Relying on US for 'Taiwan independence' is just wishful thinking by Lai and his ilk

More than 600 Taiwan residents gather around Taiwan's leader's office in Taipei on Aug 11, 2023 to protest the island's deputy leader Lai Ching-te's planned visit to the United States. [Photo/China Daily]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

In an interview with Bloomberg Business Week on Tuesday, Lai Ching-te, deputy leader of China's Taiwan island and chief of the ruling secessionist-minded Democratic Progressive Party on the island, claimed that it is a "sovereign, independent country".

This is not only a blatant falsehood and manifestation of what he wishes the island to be. It is also a provocation to the consensus held by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and most of the world that there is only one China of which Taiwan is an integral part, and of which Beijing is the sole legitimate representative.

With an election looming to determine Tsai Ing-wen's successor as leader of the island's authorities, Lai, who is the front-runner to succeed her, pitched himself as a "rational and steady" leader who would continue Tsai's policy and "work with the US government effectively". That betrays his intention to work as a pawn of the United States in its geopolitical game in return for the latter's support for his scheme to secede the island from China.

In the interview, by branding the upcoming Taiwan election as a choice between further engagement with the international community or caving in to the political agenda of Beijing, Lai tried to create the impression that the international community supports "Taiwan independence" against Beijing's political agenda for the reunification of the island with the motherland. It is both ludicrous and contrary to the reality for Lai to describe the status quo of the island in this way. Whatever he says, he can never change the fact that almost all countries recognize Beijing as the sole legitimate representative of China on the world stage, and that Taiwan is part of China.

For the secessionists on the island, believing that the US can be relied on as a protective umbrella for their attempt to seek "Taiwan independence" is just wishful thinking. When the US sells arms to Taiwan and beats about the bush on the Taiwan question, what it wants is to use the island as a card it can play to contain the development of the mainland.

Just as Defense Minister Li Shangfu said, the Taiwan question is the internal affair of China, and any attempt to contain or manipulate China by playing the "Taiwan card" is doomed to failure. In the same way, Taiwan secessionists will go nowhere in their attempt to seek the island's "independence" by seeking help or protection from the US.

Beijing has repeatedly said that it seeks the peaceful reunification of the island, but the use of force is an alternative it will resort to if necessary. Instead of whistling past the graveyard to impress the international community, secessionists such as Lai would do Taiwan and the world a greater service by working with Beijing to smoothly realize the former.