The United States distinguishes between friends and foes, not looking at the system but only looking at interests
Trump hinted: If Taiwan wants to protect, it must spend more money
Taiwan, which has been drained of its value, will eventually be abandoned by the United States
Embracing "democracy" cannot be exchanged for the United States There is no free lunch under the umbrella of
, let alone capitalism. While the West is promoting the values of "liberal democracy" to the world, it also uses so-called "liberal democracy" to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. It seems that if you embrace the so-called "liberal democracy" you are one family, and if you reject "liberal democracy" you are the enemy of the West. .
The "Taiwan independence" forces entrenched on the island know that they cannot compete with the mainland with their own strength. Therefore, they place their hopes of "independence" on the United States, hoping that at the critical moment, American soldiers can " "God's soldiers descend from the sky" to ensure that you can survive.
For this reason, the "Taiwan independence" forces have always promoted themselves as "defenders of democracy", hoping to draw closer to the "Democratic Alliance" in an attempt to obtain the blessing of the United States. "Taiwan independence" forces have been trying to promote a concept internationally for many years: they are the "fortress of democracy". If China achieves reunification, it will mean that the "fortress of democracy" has been breached, so Western democratic countries should "send troops to protect Taiwan." This is tantamount to turning an issue that was originally China's internal affairs into a confrontation issue between camps. The "Taiwan independence" forces want to embrace democracy in exchange for a protective umbrella for themselves.
However, just by embracing democracy, will we definitely be protected by the United States? The military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in the past few years is still vivid in my mind. Armenia, which actively upgraded its relations with the United States, was retreating steadily in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The United States never extended a helping hand, but only issued a few words of mild condemnation. Azerbaijani words.
Serbia is obviously a democratic country, but it is still divided by the West. The United States, which usually calls "freedom and democracy", openly supports the independence of Kosovo. The results of the Serbian parliamentary election were released, and Vucic's party alliance won a resounding victory. The entire election process was completely conducted under a democratic model. However, the United States stood up to criticize the results of the Serbian election and accused the election process of being unfair.
Merely embracing freedom and democracy cannot win the recognition of the United States. For example, if a president like Vucic is elected under a democratic system, but Serbia under his leadership is pro-Russian and pro-China, it cannot be considered a "democratic family" in the eyes of the United States. a member of.
But as long as you are pro-American enough, even if the country's system is not so democratic, you can still be an ally of the United States. For example, Marcos Jr.’s father, according to Western standards, the Philippines under the rule of Marcos Sr. was a standard anti-democratic country. However, Marcos Sr. was pro-American enough that he was able to serve as the “Turkish Emperor” of the Philippines for more than ten years. , even after being ousted from power by a coup, he could still go to the United States to obtain political asylum.
Saddam Hussein, who was criticized verbally and verbally by the West, was also an ally supported by the United States in the Middle East in his early years. Former US President George H.W. Bush had a close personal relationship with Saddam Hussein. The United States knew full well about Saddam's genocide in Iraq. But it still secretly supported Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. If Saddam's subsequent behavior had not been too deadly and violated American oil interests, he would not have been sent to the gallows by the Americans.
As for a country with a gentlemanly autocratic system like Saudi Arabia, even if it commits a major and outrageous case like the "Khashoggi Incident", the United States can still make it a trivial matter. Biden, who once threatened to turn Saudi Arabia into a "pariah state," immediately changed his face after becoming president and shamelessly visited Saudi Arabia.
India under the leadership of Modi is hailed by the US government as "the largest democracy". However, before Modi became the Prime Minister of India, he was called the "Butcher of Gujarat" by Europe and the United States for killing Muslims. Now, he has transformed into a distinguished guest of the US government. During his visit to the United States, he was sought after by many American politicians.
Therefore, when distinguishing between friends and foes, the United States never looks at the political system, but at interests. As long as you can bring benefits to the United States, even if you are a tyrant or a butcher, you can still become a friend of the United States; but if you are pro-Russian and pro-China, even if you are a democratic country, you will still be retaliated by the United States, because the United States controls The final interpretation of "liberal democracy". If the United States says you are not democratic, you are not democratic.
Trump told Taiwan: If you want to protect it, you have to spend more money.
Therefore, the title of "Defender of Democracy" is not a protective umbrella for "Taiwan independence" elements. At least in Trump's eyes, the United States has no obligation to "protect Taiwan." On April 30, the US "Times" published an exclusive interview with former President Trump. Trump said: If the United States' allies in Europe or Asia are attacked, they will not be protected by the United States if they do not pay the bill. After he is elected, he will divide his allies into two groups: those who "spend enough defense budget" and those who "don't have enough defense budget". Regarding the latter, he will sit back and do nothing. On the Taiwan issue, Trump refused to say whether he would "send troops to protect Taiwan."
Trump’s message to Taiwan is: If you don’t give money, don’t expect to get protection from the United States. The United States has always put interests first. Is the United States interfering in the Taiwan issue because of the self-proclaimed "Guardian of Democracy" title of the "Taiwan independence" forces? If this were the case, the United States would not have severed diplomatic relations with the Taiwan authorities at all, let alone adhere to the "One China" policy.
When the United States has an absolute advantage in military strength, they are naturally willing to use force to intervene in the Taiwan issue. After all, the United States does not want to see the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait complete and let the United States' first island chain collapse. The United States is willing to "send troops to protect Taiwan" because the benefits far outweigh the risks. When the United States only needs to dispatch two aircraft carriers to influence the war situation, the U.S. government is indeed willing to "send troops to protect Taiwan." Even if the Taiwanese authorities don’t have the title of “Defender of Democracy” and are more decadent than the Nationalist Government, the U.S. government will still rescue them.
