After U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping and described arms sales to Taiwan as a ‘bargaining chip’, the voices of opposition figures in Taiwan who have advocated a conciliatory policy toward China have grown louder. There were also claims that it is no longer realistic to expect help from the United States.

Taiwanese outlet United Daily News Network reported on the 18th (local time) that Su Chi, former secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, said at a roundtable held the previous day, “We must abandon the expectation that the United States will come to save us.” Su served as the Ma Ying-jeou administration’s control tower for foreign and security policy from 2008 to 2010.

Su said, “The Chinese Communist Party’s Taiwan policy has three paths: cross-strait dialogue, U.S.·China dialogue, and unilateral action including reunification by force,” adding, “Xi has shifted from ‘opposing independence’ to ‘promoting unification’; the use of the word ‘peace’ within ‘peaceful unification’ has decreased; and the emphasis on ‘jointly promoting unification’ has disappeared, shrinking Taiwan’s role.”

Su assessed, “If even U.S.·China dialogue fails to produce results, China may ultimately be left with only the option of unilateral action (toward Taiwan).”

In Taiwan, anti-China public sentiment spread in the wake of the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, and the Democratic Progressive Party, which advocates a hard-line policy toward China, has been in power since 2016. Figures aligned with the Kuomintang who advocate a conciliatory policy toward China are continuing their offensive against the Democratic Progressive Party government, using the latest U.S.·China summit as an opportunity.

The Kuomintang-affiliated National Policy Research Foundation said that in a poll conducted of 1,075 adults from the 11th to the 14th, more respondents said they do not trust the United States (41%) than said they trust it (36.4%). Regarding policy toward the U.S.·China, support for ‘pro-U.S., hard line on China’ (cooperate with the United States and take a hard line against China) (23.5%) was far outstripped by support for ‘pro-U.S., improve ties with China’ (cooperate with the United States while improving relations with China) (43.5%).

President Lai Ching-te sought to calm the situation on the 17th via Facebook. He emphasized, “Taiwan is a sovereign, independent state. The Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China (China) are not subordinate to each other.” He also said there is no need to advocate independence because Taiwan is already a sovereign state.

He continued, “We thank President Trump for the support he has given for peace·stability in the Taiwan Strait since his first term in office,” while adding, “Taiwan is a place where the core interests of the entire world are at stake, and any act that destroys peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait will deliver a major shock to global supply chains and the world economy.”