[ad_1]
TAIPEI: China’s top policy maker in Taiwan on Monday (Nov 9) sought to reassure nervous lawmakers that Democrat Joe Biden will continue to support the United States for the island claimed by China, which has been benefited from the strong backing of the outgoing administration of Donald Trump.
Tensions over democratic Taiwan have escalated dramatically since Republican Trump took office four years ago. China was first enraged by Trump’s unprecedented call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen shortly after winning the election, followed by rising US arms sales and two visits to Taipei by senior US officials. in recent months.
While that made Trump a popular figure among the public in Taiwan, China responded by increasing military exercises near Taiwan, including fighter jets flying over the sensitive mid-line of the Taiwan Strait, raising fears of conflict.
READ: ‘China is angry’: Taiwan’s anxiety rises as saber rattling rises
In Taiwan’s parliament on Monday, several lawmakers raised concerns about a policy shift in Taiwan under the Biden administration, some describing Biden as “China-friendly” and others pointing to Biden’s opposition to a bill to strengthen the security of Taiwan in 1999.
Huang Shih-chieh, of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said his main concern was whether he would shift US support for Taiwan.
“Our biggest concern is that with a Biden presidency he can adjust his policy,” Huang said.
READ: China unlikely to find US President-elect Biden a soft touch
But Chen Ming-tong, who heads the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council, repeatedly assured lawmakers that a fundamental shift in US support for Taiwan was unlikely.
“There is no need to worry about a change of ownership in the White House,” he said. “Although there may be some changes in Biden’s tactics towards China, there will be no changes in his China strategy.”
Copies of the Taiwanese daily Liberty Times, with its front page about the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, are seen at a print shop in Taipei, Taiwan, on January 21, 2017 (File Photo: REUTERS / Tyrone Siu) .
Chen noted that it was former President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president, who pushed the “pivot” back to Asia to challenge a rising China, and that Biden was unlikely to challenge the current geopolitical structure of the confrontation between the United States and China.
READ: Biden’s victory opens the door to better predictability in China-U.S. Relations: Chinese state media
The United States and Taiwan share the same values, Chen said.
“Looking at (Biden’s) comments and support for Taiwan in the past, we can trust that he will continue to strengthen the Taiwan-US relationship.
Chen said that while Biden was “generally seen as friendly to China,” he had also been very critical of China.
“Some people only see one side of the story and miss another.”
Taiwan officials have long been concerned that Trump was only using the island as a pawn to pressure China.
So having Biden in the White House may not be a bad thing for Taiwan, said Lai Shyh-bao, a lawmaker for the main opposition party, the Kuomintang, which traditionally favors close ties with China.
“With a Biden administration, I think tensions in the Taiwan Strait will be reduced, because he will not think of Taiwan as a big chess piece, as Trump always did,” he said.
