{"id":2254356,"date":"2024-05-28T15:08:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T19:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taiwan-prepares-for-possibility-of-second-trump-administration\/"},"modified":"2024-05-28T15:11:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T19:11:11","slug":"taiwan-prepares-for-possibility-of-second-trump-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taiwan-prepares-for-possibility-of-second-trump-administration\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan readies for potential second Trump term"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftaiwan-prepares-for-possibility-of-second-trump-administration%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2254356&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Taiwan closely monitors the 2024\u2062 U.S. election, preparing\u2064 for a potential return of Donald Trump.\u2063 The complexities of Trump&#8217;s persona and the varied \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-red-wave-of-conservative-women-elected-to-congress\/\" title=\"The Red Wave of Conservative Women Elected to Congress\">foreign policy<\/a> \u200cstances of his associates pose challenges for Taipei amid China&#8217;s stance\u200c on reunification. Taiwan, led by President Lai Ching-te, strategizes for \u200da second\u2063 Trump\u2064 term, aiming to enhance\u200d ties with the U.S. regardless \u200cof\u2063 the election outcome.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>TAIPEI, Taiwan \u2014<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/taiwan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Taiwan<\/a> is closely watching the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>2024 U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/are-covid-case-surges-more-fake-news\/\" title=\"Are COVID Case Surges More Fake News?\">presidential election<\/a><\/a> and preparing for the possibility of former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s return.<\/p>\n<p>But while Trump has supported Taiwan in the past, his personality and the spectrum of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/policy\/foreign-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-overwhelmingly-votes-to-keep-u-s-embassy-in-jerusalem\/\" title=\"Senate Overwhelmingly Votes to Keep U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem\">foreign policy positions<\/a><\/a> of those close to him is complicating Taipei\u2019s preparations as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Chinese<\/a> President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/xi-jinping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Xi Jinping<\/a> postures about the reunification of the self-governing island with the mainland.<\/p>\n<p>Taiwan, under newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te, has been scenario planning and considering contingency plans for a second Trump administration should the former commander in chief depart from the long-standing U.S. policy of acknowledging the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s \u201cOne China\u201d principle, while opposing changes to the status quo between Taiwan and China by force, according to National Cheng Kung University political science professor Hung-Jen Wang.<\/p>\n<p>But Taiwan has at least one advantage in that Trump\u2019s second administration will likely not be \u201centirely new\u201d to Taipei, according to Wang.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe\u00a0Taiwan\u2019s new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/national-security\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>national security<\/a> team has a certain understanding of what to expect,\u201d Wang told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThe key now is to prepare various plans for different scenarios and determine whether they are ready to make compromises to the Trump administration in exchange for a closer\u00a0Taiwan-U.S. relationship \u2026 including the imposition of high tariffs on\u00a0Taiwan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/semiconductors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>semiconductor<\/a>-related industries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To Wang\u2019s point, Lai\u2019s vice president, Hsiao Bi-khim, is Taiwan\u2019s former de facto ambassador to the U.S. and was posted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Washington, D.C.<\/a>, during the final year of Trump\u2019s administration. The half-American\u2019s appointment is widely perceived to compensate for Lai\u2019s relative inexperience in foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of Hsiao, Taiwan\u2019s new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/off-to-a-bad-start-putin-schools-biden-with-one-phone-call\/\" title=\"Off to a Bad START: Putin Schools Biden with One Phone Call\">deputy foreign minister<\/a>, Tien Chung-kwang, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> the U.S. and Taiwan have a \u201crock solid\u201d relationship, particularly with the island of 24 million people being the U.S.\u2019s ninth largest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>trading<\/a> partner. That is irrespective of whether President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joe Biden<\/a> or Trump wins the general election in November.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTaiwan and the United States, we\u2019ve been fighting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/military\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>two world wars<\/a>, and we have been shoulder to shoulder,\u201d Tien said during a two-hour briefing with reporters. \u201cWho is going to be elected is just beyond our control. \u2026 We have to, once again, show to the world we will be a valid, very valuable partner for [the] United States or in other countries, democracies, in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During a post-inauguration bipartisan congressional delegation trip, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-foreign-affairs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>House Foreign Affairs Committee<\/a> Chairman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michael-mccaul\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Michael McCaul<\/a> (R-TX) also told reporters Monday he did not \u201csee either two candidates taking a weak position on China when it comes to Taiwan.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, the more traditionally conservative pro-Taiwan policy positions of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/heritage-foundation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Heritage Foundation<\/a>, former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/state-department\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Secretary of State<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-pompeo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Mike Pompeo<\/a>, and Elbridge Colby, Trump\u2019s deputy assistant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-defense\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>secretary of defense<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-continuous-media-covid-fear-mongering-may-backfire-and-diminish-democrat-voter-turnout\/\" title=\"The Continuous Media COVID Fear Mongering May BACKFIRE and Diminish Democrat Voter Turnout\">strategy<\/a> and force development, compared to the weaker pro-Taiwan stances of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-primary\/\">2024 Republican presidential candidate<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vivek-ramaswamy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Vivek Ramaswamy<\/a>, has created uncertainty in Taipei, according to Kelley Currie, the ex-president\u2019s acting deputy representative of the U.S. to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/united-nations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>U.N.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For example, Ramaswamy proposed during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>primary debate<\/a> that the U.S. support Taiwan until it develops its own capacity to produce advanced semiconductor microchips.