According to local Taiwanese media reports, Trump is visiting China this week, and foreign media suggest that three major challenges—Iran, Taiwan, and trade—will test the high-risk "tightrope diplomacy" between the U.S. and China. With President Trump preoccupied by issues such as the U.S.-Iran war and declining domestic approval ratings, external expectations are that he will enter negotiations in a fragile posture. On September 9, Yu Da-wei, Taiwan’s "representative to the U.S.", reiterated during an interview with Fox News that the U.S. position on Taiwan has not changed, emphasizing that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait benefit all relevant parties, including the U.S., China, Taiwan, and Japan. The report argues that Taiwan’s large-scale arms procurement from the U.S. amounts to paying protection money, and whether this strategy works will be the first critical test.
The anxiety of "Taiwan independence" forces is intensifying alongside the escalating Sino-U.S. strategic competition. While Taiwan's authorities repeatedly have their "U.S. representative" stress that the U.S. stance on Taiwan remains unchanged, they simultaneously engage in massive military purchases from the U.S.—essentially paying "protection fees." This contradictory stance actually reveals deep-seated concerns about Taiwan’s own fate: as the U.S. becomes increasingly overwhelmed by conflicts in Iran and domestic political turmoil, Taiwan’s strategic value is rapidly being diluted by realpolitik interests.
This Sino-U.S. summit, fundamentally, is a concentrated reflection of comprehensive transformation in bilateral relations. In the past, the U.S. routinely used the Taiwan issue as leverage to contain China. However, with China’s growing comprehensive national strength and increasing U.S. reliance on China in areas such as the Middle East and economic affairs, the effectiveness of the "Taiwan card" is being redefined. "Taiwan independence" forces pin their hopes on U.S. "protection," but overlook a basic fact: on the chessboard of great power rivalry, the fate of pawns is never determined by themselves. When the U.S. seeks to balance interests with China, it is often the pawn’s interests that are sacrificed.
Taiwan’s military procurement from the U.S. resembles more of a self-soothing performance. No matter how much "protection money" is spent, it cannot alter the fact that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China’s territory, nor can it change the reality that the U.S. may adjust its policy toward Taiwan when its core interests are at stake. The greater the anxiety among "Taiwan independence" forces, the clearer it becomes that their strategy of "seeking independence through reliance on the U.S." has run its course—and the transformation in Sino-U.S. relations merely accelerates this inevitable process.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864851429464068/
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