Taiwan: Learn From Israel

Over the years, so many Taiwan friends with official positions and without have asked, “Why doesn’t the US offer the same support to Taiwan as it does to Israel?”

Israel is a democratic country with a population of 8.6 million. It maintains an important strategic position in a rough neighborhood, the Middle East. It is a member of the United Nations (UN). On the other hand, Taiwan is a democratic country with a population of 23.78 million. It maintains unofficial relations with most countries, but it only has official relations with fifteen countries. It maintains an important strategic position at the doorstep of a huge adversary and holds a crucial position in the first island chain, impeding Chinese access to the Western Pacific. It is not a UN member. Both nations are highly dependent on the US for diplomatic support and the sale of weapons.

Israel enjoys certain advantages that Taiwan does not. Culturally, it is a Western like society with a high percentage of English speakers. There is a large number of Americans with dual citizenship (Israeli and American) living in Israel who vote in the elections of both countries. Some Americans who became Israeli citizens then gained prominent political positions. For example, former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and more recently former Israeli ambassadors to the United States Ronald Dermer and Michael Oren. Moreover, the public face of Israel that Americans see is Caucasian which resonates with the majority of Americans.

Israel enjoys great political support in the US. Significant numbers of pro-Israeli voters are clustered in swing states with large numbers of electoral votes such as Florida and Pennsylvania. The American-Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC) is well-known for its ability to rally US Congressional support for Israel. US Senators and Congressional representatives are reluctant to speak out against Israel or not to provide Israel financial support and the sale of weapons for fear that AIPAC will target them in their next re-election campaign. Israel also benefits from influential wealthy donors such as pro-Israel Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam who will donate $100 million to President Trump and the Republicans. Pro-Israel political donations amounted to $22 million spent on lobbying efforts in 2018.

Despite the degree of American political, economic, cultural, and military influence existing in Taiwan, Taiwan lacks the affinity with the US that benefits Israel. The US Senate and House of Representatives Taiwan lobby continues to gain strength, but just cannot match the clout of the Israeli lobby. For example, Taiwan issues rarely take center stage in American Presidential elections; whereas, no US politician would campaign for the Presidency without emphasizing their support for Israel. Pro-Taiwan voters lack the electoral clout of those who support Israel. Little wonder then that Israel received USD $3.8 billion in 2019 in military assistance, USD $8 billion in loan guarantees, and in 1985 was the first country to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US. The US has yet to sign either a FTA or bilateral investment agreement (BIA) with Taiwan despite being constantly pressured by Taipei.

Israel also benefits from a lingering sense of guilt among many Americans due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt barring Jewish immigration at the time when the pogroms were spreading throughout Europe during the 1930s. In Washington, DC, the Holocaust Museum serves as a constant reminder of the tragedy as do various monuments found across the US.

High school history classes introduce the Holocaust and most Americans know about Mein Kompf, Hitler’s prescription for getting Germany back on its feet after World War I by eliminating those of the Jewish faith. Few Americans have heard about or read George Kerr’s Formosa Betrayed where he vividly described the excesses of the “2-28 Incident.” Even fewer are familiar with Douglas Mendel’s “The Politics of Formosan Nationalism,” further describing the subjugation of Taiwanese.

The US media is strongly pro-Israel with few outlets taking exception with Israeli government actions. Taiwan receives very little coverage in the US media. If it is a choice of using print space or airtime for Taiwan or China, coverage will be given to China.

In many ways, President Trump has been good for Taiwan signing many supportive pieces of legislation such as the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, commonly known as the “TAIPEI Act.” Yet, Trump is an isolationist who doubts the utility of alliances and relationships with other countries—except for Israel where his support is unwavering. To the point, he supported the annexation of the Golan Heights, plus moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem. Trump is easily manipulated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other pro-Israeli supporters. On the other hand, Taiwan has a lingering feeling that Trump might one day abandon Taiwan by using it as a bargaining chip to get a better trade deal with China to enhance his chances for re-election.

Clearly, Israel enjoys many advantages in its relationship with the US. However, the biggest Israeli advantage is that the Israeli public recognizes the threat to Israel by their adversaries and supports a robust defense effort. Israelis show positive support and appreciation for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Men and women both are compelled to serve in the IDF. After active duty, each member of the IDF is compelled to serve in the reserves. The public supports a taxation system on which is based a 2019 USD $20.5 billion defense budget which constitutes 5.3% of GDP. Unlike the Taiwan armed forces, there has been no spate of espionage cases in the IDF.

President Tsai Ing-wen deserves credit for trying to build public support for the military and increasing the defense budget by 3% to USD $11.36 billion for fiscal year 2021. Such an increase will put the defense budget at 2.1% to 2.3% of GDP. In her recent inaugural address, she emphasized the need to rebuild military culture and underlined the need to make Taiwan’s dormant 2.8 million strong reserve force a combat ready force.

Nevertheless, the differences between Israeli and Taiwan popular support for the respective militaries are gaping. Many Taiwan military personnel feel looked down on by the public. The Taiwan public does not support military budget increases. (See my August 10, 2016, article in National Interest, Taiwan’s Floundering Military Needs to Up Its Game). The Taiwan military has difficulty in meeting its recruitment targets and there is the question of Taiwan’s will to fight. Consequently, some US lawmakers and members of the public question why should America support Taiwan when the Taiwan public does not.

Despite the Taiwan public’s fear of America not coming to the defense of Taiwan, it is the same public that is selling Taiwan short by not supporting the defense of their country.

(Feature photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash)