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In Taiwan, Friends Are Starting to Turn Against Each Other In Taiwan, Friends Are Starting to Turn Against Each Other
(about 20 hours later)
TAITUNG, Taiwan — A friend of mine in Taipei recently wrote a passionate Facebook post urging young people in Taiwan to prepare for war with China. The only way to respond to Chinese threats to seize the island was, he argued, with strength; anything else was a delusion. Despite being in his 60s, he vowed to take up arms if necessary.TAITUNG, Taiwan — A friend of mine in Taipei recently wrote a passionate Facebook post urging young people in Taiwan to prepare for war with China. The only way to respond to Chinese threats to seize the island was, he argued, with strength; anything else was a delusion. Despite being in his 60s, he vowed to take up arms if necessary.
It’s become a troublingly common sentiment in Taiwan, and I messaged him privately to say that strength should be only a part of Taiwan’s strategy, that our politicians and other public figures should show true courage by reaching out to China to somehow de-escalate. When a stronger bully threatens you, shouldn’t you first try to defuse the situation?It’s become a troublingly common sentiment in Taiwan, and I messaged him privately to say that strength should be only a part of Taiwan’s strategy, that our politicians and other public figures should show true courage by reaching out to China to somehow de-escalate. When a stronger bully threatens you, shouldn’t you first try to defuse the situation?
“Don’t be a capitulator,” he shot back.“Don’t be a capitulator,” he shot back.
That exchange, pitting friend against friend, is emblematic of the damage that China already is inflicting on Taiwan without a single shot having been fired.That exchange, pitting friend against friend, is emblematic of the damage that China already is inflicting on Taiwan without a single shot having been fired.
The threat of Chinese aggression, and how to confront it, is dividing Taiwan’s society. To accuse someone of being a traitorous “Communist licker” or, conversely, of fanning tension by being dangerously anti-China has become the norm. Fear of conflict with China is tearing at tolerance, civility and our confidence in the democratic society we have painstakingly built. When 37 current and former Taiwan scholars last month issued an open letter calling for Taipei to chart a middle path between China and the United States and criticizing U.S. “militarism,” they were attacked as naïve and soft on China. This division and distrust play right into China’s hands.The threat of Chinese aggression, and how to confront it, is dividing Taiwan’s society. To accuse someone of being a traitorous “Communist licker” or, conversely, of fanning tension by being dangerously anti-China has become the norm. Fear of conflict with China is tearing at tolerance, civility and our confidence in the democratic society we have painstakingly built. When 37 current and former Taiwan scholars last month issued an open letter calling for Taipei to chart a middle path between China and the United States and criticizing U.S. “militarism,” they were attacked as naïve and soft on China. This division and distrust play right into China’s hands.
The possibility of war with China comes up in nearly every dinner conversation in Taiwan.
During a recent gathering of friends, our discussion centered on whether China would bomb Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s biggest producer of advanced computing chips, to destroy one of our greatest economic assets. Or would the United States drop the bombs to prevent TSMC from falling into China’s hands? Would Taiwan’s nuclear power plants be blown up in a scorched-earth policy to turn the island into a radioactive wasteland, useless to China?
During a lunch that included military officials and strategists, a retired former high-ranking defense official said China could simply blockade Taiwan, which has only about an eight-day supply of natural gas; sever undersea telecommunication cables; or strangle us economically by cutting off trade. (Around 40 percent of Taiwan’s exports go to China or Hong Kong.) China, he said, could take the island without resorting to military action.