Chinese Whispers: Taiwan deals with the fallout from Pelosi's tour

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🗓️ 5 August 2022

⏱️ 25 minutes

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Summary

Nancy Pelosi’s controversial trip to Taiwan made headlines across the world this week, after President Xi’s warnings to the US ‘not to play with fire’. Furious, Beijing has responded with economic sanctions and a flurry of missiles over and around the island, as well as sanctioning Pelosi and her family. But as the West frets about possible escalation, often lacking from the discussion is what Taiwanese people actually think. In fact, as Taipei-based journalist Brian Hioe explains to Cindy Yu in this episode, most people there were less worried about the visit than you might expect. ‘There’s been so much in terms of Chinese military drilling or activity directed at Taiwan for a decade, people are quite used to it.’

Comparisons to the calm in Ukraine before the Russian invasion are unfounded: ‘we are not seeing troops massing’. That is not to say, though, that the situation is without danger. A more limited and realistic threat is of China imposing a blockade, or attacking one of Taiwan’s outlying islands. Other possible repercussions include a salvo of cyberattacks, one pro-China actor having already hacked supermarkets and train station displays on the island this week.

So given all these dangers, why did Pelosi come at all? Perhaps telling is the Taiwanese government’s silence over whether it actually invited her. US domestic politics is probably a factor, as is her own legacy. Regardless of her motivation, President Biden said the move was unwise, and the situation remains delicate.

Careful diplomatic management of the crisis requires reliable information. But in the context of Taiwan, that is by no means a given. Brian explains the bizarre dynamic that exists between international and Taiwanese media, where each assumes the other is better informed. ‘The two sides are actually somewhat bad at fact-checking each other. Then they’re just amplifying what is sometimes discrimination but primarily misinformation.’

Tune in to hear more about the view from Taipei.

Transcript

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0:00.0	A Spectator subscription is now better value than ever before.
0:04.5	As a new subscriber joining today, you'll pay just £1 a week for unlimited online and app access in your first year.
0:12.4	To subscribe today, go to spectator.com.ukuk forward slash unlimited. Unlimited.
0:30.2	Hello and welcome to Chinese Whispers with me, Cindy Yu.
0:37.6	Every episode I'll be talking to journalists, experts and long-time China watchers about the latest in Chinese politics, society and more.
0:41.9	There will be a smattering of history to catch you up on the background knowledge and some context as well. How did the Chinese see these issues?
0:46.4	On Tuesday night, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan. The first time
0:51.5	such a senior US official had visited the island in 25 years, making
0:55.0	headlines across the world. One flight tracker website had to limit access because so many
0:59.4	people were trying to follow the plane. The Chinese government is furious regarding the visit as
1:05.3	America showing support for Taiwanese independence, even though the White House made it relatively
1:09.5	clear that Pelosi did not have their blessing. This week, the People's Liberation Army have flown jets near the
1:15.2	Taiwan strait, shot missiles over the island of Taiwan that even reached the exclusive
1:20.1	economic zone of Japan. So how far will Beijing go? And what have the Taiwanese made of all this?
1:29.1	In this episode, I'm joined by Brian Heu from Taipei. He's the editor of the Taiwan-based Youth magazine New Bloom, and we'll be
1:33.8	discussing what the visit and China's response mean for Taiwan. Now, Brian, just to start us off,
1:40.3	some in the West have said that Pelosi's visit is extremely dangerous and provocative,
1:45.0	while others have pointed out that actually it's a support for Taiwanese democracy.
1:49.3	Can you tell us what your analysis of how advisable this trip is?
1:52.9	So I think the question then is, was it mostly symbolic or is there something that Taiwan gets out of it?
1:57.0	Because although the interest of the trip was phrased as this is for the sake of Taiwan,
2:01.2	it might be more about American domestic politics, for example, midterms later this year.
	...

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