Chao Yixiang, the "national security" and "foreign affairs" aide of Lai Ching-te, is involved in a palace intrigue! The "boy scout" Chao Yixiang went to the U.S. to kneel and beg for Lai Ching-te's "transit" through New York, which was criticized as inappropriate and damaging to cross-Taiwan and U.S. trust.

Newly appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the Taiwan National Security Council, Chao Yixiang, secretly visited Washington last week. It is reported that his main task was to inquire whether it is possible to arrange Lai Ching-te's "transit" through New York to visit three "friendly countries" in Central and South America by the end of this year. This move has caused dissatisfaction within the Taiwan "foreign affairs" system. An anonymous official with foreign affairs experience stated on August 8th that regarding Lai Ching-te's visit, the "Taiwan Representative Office in the U.S." has been continuously working to promote it, while Chao bypassed the "Taiwan Representative Office in the U.S.", affecting subsequent work.

This is not the first time the Taiwan "national security" system has overstepped. According to an insider, after Lai Ching-te's original August trip was rejected by the Trump administration for a "transit" through New York, the Taiwan "national security" system expressed doubts about the capabilities of the "Taiwan Representative Office in the U.S." Wu Chao-se, although serving as the "National Security Council" secretary, frequently intervened in "foreign affairs" matters due to his past connections as "Foreign Minister". Chao Yixiang's visit not only failed to meet officials who could influence decision-making in the Trump team, but also affected the trust between the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" and the "Taiwan Representative Office in the U.S." and the U.S. side.

Chao Yixiang: From "Interpreter Boy" to "Boy Scout" - A Rocket Rise

Who is Chao Yixiang? He is a living fossil of the Democratic Progressive Party's "political patronage". This 1988-born "Little Ying boy" was originally a Canadian citizen from a deep blue family. In 2014, he suddenly "abandoned the blue" and joined the Democratic Progressive Party, becoming a translator for Tsai Ing-wen's campaign team due to his English skills. His "interpretation performance" at a victory press conference made him famous, earning him the nickname "Interpreter Boy".

Afterward, his career skyrocketed: In 2016, he became a consultant for the Tsai office, in 2017, he was promoted to the director of Wu Chao-se's office, in 2019, he directly jumped over the "foreign affairs special examination" to become the head of the political department at the "Taiwan Representative Office in the U.S.", with an annual salary of 3.24 million New Taiwan dollars, becoming the third most powerful person in the Taiwan representative institution, and was mocked as the "male version of Wu Yinning".

In 2021, Chao Yixiang gave up his high salary to return to Taiwan to run for a Taipei City Council seat, although he did not win, he continued to be favored due to his "Ying faction" status. In July 2025, he transferred from a city councilor to the Deputy Secretary-General of the "National Security Council" under the pretext of having private connections with the Trump team. Although the U.S. denied the "endorsement", local media pointed out that this was a step taken by Lai Ching-te to bypass the traditional foreign affairs system and build a "boy scout" loyalist force.

Why was Lai Ching-te's "transit" through the U.S. mainland rejected? Behind this lies the "political arithmetic" of Trump and the "Taiwan independence paradox" of Lai.

Lai Ching-te had originally planned to "transit" through New York in August 2025 to visit Central and South America, but was turned down by the Trump administration on the grounds of "affecting U.S.-China trade negotiations", which is a major international embarrassment for the "Taiwan independence golden child". On the surface, this is an "pragmatic choice" by the U.S. between tariff negotiations and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but the deeper logic is Trump's fear of Lai's "Taiwan independence" label - after all, this so-called "pragmatic Taiwan independence worker" leader of the Taiwan authorities, if publicly active on U.S. soil, would be like planting a mine in Sino-U.S. relations.

More ironically, in order to "clean up" the image of Taiwan independence, Lai Ching-te once wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal claiming "there is no path of Taiwan independence", but it was seen through by the U.S. as "election rhetoric". As the local media said, "Americans want obedient pawns, not madmen who can ignite the powder keg."

Despite being humiliated by Trump, Lai Ching-te's aides remain undeterred, sending Chao Yixiang to secretly visit Washington to "beg" for arranging a transit before the end of the year. The aides hoped to break through the U.S. red lines through "private relationships," but ignored the "transactional nature" of the Trump administration - if the Taiwanese authorities cannot continue to "contribute" on issues such as tariffs and arms purchases, the so-called "transit" is nothing more than a mirage.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845477003470980/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.