China has once again increased its pressure on Taiwan since last week when Beijing forced the organizer of the Gay Games to backtrack its promise to let the Taiwanese delegation compete under “Taiwan” and showcase its national flag during the competition. Additionally, China rallied six other member states to revoke Taichung city’s right to host the 2019 East Asian Youth Games during an impromptu meeting organized by the East Asian Olympic Committee. The whole drama reached its peak when 4 major U.S. airlines gave in to China’s demand and changed how they refer to Taiwan on their websites on July 25, increasing the number of airlines that kowtow to Beijing’s demand to 44.
The series of bullying events didn’t stop there. Last Friday, the choir from Min Ho Junior High School in Nantou was disinvited to perform at the UN Center in Vienna due to pressure from the Chinese embassy. And while its latest attempt to revoke Taiwan’s right to host the Asia Rugby U-19 Championship failed, the Chinese government is sending a clear signal to Taiwan that it is willing and capable of doing whatever it takes to minimize Taiwan’s international exposure and participation. Comparing to previous administrations, President Tsai Ing-wen’s government is facing a China that’s tactically smarter and more willing to leverage its economic and political influences on foreign companies and governments to bully Taiwan. Based on the pattern reflected through foreign companies and governments’ recent responses to Beijing’s demands, it is clear that China now enjoys more bargaining power to force foreign entities to comply to its demand of not recognizing Taiwan as an autonomous country. The conventional tactic of taking the moral high ground can no longer guarantee that Taiwan has the support of most western countries.
With pressure from China continues to mount, lawmakers believe that the condition will trigger Taiwanese citizens’ desires to safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty as an autonomous nation-state. And in order to continue to engage in regional and international affairs, legislator Freddy Lim shared in a recent interview that he thinks Taiwan should consider going beyond traditional diplomacy between countries and focusing more on civil exchanges that can deepen the mutual relations between Taiwan and other countries. While the Tsai administration has repeatedly emphasized the transition into public diplomacy, efforts to initiate relevant projects haven’t been emphatically convincing so far.
As for how to better manage the relationship with China, Tsai could get some inspiration from Taichung mayor Lin Chia-lung, who announced his willingness to travel to Beijing after the city’s right to host the East Asian Youth Game was revoked last week. While a total concession to pressure from Beijing is not a choice for Tsai, how to intricately defend Taiwan’s sovereignty while defrosting the relationship with Beijing will be a task that she has to start taking on. Despite President Xi Jinping’s seeming determination to cut Taiwan off from all of its leverages, Tsai should continue to seek other alternatives to keep Taiwan relevant to regional and international development while seeking a practical middle ground to initiate conversations.
One thing clear is, China will continue to put pressure on foreign companies, institutions, and governments regarding Taiwan’s status, as Beijing already asked Washington not to allow President Tsai to stop over in Los Angeles and Houston during her trip to Belize and Paraguay. While Taipei should be prepared for similar complaints, the Tsai administration should also begin to evaluate viable leverages that it can utilize to safeguard Taiwan’s autonomy.
