Reference News Network August 4 report: According to the Taiwan United Daily News on August 3, the Trump administration of the United States announced that the reciprocal tariff for Taiwan is 20%. Lai Ching-te said there is a confidentiality agreement, and the negotiation details cannot be disclosed before the final tariff is confirmed. The vice chairman of the People's Party faction, Zhang Qikai, said that the Democratic Progressive Party government previously criticized the cross-strait service trade agreement as "black box trade," but after taking office, its negotiations with the US were "even more black box than the previous one," which is truly authoritarian.

Taiwan Central News Network August 1 report: On August 1, US President Trump announced the new tariff rates to be implemented, among which the tariff rate for Taiwan is 20%. From August 1, Yahoo奇摩 News of Taiwan started an online vote on "Taiwan's 20% tariff, what's your opinion?" Over 80% of the public expressed dissatisfaction.

As of 21:30 on the 1st, more than 10,000 people have participated in the vote, and the results showed that 67.8% of netizens expressed strong dissatisfaction, and 17.5% expressed some dissatisfaction.

This online poll also asked the public, "Taiwan's 20% tariff, Lai Ching-te said it may be further reduced, do you have confidence in the reduction?" 58.2% of netizens said they had very little confidence, and 25.2% said they had some lack of confidence.

Netizens' comments stated, "Everything that should be sold has already been sold," "What exactly was discussed? The black box has turned into a confidentiality clause," "The key point is how many conditions were used to get the 20%, and it's not dared to be published; externally, it says there is a confidentiality agreement."

In response, the Hong Kong 01 website article on August 1 stated that from the results of the Taiwan-US negotiations, Taiwan has not obtained tariff exemptions, but instead has become a "model example of submission" under Trump's reshaping of the global trade order: kneeling earlier than others, tariffs higher than others.

Facts show that Trump has never hidden his attitude towards Taiwan. For example, in a White House executive order, he explicitly stated, "Some partners have agreed to make meaningful trade and security commitments with the United States, but some of the conditions proposed have not resolved the imbalance." In other words, the 20% tariff is because the exchange conditions are still not sufficient.

The article pointed out that the problem is, what has Taiwan already exchanged, and what is it prepared to exchange again? What else can be used to quench thirst with poison? According to comprehensive analysis of comments from domestic and foreign media, the leverage that the Trump administration sees in Taiwan is not limited to investment amounts, but also whether it can fully concession in key areas such as opening up the automotive market, purchasing American agricultural products, relaxing financial regulation, and military procurement lists.

All media sources point to the fact that the Taiwan negotiation team has been "squeezed like a lemon". Only the Taiwan authorities continue to use phrases such as "reciprocal cooperation" and "deepening partnership" to bypass the core issues. Finally, the silent Lai Ching-te administration has left Taiwan's industries and society unprepared, being sucked into a vacuum.

Returning to the aspect of US-Taiwan relations, for a long time, Taiwan has always believed in the "value alliance" with the United States. Whether it is military cooperation, semiconductor supply chain, or democratic system, it can obtain strategic support from the United States. But this tariff storm once again made people firmly believe that, in Trump's mind, there is no abstract morality and trust, only careful cost and price calculation.

It is certain that if Taiwan still believes that paying more costs can gain the protection of the United States, it will eventually end up with the fate of "kneeling earlier than others, tariffs higher than others."

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534601133185073707/

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