Taiwan thanks the US for its “support” and accuses China of “diplomatic repression”

In a context of increasing pressure from China, the president-elect of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te, thanked the United States on Monday, January 15, for its “firm support for Taiwanese democracy,” during a meeting with an informal American delegation in Taipei, before learning a few hours later that Nauru had severed diplomatic ties with the island.

“I thank the United States for its strong support for Taiwanese democracy, which attests to the close and strong partnership between Taiwan and the United States,” declared Lai Ching-te, two days after his election.

And “although China continues to harass Taiwan with military or other activities, Taiwan confronts (the situation) calmly and dispassionately and works with like-minded partners, including the United States, to maintain the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait “.

Previously, the delegation had met with the outgoing president, Tsai Ing-wen, who like Lai Ching-te is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (PDP), who welcomed a “very significant visit” that “fully demonstrates the “U.S. support for Taiwanese democracy.”

Made up of former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, former Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and Laura Rosenberger, president of the American Institute in Taiwan, the commission is scheduled to leave Taiwan on Tuesday.

“We are here to congratulate you and the people of Taiwan on the presidential and parliamentary elections held on January 13,” declared Stephen Hadley, hailing Taiwanese democracy as “an example to the world.”

It is not the first time that Washington has sent an informal delegation to Taiwan after an election: in 2016, former Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns visited the country two days after Tsai Ing-wen was elected president of the island.

The status of Taiwan, a source of tensions between Beijing and Washington

This visit comes at the end of an electoral campaign marked by growing pressure – economic, diplomatic and military – from China, which considers Taiwan one of its provinces and warns that the island will be united to the mainland, by force if necessary. necessary.

Lai Ching-te, the outgoing vice president, considers the island de facto independent and has promised to protect it from “threats and intimidation” from Beijing.

Nauru, a small Pacific nation, announced Monday that it was breaking diplomatic relations with Taiwan. and that he intended to recognize China. This decision was immediately confirmed by Taipei. The President of this island microstate, David Adeang, announced this decision in a speech published on Facebook, in which he affirmed “the decision of the Government of Nauru to recognize the People's Republic of China.”

“At a time when the entire world is congratulating Taiwan on the success of its elections, Beijing has launched a diplomatic offensive that constitutes a response to democratic values ​​and a flagrant challenge to the stability of the international order,” reacted Olivia Lin, spokesperson of the Taiwanese presidency.

The status of Taiwan is undoubtedly the most explosive issue in relations between China and the United States. While Washington has recognized Beijing to the detriment of Taipei since 1979, at the same time the US Congress has imposed arms supplies to Taiwan, with the stated objective of dissuading China from any expansionist ambitions.

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The objective of sending the delegation is “to clearly communicate to the president-elect (…) the importance of a strong informal partnership, and to make clear what the US one-China policy is and is not,” explained a senior US official on condition of anonymity before the visit.

“China has always firmly opposed any form of official exchange between the United States and Taiwan, and has resolutely rejected any interference by the United States in Taiwan's affairs in any way and under any pretext,” the ministry spokeswoman said on Monday. of Chinese Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, at a press conference.

China stands firm

Beijing had previously criticized the message from the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, who had praised the island's “solid democratic system”, stating that it “sends a profoundly wrong signal to the separatist forces in favor of Taiwanese independence.”

China insisted Saturday night that the election result did not change the “inevitable trend toward China's reunification,” and pledged to “firmly oppose separatist activities seeking Taiwan's independence as well as foreign interference.”

Taiwan has never been a country. It hasn't been in the past and it certainly won't be in the future.

“If anyone on the island of Taiwan attempts to move towards independence (…) they will try to divide Chinese territory and will undoubtedly be severely punished by history and law,” warned the head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, on Sunday. “This is a dead end,” he added, because “Taiwan has never been a country. It hasn't been in the past and it certainly won't be in the future.”

Lai Ching-te, 64, will take office on May 20, along with his vice president, Hsiao Bi-khim, Taipei's former representative in Washington. Ching-te, who in the past described himself as “a pragmatic architect of Taiwanese independence,” has since softened his rhetoric. Like Tsai Ing-wen, he now takes a more nuanced stance, stating that an independence process is not necessary because, in his view, the island has de facto status.

Vowing to be “on the side of democracy,” the president-elect also plans to “pursue trade and cooperation with China,” Taiwan's largest trading partner, a territory of 23 million inhabitants located 180 kilometers from the Chinese coast.

A conflict in the strait that separates them would be disastrous for the world economy: more than 50% of the containers transported in the world pass through there and the island produces 70% of the world's semiconductors.

With AFP