U.S. President Joe Biden has been in office for two weeks, and his new policy toward Taiwan threatens to return to the “one-China framework. (Photo credit: Biden’s Facebook page)
As President Joe Biden has been in office for just two weeks, the outline of his new team’s “policy toward Taiwan” is becoming clear to the international community, namely “rock-solid commitment to Taiwan and a warning to Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan” while replacing the demoted designation of “Taiwan’s elected representative” with “Taiwan’s president. The outline of the team’s “policy toward Taiwan” is becoming clear, that is, “the commitment to Taiwan is rock solid, warning Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan”, but at the same Time, “Taiwan’s elected representatives” to replace the degrading name of “Taiwan’s president”. In this regard, Taiwan scholars and experts believe that the change in designation indicates that the Biden Administration may return to the pro-communist “one-China framework” and that U.S.-China-Taiwan relations have returned to a more ambiguous state, which is a far cry from the policies of the Trump administration.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken says at a Senate Foreign Affairs Committee nomination hearing on Jan. 19 that the U.S. commitment to Taiwan is strong and longstanding across party lines, not only to ensure Taiwan’s ability to defend itself, but also to expect Taiwan to play a larger role in the international arena.
Secretary of State John Blinken says the Biden administration will continue its commitment to Taiwan, not only to ensure that Taiwan is able to defend itself, but also to expect Taiwan to play a greater role in the international arena. (Photo credit: Blinken tweet)
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also noted at the Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing on Jan. 22 that U.S. support for Taiwan has been “rock solid” for many years and has cross-party support, and that he will ensure that the U.S. side keeps its commitment to support Taiwan’s ability to defend itself when he takes office.
Separately, White House National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne, responding to media inquiries after Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., Mei-Chin Hsiao, attended President Biden’s inauguration, said the U.S. commitment to Taiwan is “rock solid. Biden will stand with friends and allies to promote shared prosperity, security and values in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes Taiwan.
In its first press release on January 24, the U.S. Department of State also reiterated its “rock-solid” commitment to Taiwan, urging Beijing to stop its military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan and to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan in response to continued Communist incursions into Taiwan.
In the two weeks since Biden took office, the “rock-solid” commitment to Taiwan has always appeared whenever the issue of Taiwan has been touched upon, and it is assessed that this will undoubtedly be the new tone of the Biden administration’s policy toward Taiwan in the next four years.
However, despite the Biden administration’s emphasis on continuing its commitment to Taiwan, the Biden administration has clearly returned to the traditional U.S. policy toward Taiwan in the past, compared to the late Trump Administration, which cut Taiwan issues out of China issues.
When the Trump administration mentions Taiwan, it hardly talks about the “one-China Policy” and rarely mentions the three U.S.-China communiqués, instead emphasizing the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances established under the Reagan era.
In response to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo‘s announcement to “lift restrictions on U.S.-Taiwanese official contacts” before he left office, the Biden camp, which was preparing for the transition, responded to the media that it would still implement the Taiwan Relations Act, but also mentioned the U.S. commitment to Beijing’s “one-China policy.
It is noteworthy that, compared to the former Trump administration officials who would directly refer to Taiwan’s president and officials by “president” or official titles, the Biden administration used the traditional U.S. terms of “elected representatives” and “elected leadership” to refer to Taiwan’s president and officials. This also shows that the Biden administration’s policy toward Taiwan has returned to the traditional route followed by the United States for a long time.
In response, Taiwan KMT caucus leader Lin Weizhou said in an interview on January 29, “This subtle change in the U.S. means that the Biden administration is not so supportive of Taiwan anymore! . He believes that Taiwan should be self-aware, the United States is obviously adjusting its policy towards China and Taiwan, Taiwan should really think about how to deal with itself.
The convener of the Sovereignty Group of the Economic and People’s Liberation Army (EPA) said that Pompeo had abolished the restrictions on contacts between U.S. and Taiwan officials before he left office, and pointed out that it was a self-imposed restriction by the U.S. to appease the Chinese Communist Party, and clearly stated that “Taiwan is not part of China”. “.
Song pointed out that Biden’s statement did not include the words “Taiwan officials” or “the government of the Republic of China,” but rather returned to the old designation of “elected representatives of Taiwan. He said these signs indicate that the U.S. is not in a position to make a statement. He said that these signs show that the United States is back to maintaining an “unofficial” position toward Taiwan, using the PRC (People’s Republic of China) to refer to the other side of the Taiwan Strait, pulling out the space of “one country, two governments”; Biden is clearly going back to the “one-China framework”. The U.S.-China-Taiwan relationship has returned to a more ambiguous state, which is a far cry from the Trump administration’s Pompeo foreign policy.
Chen Yiqi, chairman of Taiwan’s Ki-jin Party, questioned the Biden administration’s overly moderate attitude toward the Chinese Communist Party, and hoped that the U.S. Democratic Party would “not only talk” but also take concrete actions, so that the Chinese Communist Party’s intrusion into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and the center line of the Strait would not become the new norm and eventually evolve into an established fact.
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