A former government minister calls for Taiwan to take charge of its relationship to China. U.S. “support” has caused Taiwan to “delay a national reckoning over the best way for us to deal with China in order to ensure the long-term survival of our democracy.”
“Taiwan must begin an immediate, serious national conversation about how to secure peace with China on terms that are acceptable to us, rather than letting bigger powers decide our future,” writes Lung Ying-tai, who served as Taiwan’s minister of culture from 2012 to 2014, serving under President Ma Ying-jeou. Lung was writing an op-ed in the New York Times on April 1.
President Lai Ching-te, instead of reckoning with this reality, is reviving Cold War rhetoric, she writes. On March 13, Lai officially declared China a “foreign hostile force.” Lai talks a big game, but, as Lung points out, “Taiwan can no longer bank on U.S. support.”
She says that “the only way for Taiwan to peacefully secure its freedom is to somehow reconcile with China. Recent history suggests that is achievable.”
A high point in cross-Strait relations was reached during the presidency of Ma Ying-jeou, from 2008-2016, including the 2015 meeting between President Ma and President Xi Jinping. Unfortunately, the Hong Kong protests of 2014, and Beijing’s response to them, soured feelings for China among the people of Taiwan, she writes.
“The clock is now ticking for Taiwan,” she writes. “Relying on the United States while rejecting and antagonizing China is no longer a viable path forward. There can be no democracy without first ensuring peace.”
