Taiwan: liberal China in danger

Within the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall A statue of the Taiwanese leader stands overlooking a public square in one of Taipei's busiest neighborhoods. Along with Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek is considered the founding father of the Republic of China. The statue of the leaders reminds the visitor of another major monument: the Lincoln Memorial. This is not a coincidence. Chiang consciously sought to emulate Lincoln as the unifier of a nation torn apart by Civil War, and it's possible he wanted to emulate one of Washington, DC's most famous landmarks.

Chiang Kai-shek's civil war against Mao Zedong for control of China was one of the titanic events of the 20th century. Although he succeeded in securing Taiwan's autonomy from mainland China, he was by no means an admirer of liberal democracy. An authoritarian view plagued his years in office. When he died in 1975, his son Chiang Ching-kuoa classmate of Deng Xiaoping while studying in the Soviet Union, he took over leadership of the Kuomintang, the ruling party, and became president in 1978.

Although Chiang Ching-kuo is often credited with the democratization of Taiwan, it was his successor, Lee Teng-huian economist who studied at Cornell University who consolidated liberal democracy in the country. His role could be compared to that of similar reformers like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore or Deng Xiaoping of China. However, unlike China and Singapore, Taiwan has moved to a full-fledged multi-party democracy while retaining its traditional values ​​blending Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. And it is precisely this adaptation of Chinese culture to modern democracy and economy that most likely triggered China's resentment and hostility toward the island.

Today, Taiwan is at the center of the growing battle between the world's oldest modern democracy, the United States, and China, an ancient civilization that decided in the last century to adopt Marxist communism as its political regime.

Taiwan is located a strategic moment in world affairs, whether or not the United States and China fall into what Harvard scholar Graham Allison calls the Thucydides Trap.

Tensions between Beijing and Taipei increased following the events of last January presidential elections in the island that brought to power the Democratic Progressive Party candidate, Lai Ching-te, who presented himself with a program hostile to Beijing's interests, despite Xi Jinping's efforts to support the Kuomintang. The DPP nevertheless managed to stay the course majority of the Legislative Yuan by securing a coalition with the Taiwan People's Party. Since then, Beijing has continued its efforts to gain influence over Taiwan's opposition parties in Congress.

Currently, the United States and mainland China have reopened a diplomatic channel through which presidents and senior officials can continue negotiations. The most recent meeting took place in Beijing last month, where the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivanmet with senior Chinese officials. The Taiwan issue was discussed and the Chinese government insisted that Taiwan is an integral part of its sovereign territory.

Taiwan is losing the support of its former friends internationally and diplomatically, mainly in Central America and the Pacific. Over the past five years, Nauru, Honduras, Nicaragua and Kiribati have withdrawn diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China in favor of the People's Republic. Only a growing number of small countries, including the Vatican and Paraguay, maintain normal relations.

Taiwan consistently upholds the highest values ​​that underpin the global liberal consensus, but remains largely unrecognized as an official member of the international community. This seems strange because Taiwan supports human rights, republicanism and democracy on the world stage. It seems that in the face of real challenges, the so-called international community takes a pragmatic stance, willingly abandoning its principles under even minimal political pressure from Beijing. Meanwhile, powerful China has shown no signs of slowing down in its efforts to erode Taiwan's global standing, launching a diplomatic campaign immediately after the election of DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen in 2016.

Taiwan's national security apparatus is keenly aware of the global geopolitical situation, particularly Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. There is no doubt that the Xi Jinping regime is carefully examining the military scene in the Eastern European plains. If Putin's Russia succeeds in annexing Ukraine, mainland China's leaders could interpret this as a signal to consider military engagement with Taiwan.

Perhaps this is why the Taiwanese government appointed the warmonger Wellington Koo Li-hsiung as new Minister of National Defense. The first words of the Iron Duke, as Wellington is commonly known, bluntly affirmed Taiwan's power. Wellington is certainly trying to modernize the national army in anticipation of a possible Chinese assault. He plans to achieve this by procuring equipment and weapons so that the country can effectively fight asymmetric warfare.

Meanwhile, Beijing continues to exercise its power in the South China Seawhere it has built artificial islands over the past decade.

Taiwan depends on its main allies, Japan and the United States, to keep China at bay. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidas The recent announcement that he will not seek to remain in power is unlikely to change Japan's strong support for Taiwan. The same cannot be said of the American government.

Recently, former President Donald Trump raised doubt about U.S. support for Taiwan, which he criticized for allegedly robbing the United States of its semiconductor industry. Alternately, Kamala Harris signaled that if she wins the presidency, she will continue Biden's policy of full support for Taiwan in case Beijing resorts to offensive actions.

What is at stake in the Taiwan Strait is a peaceful Indo-Pacific and the continued existence of an alternative China: democratic, law-abiding, liberal and friendly. Perhaps now is the time for the nations of the world to recognize Taiwan as a full member of the international community, as it would be a diplomatic and political mistake to marginalize an ally of humanity's best causes.

Angel Jaramillo Torres holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from Colegio de Mxico and a doctorate in political science from the New School for Social Research. He is co-editor of the two-volume series Trump and Political Philosophy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). His journalistic work has been published in Spanish and English media. He resides in Mexico. He recently returned from a ROC-sponsored trip to Taiwan with a group of scholars.

Image: Efired / Shutterstock.com.