Joe Biden, president of the United States, has said that America does not favor Taiwanese independence, so he has neither congratulated nor assisted President-elect Lai Ching-te after his election triumph.
There is no connection between the Chinese Communist Party and Taiwan since the island republic has its own government and civil institutions. But Beijing maintains that Taiwan is an autonomous Chinese province run by a rebellious “separatist” group.
After Lai’s victory, Nauru withdrew its recognition of Taipei, reducing the number of nations that recognize Taiwanese sovereignty to twelve. The United States is not one of the twelve nations since, in 1979, then-President Jimmy Carter severed relations with Taiwan in favor of China. Nonetheless, the United States continues to have informal ties with the Taiwanese government, which include arms sales. On Monday, an unofficial American delegation met with Lai in Taiwan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated him on his triumph.
Unlike Trump, who treated Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, with respect, Biden has chosen to ignore Lai. During her ten-minute congratulations discussion with then-President-elect Donald Trump in 2016, the president of Taiwan phoned her American counterpart. After China officially complained, Trump publicly praised the gesture, explaining that Tsai had contacted him to express her gratitude.
As part of its efforts to improve ties with China, the Biden administration agreed to meet with President Xi Jinping in California in November to discuss and resolve their concerns on security issues. According to the Taiwanese authorities, China is expected to try to exert pressure on the newly elected president of Taiwan after the elections. This includes conducting military exercises near the island this spring. China has always said that it would use force, if necessary, to subjugate Taiwan.
Biden intends to send an unofficial group to the self-governing island, which will most likely include many former high-ranking American officials, to demonstrate his support for the administration. Taiwan has already received such delegations.