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe comments that come out of people like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tucker-carlson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Tucker Carlson<\/a>, and Vivek Ramaswamy, and even Donald Trump about defending Taiwan, about what we were prepared to do, what Taiwan needs to do, and others related to the security of Taiwan, I think that, even for me, it can be head spinning, and I\u2019m somebody who worked in the Trump administration,\u201d Currie, a Vandenberg Coalition advisory board member, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/aei\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>American Enterprise Institute<\/a> Asia strategy senior fellow Zack Cooper agreed with Currie, adding Trump\u2019s lack of support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ukraine<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trade-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>tough trade negotiation tactics<\/a> are causes for concern in Taiwan too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019ll say to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/maria-bartiromo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Maria Bartiromo<\/a> that he\u2019s very angry about Taiwan\u2019s semiconductor industry leaving the U.S. and going to Taiwan, and then you\u2019ll get Mike Pompeo endorsing almost independence for Taiwan, which is completely on the other end of the spectrum,\u201d Cooper told the<em> Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThe margin of error for predicting Trump\u2019s policies is significantly greater.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt probably depends who happens to be in the room with the president when this issue is raised and, if you don\u2019t know that, it\u2019s really hard to predict what outcomes you would get if Trump is elected,\u201d the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>White House<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/national-security-council\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>National Security Council<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pentagon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Department of Defense<\/a> adviser said.<\/p>\n<p>For Taiwan\u00a0Institute of Economic Research\u2019s Department of International Affairs Director Grace\u00a0Chung, Taipei has been \u201clooking very closely towards the U.S. elections.\u201d Chung cited Trump\u2019s history with Taiwan as a potentially positive indication for the island, though she conceded \u201cnobody really can read his mind\u201d and he is \u201cvery unpredictable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder the Trump administration, he\u2019s the one that approves all the high-ranking officials coming to Taiwan and he was very open to Taiwan,\u201d Chung told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cOne side of the story says that the story would not change if he becomes elected because U.S.-China relations is going to stay this way. It\u2019s going to stay as it is, and it\u2019s unlikely that they will go back to favorable relations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the other side, I think most people would feel worrisome because, maybe this is not a good way to say about an ex-president figure, but he doesn\u2019t work on international rules, his character tends to change a bit. He\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>business<\/a> figure, so he\u2019s a businessman, he has a business mind kind of thinking,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is also very anxious for other allies, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/asia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Asian<\/a> countries and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/europe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>European<\/a>, even for countries like China, they also may not like Trump as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The U.S.\u2019s reliability as an ally, apart from Trump, has been underscored by the CPP in its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/disinformation\/\">disinformation<\/a> operations in Taiwan, according to Hoover Institution research fellow Kharis Templeman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s been this undercurrent of skepticism of the United States in Taiwan, especially over the last couple of years and especially among people on the blue end of the spectrum, so the deep blue [more conservative Kuomintang] supporters, but, also again, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/youth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>young people<\/a>,\u201d Templeman told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThey increasingly are curious or susceptible to CCP narratives that the U.S. is the main problem in the region and that Taiwan is just being used as a bargaining chip or as a kind of tool to keep China down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But while there is \u201cdeep worry\u201d in Taiwan about Trump\u2019s \u201ctransactional\u201d and \u201cmercurial\u201d personality and policies, the former president is \u201cactually quite popular in Taiwan for what his administration, itself, did,\u201d according to Templeman. One example is how Trump broke precedent during his 2016 transition and spoke with Lai\u2019s predecessor, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tsai-ing-wen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Tsai Ing-wen<\/a>, on the phone. It was the first time a U.S. president or president-elect had spoken directly to a Taiwanese president since 1979 as the two countries are not supposed to have a formal, diplomatic relationship after the U.S. recognized the People\u2019s Republic of China as China decades following their civil war.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe people he brought in with him were, on the whole, more pro-Taiwan, less constrained by past U.S. precedents, more willing to kind of stick it to the Chinese in symbolic and practical terms,\u201d Templeman said. \u201cThere\u2019s this kind of belief, I would argue a little bit more toward confidence that, if Trump won a second term, that would actually help Taiwan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hudson Institute\u2019s China Center Director Miles Yu, a former Pompeo adviser, reiterated that there would not be \u201cany surprise\u201d regarding Trump\u2019s policy concerning Taiwan.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think unconditionally withdrawing from any possible American military intervention serves American interests,\u201d Yu told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cWhat President Trump has said is that Taiwan definitely is very important and the defense of Taiwan is not just about the Taiwanese island itself. It\u2019s also America\u2019s broader interest in the Indo-Pacific and in the world because our global prestige is based upon a very sophisticated, deeply committed alliance system.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we don\u2019t defend Taiwan, that will cause a serious doubt to our commitment to our allies, not only in the Indo-Pacific, but to a broader extent in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nato\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>NATO<\/a> context,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taipei closely monitors the 2024 U.S. presidential election, readying for a potential return of former President Donald Trump. Despite Trump&#8217;s past support for Taiwan, the complexities of his persona and the diverse foreign policy stances of his inner circle are posing challenges for Taipei amid Chinese President Xi Jinping&#8217;s watch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2254357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24147088788187.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2254356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24147088788187.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2254356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2254357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2254356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2254356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2254356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}