2024-01-13 17:34:45
American president reiterates Washington’s formal position; Lai Ching-te was elected in Taipei on an anti-China platform
SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS)
US President Joe Biden reiterated this Saturday (13) that the United States does not support Taiwan’s independence. With the statement, the Democrat reinforces Washington’s official position after Taiwanese voters elected as president a candidate who is even more anti-China than the current government, in which he was vice-president.
Lai Ching-te, from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), achieved 40.1% of the vote, against 33.5% for Hou Yu-ih (Kuomintang, KMT) and 26.5% for Ko Wen-je (People’s Party of Taiwan, PPT).
Hours before the polls opened, the US had warned that “it would be unacceptable” for “any” country to interfere in the Taiwanese elections. With the result now public, Biden was questioned by journalists and gave a response that was as formal as it was emphatic. “We do not support independence,” he said.
Taiwan is an island that China considers a rebel province and an inalienable part of its territory. With a history of democratic success since the holding of its first direct presidential elections in 1996, Taipei is today one of the most sensitive issues for Xi Jinping’s regime and a recurring source of tensions between Beijing and the West.
The US is Taiwan’s most important international sponsor and arms supplier, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties with the island.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, head of American diplomacy, congratulated Lai Ching-te on his victory and said that the United States “is committed to maintaining cross-strait peace and stability and the peaceful resolution of differences, free from coercion and pressure.” .
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He said the U.S. looks forward to working with Lai and leaders of all parties in Taiwan to advance their “long-standing unofficial relationship, consistent with the U.S. ‘one China’ policy.”
The White House feared that the election, transition and new administration would increase conflict with Beijing. Biden has been working to smooth relations with China, a mission that included a rare face-to-face meeting with Xi Jinping in California last November.
On the same day as the leaders’ summit, however, the American president committed a diplomatic faux pas by referring to Xi as a dictator – a new example of the blow-and-grind relationship between the two powers that are leading this kind of Cold War 2.0.
Taiwan government officials say they already have expectations that China will try to pressure Lai in the coming days. This could happen by carrying out military maneuvers near the island, for example, since Beijing has never renounced the use of force to ensure that Taipei remains under its control.
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In a show of support for the government, Biden plans to send an unofficial delegation, made up of Democrats and Republicans, to the autonomous island, according to reports from authorities to the press, speaking under anonymity.
It would be a reenactment of similar events that occurred in the past. China was angered in 2016 when then-president-elect Donald Trump spoke by phone with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan. It was the first conversation of its kind between U.S. and Taiwanese leaders since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979.
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