The Washington Post
Date: September 6, 2018
By: Josh Rogin, Columnist
The Chinese government is ramping up its worldwide effort to strip Taiwan of its
President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing on Sept. 4. (Lintao Zhang/Reuters)
international recognition, legitimacy and economic freedom, but the United States seems either unwilling or unable to confront Beijing. The Trump administration must challenge Chinese intimidation of Taiwan wherever it emerges — especially in our own backyard.
The paradox of the Trump administration’s Taiwan approach is that, despite the presence of pro-Taiwan officials throughout the government, the actual policy has moved only incrementally, well short of what would be a proportional response to Beijing’s increasingly aggressive diplomatic, economic and military campaignagainst Taiwan.
The United States’ Taiwan policy is hampered by two challenges: the lack of a comprehensive strategy and the personal resistance of President Trump. Convinced his personal friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping will yield results for the United States on either trade or North Korea, Trump has resisted more assertive moves to bolster the U.S.-Taiwan relationship, several officials said.
“This administration, from a personnel perspective, has the most hawkish Taiwan team ever,” one senior administration official told me. “But if Xi calls and complains, the president’s instinct is to defer to that because there is always some pending issue in which we want something from the Chinese.” [FULL STORY]