{"id":4783,"date":"2025-03-20T00:20:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T21:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cninku.com\/?p=4783"},"modified":"2025-03-20T00:20:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T21:20:40","slug":"guest-opinion-taiwan-chess-player-or-chess-piece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cninku.com\/en\/4783","title":{"rendered":"Guest Opinion: Taiwan: Chess player or chess piece?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The vast military procurement can’t hide the ugly reality of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities “relying on foreign forces to seek independence,” nor the fate of a manipulated “chess piece.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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by Gui Hang<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, various reports have caught people’s attention that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is negotiating with the United States on a plan to spend 7-10 billion U.S. dollars on military procurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move is supposed to demonstrate the Taiwan region’s determination to safeguard its own “defense,” but in fact, it is nothing but another commitment made by the DPP authorities to appease the U.S. administration of Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More ironically, Lai Ching-te, while riding on U.S. coattails at the expense of the Taiwan people’s interests, shamelessly claimed that “Taiwan is a chess player rather than a chess piece, and will certainly be able to seek a way to win in the changing situation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As local media pointed out, driven by his own obsession, Lai vainly tried to rely on the United States to protect the vested interests of the separatist forces for “Taiwan independence,” but gave away the hard-earned money of the people in Taiwan. The vast military procurement can’t hide the ugly reality of the DPP authorities “relying on foreign forces to seek independence,” nor the fate of a manipulated “chess piece.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHO’S REAL CHESS PLAYER?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real player behind Lai sometimes appears as a Republican, sometimes as a Democrat, always invoking the rhetoric of “freedom, democracy and human rights.” Yet, the real player can flip the table at any moment and walk away as long as it sees fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can’t the DPP authorities see the true intention of the United States? The abrupt shift in U.S. President Donald Trump’s stance on Ukraine should serve as a lesson for them. But Lai was blinded by the illusion that the “protection fee” would grant him a seat on the negotiation table, and that shaking hands with some outdated American politicians would make him a “chess player.” How ridiculous it is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. ARMS SALES<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lai believed that a 10 billion-dollar arms purchase would secure full U.S. support for “Taiwan independence,” but failed to realize that he had long been reduced to nothing more than an “ATM” for Washington, which harbors far greater ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite their exorbitant price tags, many of the weapons sold to Taiwan by the United States are of poor quality and obsolete in function, often dismissed by locals as “garbage.” Among the military assistance provided by the U.S. government based on “Presidential Drawdown Authority,” 2.7 million rounds of ammunition were outdated scraps produced in 1983, and more than 3,500 sets of bullet-proof panels and vests were moldy. In essence, Taiwan has become little more than a “recycling bin” for America’s surplus weaponry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s more, delayed delivery has become a standard practice. Reports indicate that over 18.2 billion dollars worth of arms sales to Taiwan have been delayed so far. Once delivered, Taiwan is burdened with additional costs for maintenance, upgrading, training and replenishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While U.S. arms dealers enjoy massive profits, Taiwan’s budget spirals into a “bottomless pit,” leaving the people to bear the burden. When that money is eventually drained, Taiwan risks being discarded as a useless “chess piece.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LAI’S POLITICAL CALCULATIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DPP authorities have complicated political calculations in currying favor with the United States through arms purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By racking his brain to show loyalty to the United States and trumpeting common stand with Washington to “resist China and protect Taiwan,” Lai schemed to take advantage of the U.S. support to consolidate his own power on the island and dispel skepticism against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From forming the so-called “Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee,” clamoring for the training of 400,000 militiamen, to requiring high school students to sign the “Wartime Youth Service Consent Form,” from plotting to stockpile ammunition in palaces and temples, to discussing hoarding food and medical supplies, Lai has pushed Taiwan down a dangerous path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOOMED TO BE ABANDONED<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Taiwan region has always been nothing more than a “chess piece” in the eyes of foreign forces. Lai fails to see the reality, or he simply doesn’t want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is bent on catering to the United States by increasing the so-called “defense” budget to more than 3 percent of the region’s GDP, which is still lagging far behind the U.S. demand of 10 percent. This has severely squeezed the livelihood of the Taiwan people, who are faced with a much tighter budget for education, medical care, social welfare, infrastructure and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lai lures the young people to become “cannon fodder” for the doomed “Taiwan independence,” while his sons enjoy comfortable lives in the United States. Lai’s toxic policies and actions are bound to spark growing public opposition. Trump once likened the Taiwan region to “the tip of one of his Sharpies,” exposing his true thoughts on Taiwan as nothing more than a bargaining chip. No matter how much Taiwan has spent on its military procurement, its fate is to be manipulated and sacrificed in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DPP’s hyped narrative of “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow” has turned into a curse backfiring on itself. After all, no one takes Lai’s “chess player” slogan seriously. Lai’s despicable performance of relying on the United States, selling out Taiwan and manipulating public opinion, if unchecked, will finally drive Taiwan to the point of no return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 14, 2005, the Chinese government promulgated the Anti-Secession Law. Specifically, Article 8 states that “in the event that the ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan’s secession from China, or that major incidents entailing Taiwan’s secession from China should occur, or that possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted, the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law is like a sword hanging above the head, constantly warning and deterring the separatist forces of “Taiwan independence.” Anyone who attempts to split the country will be punished by law, spurned by the people and judged by history. Only by realizing China’s complete reunification can there be permanent peace across the Taiwan Strait. Only by then, can the Taiwan region override the fate of being an abandoned “chess piece” of foreign forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor’s note: Gui Hang is a commentator on international affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The vast military procurement can’t hide the ugly reality of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities “relying on foreign forces to seek independence,” nor the fate of a manipulated “chess piece.” by Gui Hang Recently, various reports have caught people’s attention that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is negotiating with the United States on a plan…<\/p>\n

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