful Not to Play the Role of a Pawn in the US-China Trade/Technology War

 Taiwan Should Be Careful Not to Play the Role of a Pawn in the US-China Trade/Technology War

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

December 16, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

At the request of the US, Canada arrested Huawei heir Meng Wanzhou, who was in the country for a connecting flight. A Canadian court is in the process of deciding whether or not to consent to extradite her to the US for trial. The US originally claimed that the extradition of Meng Wanzhou was because Huawei violated the US embargo sanctions against Iran, but viewed from information revealed in recent days, Meng is in fact a bargaining chip in the US-China trade and technology war. Rupert J. Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, stated in a threatening tone that if Taiwan should purchase Huawei network equipment, it would have a negative impact on US-Taiwan cooperation.

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau originally emphasized that the arrest was not subject to political intervention; however, a few days later, when Trump commented on this case, Trudeau felt that he was clubbed from behind. Trump said that if Meng’s case would help the US and China reach a trade agreement, he would consider intervening. Canada’s assistance in arresting Meng not only left Trudeau in the embarrassing situation of being Trump’s “pawn,” but later the Beijing authorities arrested two Canadian citizens on the Mainland in retaliation, sandwiching him between the two big powers.

Canada has been involved in the US-China trade and technology war because of Meng’s case; in the short term, it would be difficult for Canada to extricate itself without a hitch. Taiwan must be on alert whether our government would follow in the footsteps of Canada, becoming a chess piece to be utilized in the US-China trade war. Quite a few Green camp figures believe that Taiwan could grab some benefits in the US-China trade war; this kind of thinking in fact has neglected that Taiwan’s industry could suffer the consequences of the fire in our neighbor’s house.

The US-China trade and technology war is still being escalated; this is a risk that Taiwan businesses must consider when engaging in cooperation with Mainland enterprises. In handling similar cases, the government should uphold the principle of independence of justice, so as to protect the intellectual property rights of our enterprises as a priority job. With regard to the US-China trade and technology war, the government must not harbor the mentality of seeing easy prey, but must at all times consider the possible impact on our industries. In playing the role of a pawn in the US-China trade and technology war, Canada is precisely a case in point in unwelcome consequences.

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