The Iron Lady of South China sea has demonstrated her resolve to stand against Chinese Neo Imperialism & Colonialism in the Indo Pacific.
Taiwan Premier Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president, has stood against the authoritarianism of CCP general secretary Xi Jingping. The Island nation of 24 million people is a harbinger of democracy and in recent years after the landslide victory of Tsai Ing-wen the island nation has faced relentless military pressure in the form of massive incursion of Chinese PLA force into Taiwan’s air identification zone. The Taiwanese Premier has made it her priority to defend Taiwan from the Chinese People Liberation Army which considers the Island nation as part of its own territory and vowed to take control of Taiwan by force. The Tsai administration is ramping up the defense with the $8.7 Billion plan to equip its defense forces with naval ships, precision guided missiles, upgradation of F-16 fighter jets & developing drone systems in addition to the annual military budget of $15.1 Billion being 4% of the GDP. The United States has reportedly doubled its military presence in Taiwan. Sensing trouble for Taiwan, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe & Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison have publicly stated that their country would not stand by if the armed invasion from the Chinese mainland happens against Taiwan.
The growing international support to Taiwan and increased bilateral trade agreement is testimonial of its growing diplomatic clout in the world. The democratic self governing nation of Republic of China as Tsai states have got plenty of influence despite lacking embassy in many countries across the world. At the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021 the island nation was referred to as Taiwan and not ‘Chinese Taipei’ at the opening ceremony by the anchor of public broadcaster NHK. Japan official map has removed from Taiwan from map of China. Another American network NBC had depicted Taiwan as a separate country, resulting in condemnation by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson. Recently Japan has created special post for Taiwan affairs & Senior diplomat is to be in charge of East China Sea maritime issues, including Taiwan and the Senkaku island chain. In an event of invasion by China on Taiwan, Japan and United States have drafted an emergency military plan. Last month the Taiwan’s government formally started representative office in state capital Vilnius. The Solomon Islands erupted in flames for dispute over the government switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. Apart from this the European parliament delegation, American delegation & former Australian PM Tony Abott has visited Taiwan in recent months. The democracies of free world including India, Canada, United States, Japan, Australia, Germany, France, United Kingdom have sent their naval vessels in South China Sea and have conducted maritime exercises and defense drills in the high seas. On December 28th 2021,Biden signs act inviting Taiwan to RIMPAC, boosting asymmetric defenses and calls for intelligence on Chinese efforts to subvert Taiwan, increased cooperation with US National Guard.
The escalation of tension between mainland China & Taiwan has resulted in many Taiwaneese firms finding it difficult to operate in China with the CCP threatening businesses to stop supporting pro Taiwan independence voices. The Tsai administration responded by empowering regulators to block sale of subsidiaries of Taiwaneese tech companies operating in China to prevent leak of sensitive technologies. The Indian government recently announced a $10 billion production-linked-incentive scheme to explore the possibility of a semiconductor manufacturing hub to meet its demand for the chips. The Island nation is also planning to build the first chip packaging plant in the United States. TSMC and Sony are planning to set up a US$ 7 billion semiconductor fabrication plant in Japan. Recently Taiwan applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) leading to protest from mainland China which had tried its level best for economic & diplomatic isolation of the Island nation.
The growing international clout of Taiwan is due to its focus on innovation and technology and makes it a market leader in a wide array of electronic products & information technology sector. The per capita GDP of Taiwan is estimated at US$ 33,000 and US$60,000 in PPP terms. The high income economy of Taiwan is one of the models of modern economic development and political transformation into a multiparty democratic system. The focus on innovation makes Taiwan on par with European nations on the human development index score. The Taiwan Semiconductor giant TSMC has emerged as 10th largest company in the world, after the Taiwan stock exchange clocked record high on December 2021.
Taiwan has warned the World Health Organization on December 31st 2019 over possibility of human-to-human transmission of virus and raised suspicion of global pandemic The alert was ignored by WHO and this lead to global contagion which is refusing to die with the latest variant Omicron is believed to be highly transmissible. The island nation had contained the spread of virus in the early stage resulting in quickly aligning its manufacturing industry to produce and export ventilators, protective visors and even machines that make face coverings. During the initial outbreak Taiwan donated 17 million surgical face masks to countries in Asia and Europe. In the event of a humanitarian crisis Taiwan has emerged as a shining and guiding light to contain the spread of Wuhan Chinese virus. Taiwan has demonstrated the readiness, adaptability to fight Wuhan China Virus and the protocols are widely adopted around the world.
In the event of a crisis President Tsai has demonstrated the capability to steer Taiwan out of the crisis and has explicitly stated to reduce dependence with the Chinese mainland and pursue an independent policy by forging close ties with the United States, Japan, EU, India & other democracies. She has withstood the increased CCP acts to mount pressure internationally to derecognize the Island nation. The Chinese have launched disinformation campaigns and hired propagandists around the globe to amplify its version of One China Policy. The repeated provocation by Chinese Air Force intruding in Taiwan’s air identification zone, military drills near the Taiwan coast and threatening to invade the Island nation by force in near future. President Tsai has displayed mature leadership by staying calm and revealed her resilience in her thoughts of actions by standing against the evil CCP.
President Tsai Ing-wen is Iron Lady of Asia & Queen of South China and she has carved space names for Taiwan internationally due to her diplomatic outreach and craft. The frustration of her actions had troubled the top echelons of the CCP. And her resolve to fight the Chinese hegemony will lead to many nations in the Asia Pacific to stand up against President Xi JingPing hegemony and expansionist plans. Leading the pack Singapore recently resumed military drills with Taiwan amidst growing Chinese threats. Truly President Tsai is the torchbearer of democratic Republic of China and her actions can ignite the flames of Tiananmen square leading to internal revolt in China and the demise of the evil Chinese Communist Party into the realms of history.
