Taiwan Official: Independence Is the Wish of Our People

“The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!”

I read a tweet by then President-elect Trump on December 2, 2016, announcing his groundbreaking conversation with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. This marked the first time since 1979 – when the U.S. ended formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan – that a U.S. president or president-elect had spoken with Taiwan’s president.

Caption: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on a phone call with then President-elect Trump in December 2016.

Will there be a similar call later this year between President Trump and Taiwan’s current Vice President and new President-elect Lai Ching-te, who will take office on May 20?

Caption: Taiwan Vice President and President-elect Lai Ching-te.

The major shift in U.S. stance and policy toward Taiwan that the 2016 call foreshadowed has proven significant.

Caption: Dr. Twu Shiing-jer (Source: Facebook)

Dr. Twu Shiing-jer, Chairman of Taiwan’s Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB) and former Taiwan Health Minister, has for decades been a leader in Taiwan’s ongoing quest to be seen and heard by the world. And in this third installment of our interview series, he discusses U.S.-Taiwan relations and his nation’s long fight for international recognition.

On Taiwan’s Desire for International Representation

“Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation,” Dr. Twu stated. “Everyone knows this, but we’re not in the United Nations or the World Health Organization.”

Taiwan lost representation in the United Nations more than 50 years ago, while still under the authoritarian regime of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang – leader of the Kuomintang (KMT) party – who had retreated to Taiwan in 1949 during the Chinese civil war against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), set up a Republic of China (ROC) government in exile on Taiwan. Chiang’s government-maintained possession of a United Nations (UN) seat until it was transferred to the CCP-controlled People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1971.

For decades, Dr. Twu, a member of Taiwan’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has lobbied for Taiwan’s entrance into the United Nations.

“If Taiwan can enter the United Nations in the future, this is definitely something the Taiwanese people will look forward to,” said Dr. Twu, who has served as Secretary General of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance (TAIUNA).

As a doctor who has served as health minister, he has also long been a proponent of Taiwan admission to the World Health Organization (WHO).

When I first interviewed him in 2012 at a “UN for Taiwan” rally in New York City, Dr. Twu told me, “If we can go into the WHO, maybe it’s easier, or more natural, to enter the United Nations.”

Today, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread dissatisfaction with the WHO’s response, Dr. Twu expresses support for President Trump’s 2020 initiative to withdraw from the current version of WHO.

“WHO should be shut down…[and] according to President Trump’s thinking, a new WHO should be established,” Dr. Twu suggested, before saying in English, “WHO with Taiwan.”

“Establish a WHO with the U.S. as the head,” Dr. Twu continued. “The current WHO has China as its head.”

“China doesn’t have to give money to the WHO,” he said. “It’s all the U.S. and Japan funding it, and the result is that people who are bought and paid for by the CCP are making the decisions. So, simply starting a new one would be better.”

On Taiwan’s Rising National Identity

Following Chiang Kai-shek’s death in 1975 and the lifting of martial law in Taiwan by his son Chiang Ching-kuo in 1987, Taiwan’s 23 million citizens have transitioned their nation from an authoritarian government to a free and vibrant democracy with an increased sense of Taiwanese national identity.

“If you do a real public survey and ask Taiwanese people whether they want to be ‘unified’ with China under the CCP, I don’t think you’ll get 4% who are willing,” Dr. Twu said. “Today, most in Taiwan identify as being Taiwanese, not as Chinese.”

“For example, when we go to the United States,” Dr. Twu continued, “Some people say, ‘Oh, you come from China.’ We Taiwanese answer, ‘No, no, no! From Taiwan!’”

Source: Pew Research

Though the CCP-controlled PRC, since its founding in 1949, has never controlled Taiwan, it nevertheless claims that Taiwan is its territory and has continuously threatened to realize this claim with the use of force.

On U.S.-Taiwan Relations

Dr. Twu said that, although U.S.-Taiwan relations “are getting better and better,” for a long time the Taiwanese people “have not been very satisfied with U.S.-Taiwan relations” because the U.S. has “used Taiwan as fishing bait” to dangle in front of China as a geopolitical tool.

He appreciatively observed that the first Trump administration moved counter to this decades-long trend, saying, “President Trump, Dr. Navarro, and Mike Pompeo, they all very clearly expressed that Taiwan does not belong to China…President Trump very clearly forbade China from invading Taiwan.”

The first Trump administration also made major advances in facilitating official contact with Taiwan, including by ending restrictions on diplomatic and military contacts in January 2021.

Dr. Twu noted that the U.S. and Taiwan still do not have formal diplomatic relations, and said that if it is not convenient for the U.S. to establish formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan at present, “our people-to-people diplomacy must be strengthened.”

On Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te

Dr. Twu is a member of the same party, Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, or the DPP, as Taiwan President Tsai and President-elect Lai. He has served in Taiwan’s legislature with President-elect Lai and and knows him personally.

Caption: Dr. Twu Shiing-jer with now President-elect of Taiwan Lai Ching-te in 2018. (Source: Facebook)

Caption: Dr. Twu Shiing-jer with current Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in 2020. (Source: Facebook)

With President Tsai and President-elect Lai at the helm, the DPP has won Taiwan’s last three presidential elections, in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Dr. Twu previously served as Minister of Health under Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, who was in office for two terms from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first DPP candidate to win Taiwan’s presidency after Taiwan’s transition to democracy.

While in office, Chen had made strong moves in the direction of Taiwan independence, including by seeking a related referendum bill, and his stance led to public remarks by then-President George W. Bush that Chen “may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose.”

Dr. Twu said that while Taiwan’s President Chen had been “a little bit impatient” in his moves toward Taiwan independence, he was “speaking the heartfelt wishes of the Taiwanese people.”

“In the future, I hope that the United States can better understand this,” Dr. Twu said.

Dr. Twu observed that Taiwan’s new incoming president, President-elect Lai, is a supporter of Taiwan independence who is pragmatic in his approach to leading Taiwan in this direction.

“He stands on the side of Taiwan independence,” Dr. Twu said of Lai. “In his heart, he wants independence. This is very, very clear.”

Adam Molon is a guest columnist for Peter Navarro’s Taking Back Trump’s America and author of NewSentry, a Substack publication. Dr. Navarro has called Adam “a rising Young Gun in journalism.” Adam is on Twitter/X and Gettr @admolon and on Truth Social

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