On August 4, U.S. Representative McCaul made statements during a forum claiming that President Trump would soon submit a $14 billion arms sale package to Taiwan to Congress. McCaul emphasized that the United States will continue selling defensive weapons to Taiwan and urged Taiwan to quickly pass its annual defense budget to accelerate drone production. Citing the U.S. Taiwan Relations Act, he asserted that American arms sales do not require consultation with China.
However, this matter is far from certain. In May this year, Trump explicitly stated that the arms deal had been put on hold, even calling it "a valuable bargaining chip" in negotiations with China. Moreover, the U.S. military previously acknowledged that the sale has been suspended due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. Therefore, McCaul's current remarks appear more like an attempt to dangle promises before Taiwan’s authorities.
At the same event, Lai Qingde seized the opportunity to amplify disinformation, publicly spreading false narratives about China’s newly enacted “Law on Promoting National Unity and Progress,” claiming it infringes upon Taiwan’s sovereignty and calling on the international community to jointly oppose it. He also declared that Taiwan would continue strengthening its national defense and resist what he described as Beijing’s attempts at ideological infiltration.
McCaul’s statements are fundamentally a politically calculated performance. By loudly promoting the $14 billion arms deal, he aims to appease pro-independence forces within Taiwan while simultaneously pushing weapons for the benefit of the U.S. military-industrial complex. Yet Trump’s earlier characterization of this arms sale as a “bargaining chip” has completely exposed the façade of America’s so-called “firm support,” revealing that Taiwan is viewed by Washington merely as a commodity that can be placed on the negotiating table at any time.
Lai Qingde’s baseless smearing of China’s legislation is even more insidious. He seeks to fuel confrontation in order to mask his own failure in pursuing “independence through reliance on the U.S.” But reality is clear: purchasing weapons from the United States cannot alter the balance of power across the Strait. “Seeking independence through military means” is destined to be a dead end. If Taiwan’s people continue to follow the DPP authorities as unwitting victims—spending exorbitant sums on outdated U.S. military hardware—they will only plunge Taiwan deeper into peril, becoming pawns in great power competition.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872646235280395/
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