China’s economic outreach in Latin America and the Caribbean has eroded Taiwan’s diplomatic presence in the region, but mixed investment results and divided public reception will complicate China’s attempts to cultivate its new relations.
President Tsai’s first state visit to Taiwan’s Caribbean allies was overshadowed by lengthy stopovers in New York City and Denver, where Taiwan’s democracy was the main feature, setting the scene for the 2020 elections—which Tsai and others claim will be a battle for values and Taiwan’s future direction.
Populist politics started in 2014 Taipei mayor election by the non-party affiliated Ko Wen-je. Han Kuo-yu in his Kaohsiung mayor election in 2018 further amplified and dramatized such populist swing within KMT. Such populist political culture even penetrated into the wider society in creating an aggressive and hostile collective political mood against political establishment and liberal tolerance.
The past two years have seen continued advances in US-Taiwan relations, despite fears that the Trump administration would use Taiwan as bargaining chip in US-China relations. A joint agenda for the relationship would help ensure that bilateral ties continue to deepen in the years ahead.
Hong Kong demonstrations have raised issues about the credibility of China’s “one country, two systems” model for Taiwan.