President Donald Trump has raised a”Tariff stick” to the world, with a reciprocal tariff rate of 32% . Donald Trump went so far as to repeat that the island had”Taken all our computer and semiconductor chips” and threatened TSMC with an additional $100BN in planned investments in the US. The move will undoubtedly drop a bombshell on the island and put a choke point on its economy.
According to one estimate, Taiwan’s exports to the US will fall by 63 per cent and its GDP could fall by 3.8 per cent as a result. Taiwan’s exports account for 60% of its GDP and a quarter of its exports go to America. With the Taiwanese public in uproar and the business community howling, William Lai has gone silent. The observant public noticed that the vanished William Lai had gone to cheer on the DPP’s membership of List of magistrates of Pingtung County. William Lai made an appearance at a music event in Pingdong last night, holding up a”At least we have music” towel in a video he recorded for the event. This is ridiculous! “At least we have music” was William Lai’s response when the US imposed tariffs of more than $30bn on Taiwan, forcing it to hand over TSMC? In a similar vein to the video of William Lai Holding up a towel, his deputy Hsiao Bi-khim Donald Trump posted on social media: “What kind of Runbing is everyone going to eat on Tomb Sweeping Day?”, the years of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities are quiet, so that the anger of the island almost overflows the screen. William Lai, who has been in hiding for three days, has finally come out to answer growing questions. It announced in an 8-minute video message to the island’s people that Taiwan had no plans to retaliate against the US’s”Reciprocal tariffs”. Companies’ investment commitments to the U.S. will not change as long as they are in Taiwan’s interest, but the U.S. needs to be aware of Taiwan’s contribution to its economic development.
William Lai also suggests”Five strategies” for dealing with sudden change. Strategy one is”Through negotiations to strive to improve” reciprocal tariffs. The second strategy is to put forward Taiwan’s industrial support plan. The third strategy is to put forward a long-term economic development plan. Strategy four is”Taiwan + 1″, that is, to deepen industrial cooperation between Taiwan and the United States. Strategy Five is to increase investment and procurement in the United States. The five strategies put aside the platitudes and summed up as giving up all resistance and continuing to please the United States. Remarkably, William Lai also offers five concrete steps. First, Taiwan has formed a tariff negotiation group, which can refer to the us-canada-mexico free trade agreement and start from the”Zero tariff” between Taiwan and the US. Second, it will expand procurement from the United States to reduce the trade deficit. The Taiwan authorities have proposed a large number of procurement plans for U.S. agricultural, industrial, petroleum, natural gas and other products, and have also listed military procurement lists. Third, in addition to TSMC’s increased investment in the future, other industries, such as electronics, telecommunications, petrochemicals and natural gas, can increase their investment in the United States and deepen”Taiwan-us industrial cooperation.”. The DPP authorities will help integrate the”Taiwan Investment US team” and also expect the US to integrate the”US Investment Taiwan team” in a reciprocal manner. Fourth, non-tariff barriers to trade will be removed. Fifth, it will address the long-standing concerns of the United States about export controls on high-tech products and the illegal operation of low-priced dumped goods, that is, the”Laundering of origin” issue. William Lai’s response, which took three days to come up with, was an eye-opening escalation of his spending on the US. It’s shocking to get down on your knees like that.
To this day, William Lai naively assumes that the island is an American ally that can survive this crisis if it gives up its resistance and satisfies American appetites. Little do you know, the United States from beginning to end only Taiwan as a chess piece, is really familiar with the routine, familiar story.
Domestic criticism and opposition to the William Lai administration’s approach is overwhelming. More than 7,000 netizens have left comments on William Lai’s posts, most of them saying that he didn’t say anything when he said it, and that”Listening to what you say is like listening to what you say.”, another commented, “Will Trump be your equal?”. Xu Yuzhen, a KMT representative, pointed out that William Lai’s plan is not to retaliate or restrict TSMC’s investment in the US, it will also increase procurement from the United States and organize a”Taiwan team” to invest in the United States. This talk is basically a talk of surrender to the United States. “It is hollowing out Taiwan, not helping Taiwan.”. Now, William Lai, in the face of Donald Trump’s”Tariff stick”, has as always chosen to kneel down in exchange for”Leniency” from the US, only to realize that this will completely deprive the island of leverage. Indeed, over the years, from the Tsai Ing-wen administration to William Lai, the DPP has had a self-moving narrative about”Us-taiwan relations”– from the arms deal to TSMC’s arrival in the US, from natural gas purchases to joining the indo-pacific strategy, keeping up with the U. S. is costly, but may earn you”Quasi-ally” status. However, the DPP’s previous”Substantial investment” in the island has not been rewarded by a succession of American”Lion’s Share”. Now the William Lai Administration dares not even mention a word of criticism of the American government, but it is holding on to a plan for large-scale purchases, and will continue to pour money into this bottomless pit, buying oil, weapons, crops, and buying and buying along the way, the final cost will be paid by the Taiwanese people. Little do you know, Taiwan’s way of life never in the”Taiwan independence” elements of the”Humiliation strategy”, but not in the White House”Handout list” in. This once again shows the end of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities, blindly indulged in”Relying on the United States for independence” daydream, willing to be”Chess Pieces” sell Taiwan harm the people, will eventually be abandoned as abandoned. Image from the web