Global Courant
Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s official representative to the United States, is a well-known figure in the halls of power, but she doesn’t often give public speeches. So a recent one interview and press conference of Hsiao deserve some attention.
The One China policy endorsed by the US and the United Nations recognizes the island of Taiwan not as an independent country, but as part of China, with the government in Beijing providing the official ambassadors to the US and UN. Therefore, Hsiao is not an “ambassador” but a “representative”, and her organization is known as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO).
Her presence and activities in the US are sensitive points in the relationship between the US and China, so she does not often appear in public.
We would therefore expect Hsiao to have something important to say to an American audience. And she did, but her message was not exclusively about Taiwan. Hsiao and the reporters present wanted to talk about a country more than 8,000 kilometers from Taiwan, almost on the other side of Eurasia – Ukraine.
The ‘Tragedy’ of Ukraine
In her opening remarks, Hsiao stated, “The war in Ukraine has, in fact, generated much more attention and interest in … Taiwan’s defense needs. And so there has been an increase in…initiatives to find ways to support Taiwan so that tragedy will not be repeated in our scenario.”
“Tragedy” indeed. Hsiao, like everyone else in the world, is well aware of the devastation inflicted on Ukraine as a result of US President Joe Biden’s vicious proxy war against Russia using Ukrainians as cannon fodder. The “tragedy” of Ukraine not only focused Hsiao’s mind, but greatly upset all residents of Taiwan.
This led to the crushing defeat in the 2022 local elections of Hsiao’s Democratic Progressive Party, the cradle of separatist sentiment and hostility towards Beijing. The DPP was firmly thrashed by the Kuomintang (KMT), the party that wants to maintain the status quo with the mainland, allow the “strategic ambiguity” of the One China policy to persist, and approach Beijing peacefully.
The first thing I noticed about the press conference was the unreality of Hsiao’s goal, bordering on insanity. Here we had Taiwan’s envoy discussing war with mainland China, which has the largest PPP GDP in the world and represents 18% of all humanity. The population of Taiwan is 24 million, and it is the size of the US state of Maryland.
The bureau chief of the Washington Christian Science Monitor, and host of the event where Hsiao spoke, expressed similar disbelief, stating in the opening question, “Russia versus Ukraine is one thing, but China versus Taiwan is a much more extreme one.” example in terms of proportions…. How do you fight back against that?”
The unspoken assumption is that Taiwan can succeed with the support of the US. But how true is that? How solid is Biden’s support for Ukraine?
When asked by another reporter if she was “satisfied” with Biden’s commitment to Taiwan, Hsiao objected.
She didn’t answer “yes,” opining instead that “nothing is ever completely satisfying in the long run.” Here Hsiao seemed to be channeling Volodymyr Zelensky, ever more demanding, always disappointed. That is the unenviable position of a proxy whose function is ultimately to be used, not defended.
Hsiao sounded very much like someone who had doubts about US support – doubts perhaps aroused after the resounding and very bloody defeat of the US plenipotentiary, Ukraine, at Bakhmut. We can be sure that the same doubts are surfacing in the minds of Taiwan’s voters.
And such doubts are likely to play a decisive role in the upcoming 2024 presidential and Legislative Yuan elections, the island-wide unicameral legislature. Will the more peaceful policies supported by voters in the 2022 local elections again prevail in 2024 when it comes to electing officials island-wide?
Provocation to war
Several reporters questioned whether the US arming of Taiwan could be seen as a provocation. In itself, this is a step forward for the US press, which may be waking up to the fact that US tactics have indeed provoked war, as in Ukraine.
Hsiao dodged that question by ignoring the American dimension and speaking instead of Taiwan’s efforts for more militarization. Of course, small Taiwan acting alone can hardly be seen as a threat or serious provocation to China. But it becomes a completely different story when the weapons and personnel come from the US.
After all, the US has a huge military presence in the region and has stated as a policy that their goal is to bring down China. In these circumstances, US weapons, military personnel and actions in Taiwan can indeed be a serious provocation.
While Hsiao spoke in terms of defense, not provocation, she herself undermined that way of looking at the US on the island of Taiwan. Asked by another reporter if there was any evidence of Chinese preparation for an invasion, Hsiao said there was none. This is not surprising as China’s policy is to peacefully reunite with the island, a long-term goal.
A clear and simple lesson from the Hsiao press conference is that mainland China reasonably views the US arming Taiwan as a threat and provocation. So the way to peace is to end US arming Taiwan. This should be a top priority in the American peace movement, but unfortunately it is not often mentioned.
This article first appeared on Antiwar.com.
John V Walsh, until recently a professor of physiology and neuroscience at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, has written on issues such as peace and health care for the San Francisco Chronicle, EastBayTimes/San Jose Mercury News, Global Courant, LA Progressive, Antiwar .com, CounterPunch and others.
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