Taiwan wise to China's many broken promises

Asia Times

07-04-2025

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated a consistent pattern of making strategic promises, only to later undermine or abandon them once leverage has been achieved.
From Hong Kong's dismantled autonomy to broken trade and market-opening commitments made upon joining the World Trade Organization, Beijing's approach has repeatedly prioritized political and strategic gain over long-term credibility.
These are not isolated incidents but a systemic feature of how the CCP navigates diplomacy: agreements are instruments of convenience, not binding commitments. This behavior has sown distrust globally, particularly among democratic nations and institutions that have borne the costs of assuming the CCP's promises would endure.
In 1951, the CCP promised Tibet autonomy. Within a decade, the Dalai Lama was forced into exile and a brutal campaign of cultural destruction began. Temples were destroyed, language suppressed, and religious expression outlawed.
In Xinjiang, once touted as a model for ethnic harmony, over a million Uighurs have been detained in re-education camps. Surveillance technology blankets the region, turning daily life into a dystopian routine.
In both cases, initial assurances of freedom were replaced by policies of surveillance, suppression and forced assimilation.
Hong Kong stands as the most recent and striking betrayal. The 1997 Sino-British Joint Declaration guaranteed 'One Country, Two Systems' until 2047. Yet, by 2020, China imposed the National Security Law, effectively ending Hong Kong's autonomy.
Dissent was criminalized, opposition voices jailed and civil liberties extinguished. Pro-democracy newspapers were shuttered overnight and student activists exiled or imprisoned.
The lesson is unambiguous: when Beijing offers autonomy, it is a temporary illusion. And now self-governing Taiwan has no reason to believe it would be treated differently in any negotiated autonomy arrangement.
The CCP's duplicity extends far beyond territorial claims. On the world stage, China has used international agreements as stepping stones to power, not frameworks for accountability.
When China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, it pledged market openness and rules-based trade. Yet, it systematically exploited loopholes – subsidizing state-owned enterprises, engaging in intellectual property theft and forcing technology transfers on foreign investors.
Western industries that embraced engagement now face hollowed-out supply chains and strategic dependency. The notion that economic liberalization would lead to political reform proved disastrously naive.
In 2015, President Xi Jinping stood in the White House Rose Garden and promised not to militarize the South China Sea. Within months, Beijing built military installations on artificial islands and equipped them with missile systems, radar towers, and airstrips.
Chinese naval patrols now harass foreign vessels in what were once international waters. These militarized zones now threaten freedom of navigation in one of the world's busiest trade routes, raising tensions across Southeast Asia.
China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), marketed as a tool for shared prosperity, has instead ensnared several developing countries in debt traps.
From Sri Lanka's Hambantota port to African digital infrastructure, projects are designed to increase dependence on Beijing's financial and technological systems. What begins as a partnership ends in subordination.
If global powers and institutions have been misled, Taiwan – a target of far greater strategic importance – can expect nothing but duplicity.
Taiwan is not merely resisting Chinese coercion, it is proactively crafting a future rooted in autonomy, resilience and innovation.
Militarily, Taiwan has adopted asymmetric defense strategies to offset China's numerical advantage. Investments in precision-strike missiles, AI-powered early warning systems and cyber defense capabilities show a shift from reactive defense to strategic deterrence.
Every new technology integrated into Taiwan's arsenal serves as a message: the cost of invasion will be catastrophic. Additionally, Taiwan conducts regular joint military exercises with its partners to ensure operational readiness and deterrence credibility.
Diplomatically, Taiwan has elevated its global standing without formal recognition. It has deepened ties with democratic allies, hosted parliamentary delegations and established de facto embassies in major capitals.
Its recent entry into multilateral forums, despite opposition from Beijing, demonstrates growing international will to support its sovereignty. The 2021 Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), led jointly by the US and Taiwan, is one example of growing multilateral support that bypasses traditional diplomatic constraints.
Economically, Taiwan is solidifying its position as an indispensable global actor. Its dominance in semiconductor manufacturing, led by TSMC, gives it leverage few nations can ignore.
Taiwan has also diversified trade away from China, expanding ties with Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. New free trade agreements and investment frameworks have helped anchor Taiwan's economy firmly within the democratic world's supply chain networks. Economic autonomy is not just a policy goal; it is a shield against coercion.
Perhaps most impressively, Taiwan is countering CCP disinformation with democratic innovation. It has pioneered digital platforms for citizen engagement, fact-checking and rapid response to online influence campaigns.
Its civic tech model, led by digital minister Audrey Tang, is a global benchmark for how transparency and digital literacy can immunize a society against authoritarian manipulation. In doing so, Taiwan is proving that open societies can be more agile and resilient than closed regimes.
At the grassroots level, civil society groups, journalists and think tanks play a vital role in resisting authoritarian narratives. Taiwanese media routinely exposes pro-CCP influence operations, while universities produce research on disinformation and cyber defense.
This whole-of-society resilience model is what sets Taiwan apart as a truly proactive and future-oriented democracy.
The evidence is overwhelming. The CCP does not honor promises, it weaponizes them. It violates treaties, rewrites history and cloaks expansion in diplomacy. Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, the WTO and the South China Sea confirm this pattern.
The international community must abandon the illusion that engagement alone can moderate Beijing's behavior. Words from the CCP are not agreements, they are tactics. Taiwan, by contrast, has shown itself to be a partner rooted in transparency, shared values and global responsibility.
Ignoring history is complicity. The world cannot claim ignorance if Taiwan suffers the same fate as others who trusted Beijing. The time to act is now through unified diplomatic support, robust economic partnerships and strengthened regional deterrence.
Trust is not a given, it is earned, and the CCP has long since forfeited it. Taiwan has earned the world's trust through its integrity, resilience and innovation. To preserve the balance of peace and democracy in Asia, supporting Taiwan is not just a moral imperative, it is a strategic necessity.
Tang Meng Kit is a graduate of the MSc in International Relations program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. His research interests encompass cross-Strait relations, Taiwanese politics and policy issues, as well as aerospace technology. He currently works as an aerospace engineer.