Taiwan's Lai does not have the cards with Washington or Beijing
Everyone knows Donald Trump is a taker, not a giver, except perhaps William Lai Ching-te. By fully aligning with Washington and effectively declaring Beijing as the enemy, the Taiwanese leader has boxed himself into a corner.
He gets nothing but outdated and overpriced weapons from the United States, while giving away the island's tech jewel by transferring more of its most advanced chipmaking capacities to the US.
So much for the so-called silicon shield, the idea that mainland China will not dare invade and destroy the world's most important supply chains for advanced computer chips, and that the US will be forced to protect the island to shield its essential tech industry that supplies such chips to the world.
But this month, the US president had a slip of the tongue. 'I think it's going to be great for unification and peace,' he said.
Trump was apparently pleased with the outcome of trade talks with Beijing that led to a 90-day pause on mutual tariffs.
By now, everyone expects that sort of thing from his 'Make America Great Again' agenda.
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