With President Donald Trump in office, both blue and green are worried that the new policy could affect the asia-pacific region and that the situation across the Taiwan Strait will face greater uncertainty. According to some Taiwanese media, Donald Trump will cause“A thousand waves” when he takes office, and the island will not only find it difficult to stay out of the storm, it could be caught in the storm in three areas: technology, trade and security.
US may retreat from the pack
As soon as Donald Trump took office, he signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organisation, the Taiwanese newspaper said on the 22 Jan. . The Taiwanese“Ministry of Health and Welfare” claimed that promoting participation in the WHO and becoming an observer has always been Taiwan’s goal and will not change, and that follow-up actions need to be discussed with the Taiwanese“Foreign Ministry.”, this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) will take place in May and plans and directions are being drawn up. Chen Bing-kui, a professor at Chengchi University in Taiwan, said the US withdrawal was“A very disadvantageous situation for Taiwan, because the US is an important driving force in the WHO to support Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly”. Without the support of the United States, and with only the support of the European Union and Japan, “It will be harder for Taiwan to join the WHA.”. However, some public opinions say that because the DPP authorities do not recognize the“1992 consensus”, Taiwan has not been able to become a who observer even if it has the support of the United States in the past few years.
Not only that, the taiwan-based China Times on the 22nd also worried that Donald Trump might announce his withdrawal from the“Indo-pacific economic framework (IPEF)” established under former President Biden. Chiang Kai-shek, Taiwan’s Vice President of the Legislative Yuan Minister, said Donald Trump, who is under no pressure to be re-elected and has a majority in parliament that allows him to do as he pleases, could reshape the global trading order, the realignment of international politics may also lead to changes in cross-strait relations and the trilateral relations between the United States, mainland China and Taiwan, which will affect the stability of the indo-pacific region and global geopolitics. Chen guanting, a“Legislator” of the Democratic Progressive Party, noted that in his inaugural speech, Donald Trump criticized the United States for investing too much in foreign border defense, and that in the future it will stop funding foreign defense, “If the U. S. military commitment in the indo-pacific region reduced, the situation in the Taiwan Strait may face greater uncertainty.”.
The tariffs will affect factories in Mexico
Tariffs are the other big focus on the island. KMT“Legislator” Li Yanxiu pointed out that tariffs, energy and manufacturing are the most important parts of the“Trump dictionary,” according to a yet-to-be-released background document, donald Trump called for“Reversing globalization and ignoring the damaging effects of U.S. trade policy” and for federal agencies to address currency manipulation by other countries and territories, “I’m afraid this is more of an issue for Taiwan to worry about.”. Chen guanting, a“Legislator” of the Democratic Progressive Party, believes that Donald Trump has always advocated higher tariffs on foreign parties and has set up a special unit, the“Foreign tax bureau.”, after taking office, he“Had the greatest impact on trade between Taiwan and the United States in the fields of science and Technology and agriculture.”.
Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders on his first day in office and said he would impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadians and Mexicans on Feb. 1, the China Times said Tuesday, at present in Mexico’s technology industry manufacturers have quanta, Inventec, Weiying, Hon Hai, etc. , corporate estimates of Inventec and Weiying the greatest impact. Under the impact of the technology war between China and the United States, Taiwanese factories began setting up in Southeast Asia and Mexico in 2019, the report said. Foreign investment reports show that Taiwan factories in Mexico mainly supply AI servers for North , with Wyman producing nearly 70 percent of its servers in Mexico, while Inventec has about 35 to 40 percent of its server capacity in Mexico, about 10-15 per cent of revenues would be hit hard. Lin Weizhi, executive vice president of Jipu Industrial Trends Research Institute, said that if Trump begins to impose taxes on Canada and Mexico, Taiwan’s original factory commissioned design oems in Mexico will inevitably have to pay money in the short term, there will also be a shift to the US to reduce Mexican production, but that will probably not happen until the end of Donald Trump’s term.
“Taiwan can not relax,” Taiwan, “National Development Commission chairman” Liu Jingqing 21, said so. Kwak Chih-hsien, president of the Qinye Zhongxin joint office, said that the tariff issue has stirred up new waves in the international economic and trade landscape. Focus on Taiwan, its export surplus to the United States continues to expand, this situation may lead to higher tariff policy pressure, increase the cost burden of Taiwan’s exports.
