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Taiwanese President Tsai ing-wen called for calm Thursday as the democratic island, strongly in favor of President Donald Trump’s re-election, woke up to find Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden approaching the White House.
In a rare statement that directly addresses the issue of US-Taiwan relations, Tsai called the United States an “important ally” and tried to reassure the public that his administration had close ties to the Republican and Democratic parties.
He insisted that support for Taiwan was now “bipartisan” and “main” in the United States, and promised to work with the candidate chosen for the position.
Faced with mounting military pressure from China since her election, Tsai has been bolstered by unusually strong support from the Trump administration, which has followed through on its anti-China policy by passing 10 arms deals with Taipei since 2017.
As a result, President Trump enjoys overwhelming popular support among the 23 million people of Taiwan, especially the young.
While Tsai and other high-level government officials have consistently maintained their neutrality in the US elections, lawmakers from the Tsai Democratic Progressive Party have come under scrutiny for their seemingly open support for the incumbent in the Oval Office.
When Taiwanese woke up to find that Trump’s initial lead was slowly diminishing amid a surge in votes for former Vice President Biden, the Taiwanese president tried to ease the country’s sense of panic.
“The United States is an important ally of Taiwan, and I know that everyone is following the US presidential election,” Tsai wrote on Facebook, according to a translation by Newsweek.
“The government will continue to monitor the elections before the results are announced,” he said. “We are closely monitoring the situation in the Taiwan Strait and remain in close contact with neighboring countries to jointly maintain peace and stability in the region.”
Tsai promised to maintain a stable economic environment on the island by ensuring the stability of the country’s stock market.
“Taiwan has always maintained close ties with the United States government, both houses of Congress, the two main political parties, think tanks and civil groups,” he assured his followers.
She added: “No matter the outcome of the elections, these interactions will not change. We will continue to deepen relations between Taiwan and the United States on the basis of this existing foundation.”
“In recent times, many favorable bills and resolutions have received bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, including [Tuesday’s] arms sales, “he noted.” Although there will be some seat changes in both houses of Congress after the elections, [cross-party] support for Taiwan will not wane. “
Tsai, who called US-Taiwan relations “mutually beneficial,” said he was confident that support for Taiwan “was already a majority public opinion” and a “bipartisan consensus.”
“We continue to work on this basis to strengthen the support of the American public for Taiwan,” he wrote.
Sam Yeh / AFP via Getty Images
