China’s fury with the Trump administration took another great leap forward on Tuesday when the Department of Health and Human Services announced that Secretary Alex Azar will soon visit Taiwan.
Viewing Taiwan as a breakaway province requiring reattachment under the Communist Party flag, China sees Azar’s trip as Washington would have seen a Chinese cabinet officer visiting and praising the Confederacy during the Civil War. In turn, Beijing’s Global Times propaganda outlet on Wednesday warned that “upgrading [United States]-Taiwan ties by ‘salami tactics’ is a dangerous move, and being a pawn in the U.S. hard-line strategy toward China will lead the island of Taiwan to unbearable disaster. The mainland has many cards, including the military card. More importantly, it is much more determined to play the cards than Washington.”
Of course, this vitriol is both morally unfair and functionally absurd. Taiwan is a democratic nation that vests power with the people and the rule of law. China vests power with Chinese President Xi Jinping. There is no constitutional framework agreed by Taiwan that requires its identification as a Chinese province. China’s first constitution was unilaterally introduced by the Communist Party in 1954, without Taiwan’s agreement. A friend, Taiwan is deserving of U.S. government support. In the context of China’s rising military intimidation of Taipei, this support should include escalating defense sales.
But this isn’t just about the narrative of province versus nation. The choice to send Azar, in particular, will fuel China’s fury. Why?
Well, just read Azar’s statement. “I look forward to conveying President Trump’s support for Taiwan’s global health leadership and underscoring our shared belief that free and democratic societies are the best model for protecting and promoting health.”
Taiwan’s successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic is one Beijing is keen to hide, viewing Taiwan’s impressive record on the preeminent global crisis as a challenge to its own credibility. So agitated is China by its neighbor’s success, it has even used that success as a rationale for Taiwan’s annihilation. The key here is that Xi wants to show his Communist Party rule as the best and only option for China’s better future. So where, as with Taiwan, a democratic model has been shown to be superior, Xi sees it as a personal threat. He doesn’t want more Chinese citizens coming to believe democracy might be a better bet.
Evincing as much, the Global Times hinted that this visit might give Beijing cause to take significant countermeasures against Washington. “The Trump administration cannot cross the line even if it wants to boost its election chances by heightening China-U.S. tensions.” The newspaper continued, “If bilateral relations spiral out of control, it may deal a heavy blow to Trump’s reelection.”
In reality, China is likely to tolerate this visit as long as it is short. But what we’re seeing here is just one more flashpoint in an increasingly tense and dangerous U.S.-China relationship.
