Lai urges Trump to support Taiwan as doubts rise over US commitment

By Yian Lee

 

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te urged Donald Trump to continue supporting Taiwan, amid mounting concerns over whether the US president could sacrifice the self-governing democracy’s interests in order to engage with Beijing.

 

“If Taiwan is annexed, China will become even more powerful in competing with the US on the global stage and altering the rules-based international order,” Lai told The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, according to a statement by the Presidential Office in Taipei on Tuesday. “Ultimately, this will also impact America’s own national interests.”

 

Lai’s public appeal to the US president on a conservative radio show underscores the tricky situation facing diplomatically isolated Taiwan, which China claims as its territory. While the US has long been a steadfast ally of Taiwan, the Trump administration is seeking deals with China and expressing skepticism about foreign entanglements. 

 

In July, Lai reportedly postponed an overseas trip after the US denied him a transit stop in New York. Two months later, the Washington Post said Trump had declined to approve a military aid package worth more than $400 million for Taiwan.

 

Beijing has also renewed pressure on Washington to adjust its stance on the self-ruled island from stating the US “does not support” Taiwan’s independence to saying it outright “opposes” independence.

 

In a nod to Trump’s campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Lai said on the radio show that if the US president can make Beijing permanently renounce the use of force against Taiwan, he would “surely” be a laureate.

 

Lai also said he’s willing to engage in negotiations with Beijing on the basis of equality and dignity. He also backed global investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which dominates production of the most advanced computer chips used in AI.

 

“Taiwan is willing to work with the US, helping America’s efforts to become reindustrialized and the global center of artificial intelligence, so that the US can continue to lead the world and become great again,” Lai said in the interview in Taipei. 

 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has urged Taiwan to shift more chip production to the US so that half of America’s semiconductor demand can be met domestically. The suggestion fueled concerns that such a move might weaken US incentives to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

 

Taipei has said that it would not agree to such a request, though it has offered to support tech companies’ investments in the US, including through credit guarantees.