“Invalid Taiwan”?
On security and defence, yin nai-ping, a finance professor at Chengchi University, said it was“Impossible” for Donald Trump, a businessman, to fund military activities in other regions. As far as defence is concerned, the“Porcupine strategy” or“Asymmetric warfare” that Donald Trump’s new team has been talking about, Huang Jiezheng, chairman of the Chinese Association for Strategic and wargaming studies, wrote on the 22nd, pressure on the future direction of the island’s military build-up will only grow. Zhao Jianmin, a former vice-chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, wrote yesterday that Donald Trump’s policies had been so swift and hasty that“The umbrella on which the island’s life depended is no longer reliable”. But Lai’s cross-strait policy has always followed that of the United States, and it can be expected to be doubly dependent on the U. S. government.
The KMT think tank believes that“Two-handed tactics” and“Double standards” have always been Donald Trump’s style of conduct. To this end, it has made five major recommendations to the William Lai Administration. First, we should be pragmatic about taiwan-us relations and not exaggerate them, second, a tariff war is imminent and it is better to be cautious. Third, international participation is frustrated and“Diplomatic relations” are sounding the alarm, if the LAI authorities do not actively improve the cross-strait mutual trust foundation, they may face the reality of more international space being compressed and the crisis of“Severing diplomatic ties”; fourth, strengthen war preparations and avoid war first; fifth, to maintain peace and reduce hostility across the Taiwan Strait, we should actively promote cross-strait exchanges, resolve differences between the two sides, and reduce the risk of possible conflict. The think tank said it opposes the biased policy of the Lai administration, otherwise it may have a serious negative impact on taiwan-us-china relations.
“The Taiwan card is no longer valid,” said a commentary in the China Times on Wednesday. Donald Trump was elected US president for the first time at the end of 2016. Before he took office, he spoke with then Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, trying to use Taiwan to coerce Beijing into submission. But his“Taiwan card” did not work. Not only did Donald Trump not speak to William Lai in the first term, but the Greens used to regard him as“The most supportive American president” and have switched to direct engagement with Beijing to get what they want. With Donald Trump’s change, the article argues, the island needs to adjust its cross-strait strategy. The mainland recently announced the opening of group tours to Taiwan for Shanghai and Fujian residents. Lai authorities should take advantage of the situation to break the deadlock and gradually resume the cross-strait interaction mechanism.
Tong Shao-cheng, president of the taiwan-based Institute for asia-pacific studies, warned that in the face of the“Donald Trump Shock”, the authorities should be prepared to“Improve cross-strait relations as soon as possible in order to seek good fortune and avoid bad fortune”. An editorial in Taiwan’s industrial and commercial times said that in terms of science and technology, the United States wants to contain the development of semiconductors in the mainland, and once it fine-tunes its tactics and stretches its battle lines, it is very likely to affect the development of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s comments that Taiwanese Semiconductor industry technology was“Stolen” from the US are set to increase pressure on Taiwanese semiconductor companies such as TSMC to set up shop in the US. On the trade front, the areas initially facing the most tariff pressure are Canada, Mexico, the Chinese mainland and the BRICS countries looking to“De-dollarise”. But this is an“Outpost” and the scale of the tariff war is set to escalate significantly. Mexico, Vietnam and Thailand, originally seen as“Safe havens” by some Taiwanese businessmen, may all be involved. On security, Donald Trump has put pressure on the ruling regime by threatening that the island’s defence budget should be 10 per cent of GDP and hinting at a“Protection fee”. “Taiwanese society has always been worried about the challenges posed by Donald Trump,” the newspaper said. “The DPP authorities’ blind belief in ‘supporting the US and resisting China’ has made people even more anxious.”. Wang Jin-pyng, a former legislative speaker, said it would be hard for the William Lai Administration to resist Donald Trump’s demands for“Protection money” and avoid the fate of the“Taiwan brand”. Taiwan’s future development depends on peaceful and stable cross-strait relations.