Letter to the Editor in the WSJ

Taiwan is living on borrowed time, and its 23 million residents need concrete commitment from the U.S., not photo-ops.

Photo by Lisanto 李奕良 on Unsplash

Here is my letter to the Editor in the Wall Street Journal on August 8th:

I’m glad that Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan went smoothly, thanks to the projection of power by the U.S. Navy. While her visit made for good photo-ops and probably boosted Taiwan’s morale, Beijing is undoubtedly furious. It can’t do much harm to Mrs. Pelosi, but it will make Taiwan pay. Taiwan will continue to endure People’s Liberation Army harassment and suffer economic penalties. A humiliated President Xi Jinping probably will speed up his timetable to attack Taiwan before another high-level foreign leader repeats what Mrs. Pelosi did.

It is deeply concerning that the Biden administration hasn’t come up with an effective strategy to deter Mr. Xi from invading Taiwan. Three times, right after Mr. Biden said that the U.S. military would defend Taiwan if China invaded, White House staff walked back the president’s remarks. Such policy contradictions at the highest level and the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan last year don’t instill confidence in Taiwan. Taiwan is living on borrowed time, and its 23 million residents need concrete commitment from the U.S., not photo-ops.