Crossroads Taiwan (Dec. 16, 2023)

Opposition softens pro-China stance, and tips for foreign journalists covering the election

News Roundup

• Opposition candidates downplay pro-China stances less than a month to election

With less than a month to the national elections in Taiwan, KMT and TPP candidates tried to stress that their platforms include parts to shore up Taiwan’s defense and deterrence against Chinese aggression. 

The opposition in Taiwan is generally seen as more pro-China than the ruling DPP, and have in the past mostly attacked the DPP on “raising tensions” with China, or claimed that the DPP cannot dialogue with China while they can.  

Hou You-ih, the KMT presidential hopeful, unveiled his defense policy platform on the 11th, including investing in asymmetric warfare capabilities, and will continue the indigenous submarine program from the Tsai Administration. He also promised to raise the compensation for professional servicemen up to NT$10,000 a month (approximately US$319). 

He stressed his “3D” China policy: deterrence, dialogue, and de-escalation, the same framework he outlined in a piece published in the journal Foreign Affairs. 

KMT’s Vice Presidential candidate, Jaw Shaw-kong (also spelled Chao Shao-kang), on the 5th said in an online interview that “in terms of national defense, we rely on the U.S.. If it hadn’t been for the U.S. for the past 70 years, Taiwan probably would’ve been taken over by China a long time ago.” However, he also added that China is a market, and Taiwan needs to “play both sides.” to maximize its own interests. 

TPP’s Ko Wen-je, said on the 13th in an exclusive interview with journalist Fan Chi-fei that “of course China is a threat, what kind of question is that?” He continued to say “China’s ambition towards Taiwan has not changed in the last 70 years” and that Taiwan has to buy weapons from the U.S. because “China forced us.” 

These comments come at a surprise for many in Taiwan, because Jaw is one of the representative figures of the more fundamentalist pro-China supporters in Taiwan. He has called into question American support for Taiwan after the U.S. left Afghanistan and been at the forefront of skepticism towards the U.S.. 

Ko and the TPP, while claiming to be above the traditional KMT and DPP two party system, has in recent years also taken a more skeptical view towards the U.S., and said that Taiwan and China are “one family.” 

The two parties have been seen as more aligned on their pro-China, anti-American stance as relative to the ruling DPP, and therefore had tried to consolidate their presidential tickets but to no success in the end. 

Commentary 

• William Yang

William is on break this week.

• Chieh-Ting Yeh:

As we approach the season—not that season—for national elections again in Taiwan, journalists and academics are going to be parachuting down in Taipei en masse. As a public service announcement, here are some tips to make your stay productive, meaningful, and enjoyable.

1. Speak to people who are not politicians, staffers, or volunteers. 

2. Cab drivers aren’t the only kind of “regular folks” in Taiwan. 

3. Please refrain from the phrase “on the ground.” No one is flying above the ground. 

4. Don’t go around asking everyone if they support “independence” or if they want to “declare independence.” 

5. Similarly, don’t ask about “unification” and definitely not “reunification.” Taiwan was never part of the People’s Republic of China. 

6. Even if you say “status quo,” please be clear about what you mean by that. 

7. If you must ask, be precise about what it is you’re asking people. Is it to support some kind of constitutional change? Or is it simply supporting Taiwan staying the way it is and not annexed by China? Or accepting peaceful annexation on China’s terms? Labels like “independence,” “status quo,” and “unification” have been brandied around for decades that their definitions have outlived their usefulness. It’s time for the rest of the world to catch up. 

8. While we’re at it, we might as well rethink the use of stale terms like: “cross-Strait relations,” “de jure or de facto” anything, “renegade province,” and “Mainland China.” 

9. If you can, get out of Taipei. Skip Tainan even, and go to Taichung or Taoyuan, the newer metropolises that are younger, cheaper, with more immigrant populations, and the “swing states” of Taiwan. Go to Miaoli or Yunlin to see how all politics is local. 

10. Lastly, please take some time to enjoy what Taiwan has to offer in terms of fun.