John F. Copper is the Stanley J. Buckman Professor of International Studies (emeritus) at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the author of more than thirty books on China, Taiwan and US Asia policy.
Polls in Taiwan on the issue of independence and unification indicate that most residents support keeping the status quo. Does that mean supporting independence? It does if one believes Taiwan is already independent. Otherwise it doesn’t.
The liberal Western media have talked and written extensively about America’s relations with Taiwan under Trump. Their narratives embraced two themes: the relationship was managed badly and Taiwan is a “card” Trump is playing against China.
Since the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency, relations between the United States and China have witnessed extremes in friendliness and cordiality on the one hand and hostility and antagonisms on the other hand.
Recently, American accusations that China is stealing its intellectual property and technology have caused serious stress in US-China relations. The imputations provoke questions that deserve answers.
On November 24, 2018, Taiwan held its mid-term election or its “Nine-in-One Election.” By almost every measure, the KMT won big, and the DPP lost big. President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as chair of the DPP, signifying the failures of her administration.
In recent weeks, some top members of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s party have warned her that US President Donald Trump will likely terminate and may even reverse America’s recent pro-Taiwan actions and policies.
Recently a number of stories have appeared in the Western liberal media pushing the narrative that US President Donald Trump despises both China and the Chinese people. These are useful to the Democratic Party going into an election in November 2018.
In the past few months, US-China relations have sunk to a state somewhere between frosty and hostile. This marks a major change since President Trump visited China in November 2017. There are several reasons for this.