Western powers won’t let China get away with invading Taiwan, a senior Republican lawmaker warned after island voters reelected their U.S.-friendly president.
“Is that really going to play to their benefit long term?” if Beijing muscles in on its neighbor that lies just off the coast of mainland China, Republican Florida Rep. Ted Yoho said. A senior member for the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Yoho spoke Monday at the Heritage Foundation. “Or is that going to cause — not just a regional conflict — do you think other Western democracies are going to sit still and watch a democracy in that part of the region that’s not causing anybody any problems … are we all going to sit and watch that be taken away?”
Yoho, an outspoken proponent of Taiwan’s independence, argued that a violent clash would cause Beijing to lose economic relationships around the world. His remarks continued Washington’s celebration of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s victory in the Jan. 11 presidential election, a win that delivered a blow to China’s wish to assert control over the island.
“It’ll force an international backlash with countries and companies wanting to divest from China,” Yoho said. “If China was smart, they would not cause disruption where they can’t win.”
Mainland Chinese authorities regard Taiwan, the last stronghold of the government overthrown when the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949, as a renegade province. Chinese diplomats have denounced Tsai as a “separatist” leader. Chinese President Xi Jinping called last year for Taiwan to embrace the “one country, two systems” model that was supposed to give Hong Kong the autonomy necessary to enjoy the freedoms inherited from its time as a former British colony, but the recent protests in Hong Kong galvanized Taiwanese suspicion of Communist authorities.
“The Chinese government’s position won’t change: we stick to the one-China principle and oppose ‘Taiwan independence,’ ‘two Chinas’ and ‘one China, one Taiwan,’” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said after the election. “We hope and believe that the international community will continue to adhere to the one-China principle, and understand and support the Chinese people’s just cause of opposing ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities and striving to achieve national reunification.”
Beijing launched an aggressive election interference campaign in an attempt to hobble her campaign, but United States and British officials coordinated to help counter those disinformation efforts. And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wasn’t shy about applauding her win.
“Under her leadership, we hope Taiwan will continue to serve as a shining example for countries that strive for democracy, prosperity, and a better path for their people,” Pompeo said Saturday.
That statement, along with a senior State Department official’s high-profile participation in an election watch party on Saturday morning, continued a U.S. pattern of touting Taiwan’s democracy as a counterpoint to the Chinese Communist system.
“Taiwan has once again provided a stellar example of democracy in action,” Jonathan Fritz, who leads the State Department’s China desk, said at the watch party. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Tsai administration and with the leadership of all Taiwan’s parties, to advance our common interests and further strengthen the unofficial relations between the United States and people on Taiwan.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping has overseen an aggressive effort to convince Taiwan’s few official allies to stop recognizing the island as an independent nation and instead establish diplomatic relations with Beijing. Yoho predicted that the diplomatic tide would turn back toward Tsai. “I think you’ll see other countries come and reopen relationships with Taiwan,” he said Monday.
Still, U.S. officials are careful not to stoke China’s suspicion that Tsai intends to provoke a major international controversy over the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland.
Instead, Yoho urged Xi merely to give up on trying to bring Taipei under Beijing’s authority. “If China accepts the status quo that Taiwan is a self-governing democracy, they, Taiwan, and the world would all benefit,” Yoho said. “Xi and China would gain much respect to accept president Tsai’s offer and leave them alone.”
