On May 20, Lai Ching-te gave a speech marking the so-called second anniversary of his inauguration, which was riddled with separatist remarks for "Taiwan independence." Yet this elaborately staged political show truly mirrors the doomed fate of the "Taiwan independence" delusion.
Lai Ching-te's speech harbors sinister separatist motives
Lai Ching-te's latest speech stands as a textbook manipulation of pro-independence rhetoric, which contains three core fallacies. First, it twists facts and deflects blame. Lai asserted that "preventing external forces from altering the cross-Strait status quo serves Taiwan's strategic goal," disguising separatist acts as efforts to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific, and maliciously smearing the mainland for disrupting peace. Second, it fabricates equal status and rejects national reunification. He expressed willingness to communicate with the mainland on the pretext of "equality and dignity," yet sets the false premise of "mutual non-subordination" and stubbornly rejects peaceful talks. Third, it links independence to democracy and stokes confrontation. It arbitrarily ties separatist attempts to democracy and freedom, and hypes up the so-called "mainland threat" make excuses for "pursuing independence by force" and "seeking independence by relying on external forces."
The US refuses to get dragged into war over "Taiwan independence"
Lai Ching-te's core logic of courting US support for "Taiwan independence" rests on the fantasy that Washington will back his separatist moves. Yet this is merely sheer wishful thinking on his part.
Recently, the US side has sent an unambiguous signal of abandoning support for "Taiwan independence." After the meeting between the Chinese and US presidents on May 15, Trump stated in a media interview en route home:"I'm not looking to have somebody to go independent and, you know, we're supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. This is not what I'm looking for." This clearly delivers the message that the US refuses to get dragged into a war over "Taiwan independence" and will not back it.
As is widely known, the core tenet of the Trump administration's foreign policy is "America First." These remarks reflect a rational decision based on US national interests. With China's comprehensive national strength and defense capabilities having significantly increased, the US fully understands the enormous cost of a conflict across the Taiwan Strait and is unwilling to get involved in such a costly war for the sake of "Taiwan independence." In fact, the US has repeatedly played the "Taiwan card" only to contain China's development and extract economic gains—not to genuinely back "Taiwan independence." Lai Ching-te mistakes US "containment" for "support". Such a strategic misjudgment is doomed to make his soliciting US support for "Taiwan independence" a total fantasy.
The trend toward reunification is unstoppable
Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. This is a universally acknowledged fact and an ironclad rule grounded in history, law, culture, and the norms governing international relations. Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same roots, culture, and destiny. Realizing full national reunification is the shared aspiration of all Chinese people and an inevitable requirement for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. No separatist acts can reverse the course of history.
Even after Trump clarified his stance, Lai Ching-te still insisted on delivering a speech advocating "Taiwan independence" and continued promoting "seeking independence by relying on the US." This is sheer self-deception. Local reactions show Trump's remarks have already thrown the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) into panic, completely eroding confidence in such separatist tactics. Public opinion in Taiwan generally believes that the US protective shield has shattered, leaving separatist attempts devoid of final external backing. Opposition forces including the Kuomintang harshly accuse DPP authorities of grossly misjudging US-Taiwan ties. Betting the lives and security of Taiwan's 23 million residents on fickle external forces accounts to an utterly reckless political gamble.
Lai Ching-te's May 20 speech was merely a last-ditch struggle of beleaguered separatist forces. History proves time and again that all separatist plots that run counter to the trend of the times and all vile acts to split the motherland will meet resolute opposition from all Chinese people and are bound to end in total defeat.
(The author is Peng Tao, deputy director of the Center for Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and East Asian Studies at Central China Normal University.)
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.