Abstract
Many countries in Asia have experienced significant political transitions in the last couple of years. In Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen won a landslide victory for the Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan’s independence-leaning party, in the January 2016 presidential election. In her inauguration speech, Tsai “vowed to preserve the status quo in relations with China, adding Beijing must respect Taiwan’s democracy and both sides must ensure there are no provocations.”1 However, the status quo has in fact undergone a sea change since Tsai was sworn in as president-cross-strait relations have sharply cooled with the cessation of official communication channels.
Besieged by Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation and domestically fierce partisan struggles, particularly over intense relations with China, Tsai’s administration, even more than its predecessors, needs satisfactory relations with the United States for Taiwan’s economic prosperity and national security. While the United States does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, it maintains commitments to the island based on the Taiwan Relations Act passed in April 1979. This essay will examine the early contacts between the Tsai government and the Trump administration, the Tsai government’s broader policy goals, and the role of the China factor in U.S.-Taiwan relations.
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