Taiwan in the balance

Election results complicate global diplomacy

The US and Europe have hailed Taiwan’s recent elections, but a closer look at the results suggests that global diplomacy has become much more complicated. These elections took place against the backdrop of Beijing’s aggressive reiteration of its One China Policy. On January 13, Taiwan’s anti-China ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), registered a historic third consecutive victory, with voters defying warnings from Beijing in the form of military escalation across the Taiwan Straits, spy balloons, economic coercion and disinformation. There are two points of concern for countries that seek to balance relations between China, the world’s manufacturing powerhouse,