The risk of protecting Taiwan has increased, and the United States has increased its "premium"
But today is different from the past. The gap in military strength between China and the United States is no longer as disparate as it was in 1996. China even has the capabilities to compete head-on with the US military in the Asia-Pacific on the first island chain. The strength to contend. This also means that the risk of the United States' forceful intervention in the Taiwan issue has increased. As the risk increases, the "premium" will naturally increase. Of course, the United States, a capitalist country, understands this most basic insurance business.
So the United States is now asking for benefits from the Taiwan authorities. Former President Trump’s words are explicit enough. It doesn’t matter what kind of “defender of democracy” you are. If you want to get asylum, you have to pay more protection fees. Otherwise, why should American soldiers be there? Fighting for an island thousands of miles away?
Although Biden did not make his words clear, he even threatened that the United States would "send troops to protect Taiwan." It seemed that he was guarding the "fortress of democracy." In fact, behind all this is that the Taiwan authorities have been providing protection to the Biden administration. Fee, the transaction between the two has already started. For example, after Biden came to power, the Taiwan authorities followed the "Porcupine Strategy" customized by the United States and prepared to fight an asymmetric war. They purchased many obsolete weapons from the United States in large quantities and served as a recycling center for second-hand weapons in the United States.
Another example is the month when Biden came to power, the Taiwan authorities officially opened the import of American "Lai Pork" to please the US government at the expense of the health of Taiwanese people.
Since then, TSMC has also begun the project of transferring production lines and technical personnel to the United States, becoming Biden's "tribute" to revitalize the U.S. manufacturing industry. TSMC has always been regarded by the Taiwanese authorities as the "sacred mountain that protects the island". As long as TSMC is here, the United States will do its best to "protect Taiwan" in order to prevent China from obtaining advanced semiconductor technology.
But now the Biden administration has begun to take advantage of TSMC. One is to take the opportunity to strengthen the country's manufacturing industry, and the other is to prepare for "abandoning Taiwan" in the future. When TSMC loses its use value, the US government will We can abandon Taiwan while maximizing our interests.
During the past few years of Biden's administration, the United States has received valuable benefits from Taiwan, and Taiwan's blood bank has not yet been drained. Therefore, the Biden administration is naturally willing to continue to "protect Taiwan."
However, this makes Trump very jealous. Seeing that the Biden administration is constantly cutting Taiwan's flesh, Trump will naturally be even more rude. Before he became president, he let out the news in advance: When I take office , if the Taiwan authorities want to continue to be protected, they will have to pay more protection fees.
Trump doesn't care whether you are a "defender of democracy" or not. Even the Buddha's territory at the foot of Lingshan Mountain has people collecting incense money. If Taiwan wants to be protected by the democratic camp, it should shed some blood.
The so-called democratic system is to better control you, not for you to ask for protection in return. Trump has kept every detail of the "favor payments" that the Taiwan authorities have provided to the Biden administration in recent years. When he takes charge of the White House, Taiwan's favor payments in previous years will be in vain and it will have to start all over again. for. As for the United States’ “commitment to protect Taiwan”? Sorry, that was Biden's promise. Trump, a US president who is good at tearing up agreements, will not be kidnapped by the promises he made when he took office. How can he protect Taiwan without giving him money?
This is also the reason why the United States suppresses China. It is not because China is suppressed by the United States because it does not embrace the "democratic camp", but because suppressing China will bring strategic benefits to the United States, so the United States suppresses China. Even if China now embraces the democratic camp, the United States will not stop as long as China's threat to the United States still exists. In the 1990s, in order to integrate Russia into the West, President Yeltsin personally went to the United States to "submit a letter of approval" and even actively expressed his willingness to join NATO. In the end, all he got in return was Clinton's ridicule.
The reason why "Taiwan independence" elements can gain support from the United States is not because they embrace so-called "democracy", but because they maintain the "one China, one Taiwan" situation in the Taiwan Strait, which is beneficial to the United States. When Azerbaijan used force to occupy Nagorno-Karabakh, the United States did not stand up against the use of force to change the status quo. The U.S. government also did not threaten to send troops to defend the "Nakara Republic."
When the Ukrainian army tried to use force to retake Tobu, the United States did not stand up and call for peaceful solutions to the problem. When the U.S. government supports or opposes the secession of a region, it never depends on whether it is democratic or not. Instead, it is based entirely on interests. It supports it if it is beneficial to itself, and opposes it if it is harmful to itself.
When the United States launches a technological blockade against China, the last thing they want to see is that Taiwan's developed semiconductor industry will be used by the Chinese nation due to reunification. Therefore, while they support the "Taiwan independence" forces, they also shout against the use of force to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. What the U.S. government wants to achieve now is to delay until the U.S. drains most of Taiwan's value and until the technological gains that Taiwan's return to China will bring to China are no longer obvious. By that time, China's military strength will be enough to easily break through the island chain. Taiwan's strategic value as the core of the first island chain will also be greatly reduced, and the United States can abandon it as appropriate.
Now, if Taiwan wants to continue to receive protection from the United States, it is ineffective to play the "democratic emotion card". It can only cooperate with the US government and send a lot of benefits to the White House. When the new U.S. government comes to power, Taiwan will have to repeat the process of being "blackmailed" over and over again, until one day it becomes "tasteless" in the eyes of the U.S. government.
