Vincent Chao of the ruling DPP party: “Taiwan is not easily scared by China's military actions”

Vincent Chao (Taipei, 35 years old) received EL PAÍS this Wednesday in a crowded office at the headquarters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), in Taipei. The leader of the formation, the current vice president Lai Ching-Te, leads the polls to become the next president of Taiwan this Saturday, the self-governed and democratic island that China considers an inalienable part of its territory and that has the United States at its disposal. greatest ally.

Chao serves as director of International Affairs of the PDP and spokesperson for Lai's campaign. In the room, stacks of boxes of what look like election advertising in various formats surround him. Outside, tables are spread full of posters, flags and stickers in which the green color of the party predominates. In an adjoining room, an editing team follows candidate Lai's motorcade in another city on a wall of screens. They are exhausting days. The final stretch of the campaign. The tension is perceived. For Chao, this final stretch brings to mind military service, mandatory in Taiwan, and recently raised from four months to one year. “The worst was always the last week,” he remembers. The final seven days, he says, are feeling “like the last three months.”

Chao explains why these elections are much more than a national election. “Unfortunately, we live next door to a neighbor who has stated that his political goal is to annex or unify Taiwan peacefully, if possible, but by force if necessary.” That, he adds, is the main driver of tensions with the Asian giant. According to Chao, China is increasing capabilities to achieve that result. “This is why our elections matter. Because we must decide on the best course of action to defend our democracy, our freedom, our way of life, to preserve the status quo in the Taiwan Strait amid growing challenges.”

The party headquarters occupies three floors of the building. You see movement. Junzhi Wu, director of the PDP's Chinese Affairs department, crosses the stairs busily, with his cell phone pressed to his ear. On the ground floor of the block, a campaign headquarters has been opened with free access to citizens. An eventual victory would be celebrated in that place. Inside they sell paraphernalia with the colors of the formation and there is an abundance of feline symbology in reference to “cat diplomacy” that the vice presidential candidate, Hsiao Bi-khim, has proclaimed. The owner of several of these pets, before being nominated, she served as Taiwan's representative to the United States—not ambassador, since Washington does not officially recognize Taipei. And there she developed this theory about international relations: to survive, the territory “has to be flexible” and at the same time make it clear that “you can't mess with them,” explains a party advisor.

For China, the Taiwanese are deciding these days between “war and peace.” The DPP is the least liked option in Beijing, which has described Vice President Lai as a “defender of independence” and “a troublemaker and instigator of war.” The People's Republic sees in this candidate an extension of the last eight years of the Government of Tsai Ing-wen, the current president, also of the PPD, marked by the absence of communication with Beijing, the growing tensions in the Strait and the rapprochement with Washington .

One of Beijing's big red lines would be a statement de jure of the independence. Chao doesn't see it necessary. “We are already independent. We have been for a long time,” he says. “We have our army, our economy, our legal system, our constitution, a democratically elected government. I don't think anyone can say that we are subordinate to another country. The Republic of China [nombre oficial de Taiwán] It is something that exists.”

War remains an unthinkable option

He claims that if he wins, Lai will continue Tsai's legacy. She will also “show signs of openness and willingness to engage in dialogue with Beijing on the basis of parity and dignity.” The PPD candidate has presented a plan with four pillars “to guarantee sustainable peace”, among which the improvement of deterrent capacity stands out. In the words of the spokesperson, it is about “ensuring that war remains an unthinkable option for any of the parties involved; Let everyone realize that there will be no winners.”

Chao, who worked as policy director in Taiwan's representative office in Washington, and has held various positions linked to National Security and Foreign Affairs, explains how the echoes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine resonate on the island. “Especially among PDP supporters, I think it has reinforced the commitment that any democracy must have to ensure its own self-defense and ensure deterrence. For many in Taiwan, it is a sign that the threat from authoritarian actors is real. Not just something that exists on paper. “There are real actions taking place today in the context of authoritarianism versus democracy, and Ukraine is on the front line.”

Support for this country, he continues, is something “very important for many Taiwanese.” The war in Europe, he adds, has also expanded the scope for Kremlin propaganda to work alongside that of the Chinese Communist Party. In Taiwan, according to him, a narrative similar to the one used by the Kremlin to justify the invasion is spreading, about the excessive proximity of the West to its borders. In this light, Taiwan should address China's security concerns and distance itself from the United States.

The current Government has denounced China's interference in the elections. It's nothing new. In 1996, during the first presidential elections, Beijing fired missiles into the Strait, but that contributed to the victory of the least liked candidate in the Asian giant. “Taiwanese people are not easily frightened by military actions. In fact, they increase our determination to make our own decisions,” says Chao.

In recent times, Chinese intervention has become “more sophisticated and complex,” he adds. There are no salvos of missiles, but there is, for example, the launch on Tuesday by China of a satellite into space whose trajectory set off emergency alarms; or a growing number of Chinese balloons and fighter planes flying through the skies near the island. To this, he adds the disinformation strategy, “designed to polarize our society, undermine institutions and further degrade our democracy.” Or economic coercion, with episodes such as the imposition of restrictions on the import of certain products, such as mangoes, aimed at affecting certain sectors traditionally linked to the PPD, according to Chao.

The polls open in Taiwan at a time when the world is going through wars. In modern history, the spokesperson concludes, there have always been three major potentially flammable hotspots: Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. In the first two, disputes have broken out. “Surprisingly,” he says, this region has so far managed to avoid conflict. “It's not good for anyone. And our commitment is to avoid it.”

Follow all the international information on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter.

_