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Letters | Trump or Biden for US president: why Taiwan should be backing the Democrat
- A more balanced US policy, as expected under Joe Biden, would help foster a safer and more stable Taiwan Strait, and reduce the possibility of a Chinese military assault on Taiwan
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A recent study published by Global Views Monthly, a leading Taiwanese magazine, shows that 53 per cent of the people believe a Trump re-election would be more beneficial to Taiwan than a Joe Biden victory, which only 16.4 per cent of the island’s population welcomed.
This is hardly surprising. Trump is considered by many pundits as “the most pro-Taiwan president in the US history” since diplomatic relations were severed in 1979. Joe Biden, meanwhile, is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “old friend.”
However, although his victory is less popular in Taiwan, were Biden to win, he could provide the democratic island with some breathing space at a time when the probability of war in the Taiwan Strait is rising.
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Although the US-China confrontation will endure regardless of which presidential candidate prevails in the days to come, a Biden administration would pursue more constructive diplomacy than that conducted by Trump. In essence, it would put greater emphasis on re-engaging with US allies and international institutions when competing with China.
This approach could mitigate the growing enmity between the world’s two superpowers and help de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
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Taiwan posts video of troops ‘fending off attack from mainland’ amid worsening cross-strait tensions
Taiwan posts video of troops ‘fending off attack from mainland’ amid worsening cross-strait tensions
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