Taiwan Reacts to U.S. Election Results

TaiwanPlus News

Taiwan is preparing to work with the incoming U.S. administration on security cooperation, but many are concerned that Washington's commitment to Taiwan’s defense could now change with Donald Trump winning a second term as president.

Transcript

00:00Just hours after Donald Trump secured enough votes to become the next president of the

00:05United States, Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-teh, took to social media, posting this congratulatory

00:11message.

00:12The last time Trump won office in 2016, he accepted a call with then-President Tsai Ing-wen,

00:18breaking decades of U.S. policy on Taiwan.

00:22Taiwan's presidential office has denied a report from U.S. media outlet Bloomberg that

00:25Lai tried to call Trump, saying instead that's looking forward to working with the new administration.

00:31That message was also echoed by Taiwan's foreign minister, Lin Jialong, as he addressed lawmakers

00:36on what to expect with the incoming administration in Washington.

00:40First of all, when Trump was in office for the first time, including the opening of the

00:45military to Taiwan, the formalization of the military, the high-level visit to Taiwan, the

00:48announcement of the easing of Taiwan-US exchanges and restrictions, and so on, the Taiwan-U.S.

00:52relations have shown a positive development.

00:55We will work hard to promote the new Trump administration's first-ever position on Taiwan

01:02policy.

01:04Security and government officials are now warning that neighboring China, which threatens

01:08Taiwan with invasion, might use the transition period from Biden to Trump to increase pressure

01:13on Taiwan.

01:14But on the streets of Taipei, many have mixed feelings about the result and are hoping Taiwan's

01:19security is still a priority.

01:21I'm a little worried.

01:23I don't know how Trump's attitude towards Taiwan will change in the future.

01:27He has been mentioning that he will pay protection fees.

01:32So I don't know how he will treat Taiwan in the future.

01:37Maybe he will be more friendly or less friendly.

01:41I still hope to protect Taiwan.

01:44After all, the cross-strait relations are more tense now.

01:49I think Taiwan should rely on itself.

01:53I don't think Taiwan should rely on others.

01:59Trump, known for his transactional approach to the U.S.'s international relations, says

02:04he's looking to put America first.

02:07Leading up to the election, Trump had previously criticized Taiwan for not paying for its defense.

02:13That's despite Taipei buying almost all of its weapons from Washington.

02:18Analysts say that with Trump now in office, that kind of rhetoric could be concerning

02:22for Taiwan and other allies in Asia.

02:24I think Taiwan, like all countries, needs to approach this in a way that tries to prove

02:32value to the United States and show why alliances and why security ties actually do matter in

02:42the context of broader American national interests.

02:46Conservatives in the U.S. have urged other countries around the world to step up defense,

02:51saying it shouldn't just be the U.S. helping to ensure security.

02:54But with Trump's unpredictability, Taiwan, along with other Asian countries, will most

02:59likely have to invest more in defense spending.

03:02I think there's more comfort in Asia than Europe, with the prospect of more broadly

03:08in terms of Trump 2.0.

03:10I think it is likely that states within Asia will continue to increase their defense budgets

03:17simply because, you know, in the world of Trump, commitments are not necessarily ironclad.

03:23While the U.S. and Taiwan don't have official ties, it's still too early to tell if security

03:28cooperation between the two sides will change with a second Trump presidency.

03:32Patrick Chen, Keynes Caranta and Jaime Ocon in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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