The Hill
Date: 09/03/20
By: David Sauer

Crucial to maintaining peace and stability in East Asia is protecting Taiwan’s thriving democracy. After the enactment of Hong Kong’s National Security Law and subsequent domination of Hong Kong’s democracy by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Chinese government undoubtedly has refocused its rapacious gaze upon democratic Taiwan. As the only functioning Chinese language democracy in the world, Taiwan’s democracy and freedoms pose an existential threat to the CCP’s authoritarian rule over the Chinese people. 

The United States must stand with democratic Taiwan as it continues to confront China’s efforts to take over the island.  

Taiwan’s geopolitical importance to the United States stands without question. Enjoying one of the world’s freest societies, Taiwan’s population of approximately 23 million is roughly the same as Australia’s. Taiwan is a world leader in advanced technology, particularly in the semiconductor industry. CCP control of centers of technological excellence, such as Taiwan Semiconductor, would give China an enormous technological boost, potentially resulting in a strategic disaster for the United States.  

Geographically, Taiwan sits astride one of the busiest trade routes in the world. The government that controls Taiwan also thereby controls Japan’s and the Korean Peninsula’s sea lines of communication. Should China succeed in its designs to take over the island, it would not be surprising to see People’s Liberation Army (PLA) submarine bases spring up in order to deploy submarines into the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean, a move that likely would complicate U.S. Navy efforts to locate them.      [FULL  STORY]