Taiwan’s Tightrope

Taiwan has many of the trappings of statehood: A constitution, an army and a democratically elected government. It has one of the world’s top 10 tech companies, boasts a better credit rating than Israel or Spain and is the only place in Asia where gay marriage is legal. But it’s not a member of the United Nations and can’t compete under its own name at the Olympics. The reason is China, which claims the island as its territory and resists any recognition of its de facto independence. As China’s leaders grow increasingly assertive about issues of sovereignty, they have ratcheted up tensions in response to Taiwan’s election of an independence-leaning government.

President Tsai Ing-wen, first elected in a landslide in 2016, was easily re-elected in early 2020 while her Democratic Progressive Party retained control of the legislature. The thumping victory over the China-friendly Kuomintang party was attributed in part to the mainland’s hard line on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and its mounting political pressure on Taiwan. Chinese President Xi Jinping insists “China must and will be united” under the “one-country, two systems” model that operates in Hong Kong — a position the Chinese government reiterated after Tsai’s re-election. Tsai says China’s demands for Taiwan are not feasible, as “democracy and authoritarianism cannot coexist in one country,” and has vowed to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty. Taiwan and Hong Kong have become increasingly sensitive flash points in China's relationship with the U.S., with tensions heightened further in May when Beijing's legislature approved sweeping security laws for Hong Kong. In August, the U.S. said it was sending the highest-level cabinet official to visit Taiwan since cutting ties more than 40 years ago. During Tsai’s time in office, China has intensified patrols
around Taiwan, pressured global companies to acknowledge China’s claims and barred its citizens from traveling to the island. The U.S.-China trade war actually boosted Taiwanese businesses, as has Tsai’s push to get local companies to spend more at home.