Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/12
By: Chang Kuo-tsai, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan and the United States both underwent transfers of power in the 2016 presidential elections, with Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Donald Trump of the Republican Party being elected as the new leaders of their respective countries. Over the past few years, the U.S. has passed a host of pro-Taiwan bills and resolutions, giving a significant boost to the bilateral relationship.

The moves made by the U.S. towards Taiwan have had a positive impact on the island country’s effort to promote freedom and democracy while fending off threats from Communist China.

These include a telephone call in which Tsai congratulated Trump for his electoral victory, the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act that incorporates Taiwan into its Indo-Pacific strategy, the Taiwan Travel Act that allows visits between high-level officials from both sides, the National Defense Authorization Act that calls for continued patrols of U.S. Navy vessels through the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwan Assurance Act that paves the way for normalizing U.S. military sales to Taiwan, and the TAIPEI Act, which helps Taiwan bolster ties with its allies, engage with international organizations, and promote bilateral trade.

While Taiwan has faced obstacles and relentless bullying from Beijing in its bid to become a relevant international player, it has proven democracy prevails through the 2020 January elections, in which the DPP secured landslide victories in both the presidential and legislative contests. The resounding wins demonstrated Taiwan’s determination to “say no to China.”
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