Nearly 70 percent of Taiwanese people would be “very willing or somewhat willing” to personally take up arms in the event of a Chinese communist invasion, a poll released Wednesday revealed, while a much smaller percentage expect the United States to use its navy to fight an attempted Chinese blockade of the island.
The poll, conducted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, found that 64 percent of Taiwanese respondents considered Chinese “territorial ambition” a “serious threat.” Only 23.6 percent of respondents said they would not be open to fighting in a war to prevent Chinese conquest.
While most, 67.8 percent, said they would willing to fight to defend Taiwan from China, over half, 61 percent, of Taiwanese respondents said they believed it unlikely that the Communist Party would invade in the next five years. They also did not appear overwhelmingly confident in their friendly relations with the United States. Over 52 percent of respondents told the think tank that they believed America would send troops to help defend against China, but only about 40 percent said Washington would deploy the navy to help stop a Taiwanese blockade.
Taiwan is a sovereign island country off the coast of China, formally known as the Republic of China. It maintains an independent, democratic political leadership, as well as other core government institutions such as its military, healthcare system, and social safety net. The island has never in its history been governed by a regime based in Beijing.
Despite this, communist China insists that the Taiwanese government does not exist and the island is legitimate a province of China. The Communist Party refers to this as the “One-China principle,” insisting that the “Republic of China” is a dangerous separatist organization and claiming it rightfully controls the island. Chinese dictator Xi Jinping regularly hints at planning to invade and colonize the Island, and the Chinese Coast Guard routinely harasses Taiwanese in the South China Sea. While Xi has toned down some of Beijing’s anti-Taiwan rhetoric in more recent years, the genocidal tyrant promised in 2019 that anyone recognizing the reality of Taiwan’s independence would have their “bones ground to powder.”
The vast majority of world powers, including the United States, refuse to recognize Taiwan’s sovereignty as doing so would automatically result in severed diplomatic and economic ties with China. Washington’s official stance is slightly less severe than Beijing’s, however – the United States follows the “One-China policy,” which states that there is only one China in the world but does not specify whether its capital is Beijing or Taipei. America sells military gear to Taiwan and allows its government limited diplomatic representation in America.
This week’s poll revealing that many Taiwanese do not expect full backing from the United States in the event of the invasion follows a confusing and turbulent four years under President Joe Biden. Biden has repeatedly claimed, falsely, that the United States has a formal commitment to defend Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese invasion, forcing the State Department to rapidly issue clarifications that no such mutual defense treaty exists. While Biden’s comments have been defensive of Taiwan, his administration has on occasion hurt Taiwan’s defenses. In September, the U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General (DoD OIG) revealed, for example, that the DOD sent Taiwan shipments of military equipment that were “unserviceable,” in some cases covered in mold.
Taiwan marked its National Day, known commonly as “10/10,” on Thursday. President Lai Ching-te used the occasion to emphasize the country’s sovereignty and China’s total lack of control over the island.
“The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” Lai said. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.
Taiwan observers described his speech as conciliatory, as he did not directly condemn China for its belligerent behavior around Taiwan and only generally lamented “expanding authoritarianism” around the world. Lai also claimed Taipei was “willing to work with China on addressing climate change, combating infectious diseases, and maintaining regional security.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry nonetheless responded to Lai’s speech with vitriol.
“Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory. The government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning insisted on Thursday. “No matter what they say or do, the Lai Ching-te authorities cannot change the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China, or stop the historical trend that China will and must achieve reunification.”
Mao described Lai as “hellbent on advancing ‘Taiwan independence’ and has the ill intention of heightening tensions in the Taiwan Strait for his selfish political interest.”
“Taiwan has never been a country and will never be a country, and thus has no so-called sovereignty,” she insisted.
The Global Times, China’s most belligerent English-language propaganda outlet, published a story on Friday local time calling Lai’s speech a “serious challenge to the international order.”
“In response to Lai’s dangerous provocations, the mainland will resolutely counter and punish them. Any attempt to split the country or undermine peace and stability is destined to fail,” the outlet declared.
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