US presidential election: Taiwan on alert for post-poll impact on ties with mainland China

• Island’s foreign minister says Taipei is preparing for all outcomes from the US electoral race
   
• No sign of deployments on the mainland signalling threat of conflict, he says

South China Morning Post
Date: 2 Nov, 2020
By: Lawrence Chung

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu has said the island was preparing for the outcome of the US presidential election and its potential impact on relations with mainland China.But he played down speculation that the People’s Liberation Army would try to take advantage of a distracted United States to attack Taiwan

Speaking before a legislature meeting on Monday, Wu said Taiwan was keeping a close eye on the race and preparing for a possible transition from the administration of the Republican incumbent Donald Trump to his challenger Joe Biden.

“Should there be a transfer of power … there would be a turnover period and possibly a period when the person elected has yet to fully assume his post,” he said.

“In this period, all relevant departments, including the national security unit, the defence ministry and the coastguard administration will make the best preparations for anything that could possibly happen.”

If there were no transfer of power, Taiwan would continue to maintain “very good” relations with the Trump administration and promote US-Taiwan relations.    [FULL  STORY]