During a news conference in Palau on Friday, December 6, 2024, Taiwan’s newly elected President, Lai Ching-te, finished his first overseas tour with a request for China to “open its arms rather than raise its fists.” Lai’s comments were in response to the rumors that China will be having military drills near Taiwan after his return from the tour. Lai stated that Taiwan will not buckle under the pressure of China’s military presence. After the split of Taiwan and China in 1949, The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has claimed Taiwan as a part of China. Lin Jian, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, says “No matter what they say or do, they will never change the fact that Taiwan is part of China.” Lai’s overseas tour took him to the United States Hawaii and Guam, located in a conflict zone between China and the United States. Lin has claimed that Lai’s tour stops in the U.S. gave Taiwan a platform to act in separatist activities and spread Taiwanese independence. Lin also accused the U.S. of engaging in official exchanges with Taiwan. The U.S. does not yet have an unofficial relationship with Taiwan and in a discussion with U.S. congressional leaders in Guam, Lai stated that he believes that when in office, the Trump administration will be more committed to Taiwan’s cause than the Biden administration.
I believe that China will continue to threaten Taiwan with military drills and we will start to see coverage on Chinese military presence around Taiwan. This will then bring more attention to China’s presence in the East and South China Sea. I think the U.S. will make a statement that will restate that they have no diplomatic ties to Taiwan and their main focus is their trade relationship with China.
I think that Taiwan should push for more global recognition and try to strengthen its relationship with the United States. China should also try to fix tensions between them and the United States. It is also important that China works towards having more positive headlines in the news as it will weaken its relationship with the United States.
This article relates to what we have been discussing in class with the constructivist theory, as the tensions between China, the United States, and Taiwan have been apparent since the 1940s.