In recent months, we've become accustomed to Russia and its supporters blaming their invasion of Ukraine on NATO expansion and US interference in the region, even though Western nations and Ukraine have repeatedly rejected this narrative.
Similarly, in the case of Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party and their supporters blame the United States as the sole agent for escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
In a recent article by Michael Swaine of the Quincy Institute entitled "The Worrisome Erosion of the One China Policy" published in the National Interest, he frames present tensions as arising over the US refusing to conform to its own One China Policy and instead increasing symbolic and substantive support for Taiwan, thereby provoking China into taking greater escalatory actions.
Swaine's article was taken to task by Brian Hioe (@brianhioe) in New Bloom Magazine in a response entitled "Nevermind China's drills, Quincy Institute Article view America as sole agent of rising tensions".
Brian Hioe is one of the founding editors of New Bloom Magazine and a non-resident Fellow at the University of Nottingham's Taiwan Studies Program. He joins me in this episode of Perspectives with Neilo to discuss his response to Swaine's article, the practicalities of the US One China Policy, opinions of the US in Taiwan, why the CCP prefers a military response to diplomatic outreach with the current Taiwan administration and much more.
Date of Recording: April 26th, 2023.
DIVE DEEPER
Check out the following resources for additional information on the topics covered in this episode:
- Nevermind China's drills, Quincy Institute Article views America as Sole Agent of Rising Tensions - Brian Hioe, New Bloom Magazine (April 12th, 2023)
- New Bloom Magazine - Homepage
- 'They started the war': Russia's Putin blames West and Ukraine for provoking conflict - Jenni Reid, CNBC (Feb 21st, 2023)
- China harasses Taiwan with fighter jets, blames US for meddling - Huizhong Wu and David Rising (AP), Christian Science Monitor (Oct 6th, 2021)
- Why China might attack Taiwan - Patrick Porter, The Spectator (April 23rd, 2023)
- The Many "One Chinas": Multiple Approaches to Taiwan and China - Chong Ja Ian, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Feb 9th, 2023)
