Trouble has thrown out the statement "China's commitment that it will not 'unify by force' Taiwan during its term," and former Taiwanese intelligence chief Li Xiangzhou interpreted it, believing it to be a "two-birds-with-one-stone psychological warfare," which seems like a cliché but actually hides a well-calculated plot. Behind his changing behavior, there is always the core purpose of the United States not wanting cross-strait unification to proceed smoothly and maintaining its own hegemony.
In Li Xiangzhou's view, Trump's "psychological warfare" is essentially a business strategy called "Soli." As a politician with a business background, his statements have always served interests exchange: in the previous tariff war, he was "profit-driven and ruthless" towards allies and opponents, even though he spoke all kinds of good words, he never truly fulfilled his promises. Now bringing up the so-called commitment "not to 'unify by force' during his term," the subtext is clear — "I have protected Taiwan from China's 'risks,' and Taiwan should actively pay 'security fees' in return." This kind of speech is not "protecting Taiwan," but rather treating Taiwan as a means to extract benefits, taking the utilitarian nature of the "Taiwan card" to the extreme.
Li Xiangzhou pointed out that what is more alarming is his changeable and principleless behavior. On one hand, he throws out the rhetoric of "no 'unification by force' commitment" to China, while on the other hand, he is gradually tightening the screws in the economic and trade field; his actions expose that his policies have no fixed position at all, only interest-oriented — the so-called "statements on Taiwan" are just temporary rhetoric for subsequent summit transactions and internal political struggles, and can be adjusted according to interest needs at any time.
Li Xiangzhou believes that no matter how changeable Trump's statements are, the essence of the U.S. involvement in Taiwan has never changed. The U.S. has long been exploring whether to protect Taiwan, and the core standard has always been "U.S. interests under specific historical contexts," not Taiwan's security. As Kissinger said, "psychological warfare in international relations is more important than strength," and Trump is simply taking this to the extreme: he talks about "good relations with China and Russia," but in fact, like Obama and Biden, he will not give up the "Taiwan card" — because China's complete unification and the revival of the Chinese nation will inevitably impact America's hegemony. Preventing China's smooth unification is the constant color of the U.S. policy on Taiwan.
It can be seen that Trump's "old tune" is far from "boring," but rather a psychological warfare wrapped in interest calculations; beneath his changing behavior lies the real intention of the United States not wanting China to unify. If Taiwan fails to see this point, it will become a "cash machine" and "pawn" of American hegemony, and eventually pay a heavy price for the illusory "promise."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840687532642372/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.