China has ramped up its show of military force in the waters off Taiwan ahead of the country’s presidential elections next week, a contest that pits the current vice president against a challenger who has affirmed his support of China taking over its island neighbor. China’s saber-rattling has the industrial world on edge, concerned about dictator Xi Jinping taking control of the globe’s largest producer of computer chips.
Xi considers Taiwan a province of China and told President Biden as much when the two world leaders met in November. He’s announced that his armed forces will be ready for a full-scale invasion by 2027 and declared during a New Year’s Eve address that Taiwan will “surely be reunified.”
President Tsai Ing-wen has her nation on a war footing with an armament buildup and military exercises at Taiwan’s coastal defenses. Xi is flexing his muscles as well directing fighter jets and warships to routinely infringe on Taiwan’s naval and air space. The leading candidate in the January 13 contest, Vice President Lai Ching-te, is opposed to the communist takeover of his country, while his chief opponent, Hou Yu-ih, believes that accepting Xi’s terms will avoid war.
The U.S. is walking a fine line on the issue as Biden didn’t push back on Xi’s plan when they met in San Francisco, though he has expressed his support of Taiwan remaining independent. He’s c onsidered between a rock and a hard place in his relationship with Xi after his son’s company received a $1 billion investment from Red China after he flew with him to Beijing on the vice presidential plane. Biden has repeatedly denied any knowledge of his son Hunter’s dealings with China, a situation that is under investigation by the Republicans in Congress. When Donald Trump was president, he shook diplomatic circles when he made an unprecedented call to President Tsai Ing-wen expressing support for the nation’s independence. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delved into the controversy when she went to Taipei in 2022.
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Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and VP under President Tsai Ing-wen, leads the polls with support between 30.9% and 40%. Lai’s main challenger, Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang party (KMT) is approximately 5 points behind Lai between 24.1% and 38%. Ko Wen-je a former mayor for Taipei city with the Taiwan People’s Party line (TPP) has between 18.9% and 25.2% support eastasiaforum.or
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