Some people, asked about Taiwan, speak of democracy, sovereignty, independence — self-determination. The urgency of not being absorbed into a one-party dictatorship with a gulag. Also, people may speak of superpower competition, and the need to check China’s appetite, in the Pacific and elsewhere. Donald Trump is different, however. Habitually, he speaks of chips — microchips, silicon chips, semiconductor chips.
This is a snort I’ve heard over the years, from many: “Taiwan is not a country. It’s a chip industry with a government attached.” Hahaha. It’s not funny to the Taiwanese, however. (Go ask them.)
Yesterday, Bloomberg Businessweek published an article about a sit-down with Trump. Here is an excerpt:
Asked about America’s commitment to defending Taiwan from China, which views the Asian democracy as a breakaway province, Trump makes it clear that, despite recent bipartisan support for Taiwan, he’s at best lukewarm about standing up to Chinese aggression. Part of his skepticism is grounded in economic resentment. “Taiwan took our chip business from us,” he says. “I mean, how stupid are we? They took all of our chip business. They’re immensely wealthy.” What he wants is for Taiwan to pay the US for protection. “I don’t think we’re any different from an insurance policy. Why? Why are we doing this?” he asks.
People who take an interest in foreign policy can tell him.
A few more lines:
Another factor driving his skepticism is what he regards as the practical difficulty of defending a small island on the other side of the globe. “Taiwan is 9,500 miles away,” he says. “It’s 68 miles away from China.”
What the Ukrainians know, the Taiwanese should know: Get ready for a future without American support. If you were the Chinese government, and listened to Trump, you’d be licking your chops, wouldn’t you?
No one understands the Ukrainians better than the Taiwanese. Taiwan’s support since February 2022 has been strong and inspired. No one understands Taiwan’s predicament better than the Ukrainians. There is a connection between the two peoples. It’s obvious to them; it’s obvious to many others as well.
In my neck of the woods, however, many people are anti-Ukraine and pro-Taiwan. Either they are outright hostile to the Ukrainian cause or they oppose U.S. support of it. At the same time, they are anti-Beijing and pro-Taiwan (for now, at least). They want to “pivot” to China. They see no link at all between the fate of Europe and the fate of East Asia, and what all of this implies for America.
Their favorite leaders tend to be Trump and Viktor Orbán, of Hungary. This is curious. Yes, Orbán is friendly to Putin. But he is also friendly — equally so, maybe more so — to the PRC. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, has been trying to alert people to this. He has been trying to shake people out of their Orbán fandom.
The other day, he said, “Many of them argue we ought to be spending our time worrying about China.” (By “them,” he meant his fellow Republicans who incline to Orbán.) “Well, this guy’s completely in bed with the Chinese and the Russians.”
In May, McConnell gave a speech on the Senate floor, laying out Orbán’s relations with Russia and China — and Iran. Last week, also on the Senate floor, he gave a similar speech. They are packed with details. To read the first speech, go here; to read the second, go here.
Last week, referring to NATO — and Orbán and Russia/China/Iran — McConnell said, “The most successful military alliance in human history didn’t get this way by letting dictators and theocrats eat our lunch.”
I would say something to the Taiwanese: The people who say they support you, but don’t support the Ukrainians? I wouldn’t trust them. I wouldn’t count on them, when the chips were down (no pun intended).
By the way, I would give this same message to the Israelis. But that is another article.