“It was a relief,” Cao said. “Over the past 24 years, China has mobilized all its efforts, but it has failed. It shows that we are not afraid of China’s major campaign to intimidate the Taiwanese.”
Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party is set to succeed President Tsai Ing-wen after her inauguration in May. The 64-year-old has been Tsai's vice president since 2020 and has helped oversee Taiwanese resistance to increasing economic and diplomatic coercion campaigns by Beijing. None of the major parties in this year's elections supported unification with the mainland, a position supported by less than 10 percent of Taiwan's population.
The Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, but claims the island with a population of 24 million as its own. Taiwan was ruled by its rival Kuomintang Party after it withdrew to the island at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly threatened the island with military incursions and described unification as inevitable. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said four Chinese naval ships were spotted around Taiwan's identification zone on Sunday, down from eight warplanes and six ships on Saturday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has long pursued a policy of reunification. credit: AP
In order to manage the disparity between China's overwhelming military power while maintaining autonomy, Taiwan's leaders and the international community have successfully maintained the “status quo” for decades. The regime allows Taiwan self-determination without a formal international declaration of independence.
Cao said Taiwan needs to prepare its military so it can move toward a formal declaration of independence, a move that would likely trigger a response from Beijing and escalate the risk of a great power conflict between China and the United States.
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“I think we should seek complete independence to completely eliminate the threat,” Cao said. “After World War II, there were only 60 sovereign nations in the world. Now there are 195. It is a trend of modern civilization.
Cao said he believes the United States and its allies will support Taiwan independence because the Taiwan Strait is vital to global trade. Up to 50 percent of global goods pass through the 125-kilometre-wide canal between Taiwan and China. The island is also a strategic flashpoint, both for the vital semiconductor industry and for its access to the Pacific Ocean on its east coast.
US President Joe Biden made clear this week that Washington does not support Taiwan independence in comments aimed at softening Beijing's reaction to the vote and pro-independence sentiment in Taiwan, a position that does not have official support from any of the major parties.
An unofficial US delegation including former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley arrived in Taiwan on Sunday to meet with outgoing President Tsai to express their “support for Taiwan's continued prosperity and growth.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the visit of officials in Washington sent “wrong signals to separatist forces for Taiwan independence.”
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But the low-key visit highlights an ongoing challenge facing international governments: dealing with Taiwan, the world's 21st largest economy, without establishing formal diplomatic relations and jeopardizing the status quo.
As of Monday, Nauru was one of only thirteen countries to recognize Taiwan's government. China has reduced the number of countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei over the decades through promises of economic cooperation from the world's second-largest economy.
Nauru's government said in a statement on Monday that it “will sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan as of this day and will no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan.”
This leaves Taiwan with only ten official diplomatic partners, including Palau, Tuvalu and Belize.
Cao said that although Australia does not recognize Taiwan as a national government and risks a negative reaction from Beijing, it is time for Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong to visit Taiwan.
“Taiwan needs world recognition,” he said. “Developing a long-term relationship with Taiwan will bring good benefits to Australia. Do not expect to gain anything from working with China. They do not respect existing global values, norms or rules.
A spokesman for Senator Wong said in a statement that the Australian government wishes the people of Taiwan well.
“Peace and stability are in the interests of all of us,” the spokesman said. He added: “Australia does not want to see any unilateral change to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.”
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