Cordial Cross-Strait Relations Will Spare Taiwan Trump’s Demands, Says Paul Kuoboug Chang

Published in China Review News
(Hong Kong) on 27 August 2025
by Chang Ying-chi (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Matthew McKay. Edited by Michelle Bisson.
What lessons might U.S. President Donald Trump’s brokering of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine hold for Taiwan? Paul Kuoboug Chang, former Taiwan representative to Israel and deputy director of the Kuomintang’s Department of Mainland Affairs, observed on Aug. 26 that Trump is a businessman who speaks only about profit and lacks both democratic values and a moral compass. If relations between Chinese on both sides of the strait were stable, he argued, Taiwan would be spared Trump’s endless and arbitrary demands.

Appearing on “Saintly Thinking, Freshly Thought,” a program hosted by former Kuomintang legislator Chen Shei-saint and Chih-Yung Ho, an adjunct assistant professor at the National Tsing Hua University’s Center for General Education, Chang discussed whether, in light of Trump’s role in the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, Taiwan would become like Ukraine — or whether it would be betrayed.

While Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs often advocates for cooperation with like-minded countries, that approach did not work with Trump. According to Chang, the ace in the sleeve was cross-strait relations: The enemy of one’s enemy should be a friend and partner. If cross-strait relations were more conciliatory, the U.S. would be more attentive, but the reality today was quite the opposite.

Chang holds a master’s degree from the University of Virginia’s Department of Government and Foreign Affairs. His previous roles include director of the domestic news section at the Government Information Office; head of the news section at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco; chief of the press section at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles; chief of staff to President Ma Ying-jeou; acting director of the Public Affairs Office; director-general of the Third Bureau and chief of protocol; representative at the Taipei Representative Office in Greece; director-general of the Department of International Information Services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; representative at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv; as well as positions within the Mainland Affairs Council and the Straits Exchange Foundation.

He noted that when he served in Ma’s administration, senior legislators and political figures from Europe and the U.S. would often ask Ma why, after so many agreements had been negotiated with the mainland, so little had seemed to come from them. In truth, he argued, both Taiwanese and mainlanders were easy to negotiate with, meaning that if only cross-strait relations were stable, the U.S. would be in much less of a position to make unlimited demands. But the current Taiwanese administration has failed to manage these relations properly, resulting in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company being pressured into expanding its U.S. operations and much valuable leverage going unused.

Ukraine can serve as a lesson, Chang said, in that both Russia and the U.S. have insisted that it cannot join NATO. With Trump in power, the U.S. has adopted a policy of isolationism, unwilling to involve its military in any regional conflicts. Ukraine is on the front line of the Europe-Russia standoff: Russia will not tolerate Ukraine’s accession to NATO, while NATO dare not intervene in Ukraine by deploying troops, sending only weapons instead. Given that extremely delicate situation, would the U.S. really be prepared to station troops in Taiwan?

In Trump’s eyes, Chang argued, Taiwan had nothing to offer but semiconductor chips, hence the current pressure on TSMC to relocate its factories to the U.S. Furthermore, since the U.S. recognized One-China only, it had no reason to intervene in a cross-strait civil war, considering it an internal matter for China. Recalling a lecture by former Mainland Affairs Council Chair Su Chi, Chang noted that American think tanks had conducted more than a dozen war games simulating conflict within the first island chain, and never once had they prevailed, so they had no prospect of victory. With the U.S. now pursuing isolationism and unable to prevail against China in the first island chain, he said, Americans would not do anything so foolish, and China would not be taken in by any American ploys.

Reflecting on his past diplomatic experience in Israel as a point of comparison for Taiwan, Chang noted that Israelis are accustomed to war: They seek refuge in air-raid shelters when they hear sirens, and missile fire is commonplace. But Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system is highly effective, and its cyber capabilities are formidable; these have given it the edge against Palestine and Iran while maintaining good relations with the U.S. The Trump administration had the nerve to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel, and — uniquely among U.S. administrations — it actually relocated its embassy to that disputed city.

Referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in over 1,000 deaths and 5,000 injured, Chang said that Israel responded with indiscriminate strikes. Taiwan, he argued, could not be compared to Israel because Israel enjoyed the backing and unconditional support of the U.S., and this in turn stemmed from the more than 100 million evangelicals in the U.S., who were staunch Trump voters and held considerable influence. The current U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, is himself an evangelical Christian, and the substantial evangelical and Jewish support for American politicians was why Trump was willing to help Israel fight Iran.

Chang stated that while the Israelis were highly capable, the situation in the Taiwan Strait was very different. The idea of “One China” had global support, he said, with most countries having established diplomatic ties with mainland China and considering Taiwan a part of the mainland. The power differential between Taiwan and Israel is immense.

Lai Ching-te’s advisory team really needed to strengthen its handling of U.S. and cross-strait relations, Chang argued. Last September, Lai made a blunder by criticizing the mainland for failing to reclaim land ceded to Russia under the Treaty of Aigun, prompting the Russian Foreign Ministry to mock Lai for “yapping like a dog.” Chang suggested that Lai still had to step up cross-strait dialogue and exchanges, and questioned whether his ruling Democratic Progressive Party was being overly cautious about pursuing a cross-strait policy of détente for fear of losing votes. Only peaceful coexistence could guard against the risk of war, he said, and Israel had the capacity to mobilize 300,000 troops within two days. Could Taiwan do the same? Could it prevail?


張國葆:兩岸關係若好 台灣免遭特朗普索求

中評社台北8月27日電(記者 張穎齊)美國總統特朗普調停俄羅斯與烏克蘭停火,給台灣帶來何啟示?台前駐以色列代表、中國國民黨大陸事務部副主任張國葆26日表示,特朗普是只講利益的商人,沒民主價值與道德,倘若兩岸中國人關係好,台灣就免遭特朗普予取予求。

張國葆26日上國民黨籍前“立委”陳學聖、新竹清華大學通識教育中心兼任助理教授何志勇的“志聖鮮思”節目,談及特朗普在俄烏調停中,台灣是否會像烏克蘭?是否會被出賣?

張國葆表示,特朗普是做房產的生意人,講求利益,沒什麼民主價值與道德,“外交部”常說要結合理念相近的國家,但在特朗普身上並不管用。他認為王牌就是兩岸關係,敵人的敵人應是朋友夥伴,兩岸關係緩和,美國就會比較介意,但現在並非如此。

張國葆,美國維吉尼亞大學政府及外交所碩士,曾任“行政院新聞局國內新聞處長”、駐舊金山台北經濟文化辦事處新聞組長、駐洛杉磯台北經濟文化辦事處新聞組長、馬英九時期府機要室主任、公共事務室兼代主任、第三局長兼大禮官、駐希臘台北代表處代表、“外交部國際傳播司長”、駐台拉維夫台北經濟文化辦事處代表、陸委會、海基會等職。

張國葆指出,他以前在馬英九政府工作,歐美等高階國會議員、政要都會問馬英九,為何與大陸談這麼多協議,都談不出什麼來?但其實兩岸中國人有事都好商量,只要兩岸關係良好,美國就不會予取予求。但現在政府卻沒好好處理,以致台積電也被索求赴美,很多籌碼沒運用好。

他說,從烏克蘭能借鏡,烏克蘭被俄羅斯、美國都要求不能加入北約。特朗普上台,美國施行孤立主義,不願讓美軍介入任何地區紛爭,烏克蘭是歐、俄衝突最前線,俄羅斯無法容忍烏克蘭加入北約,北約也不敢派兵介入烏克蘭,只能送武器支援。這關係非常微妙,因此難道美國會願派兵駐台嗎?

張國葆指出,在特朗普眼中,台灣只有晶片,其他什麼都沒,所以現在逼台積電遷廠,且美國只承認一中,沒理由介入兩岸內戰,會認為這是中國的內部事務,過去他聽過前陸委會主委蘇起演講,美國智庫有10幾次兵推,在第一島鏈都沒贏過,沒勝算。美國現在是孤立主義,在第一島鏈打不過中國,因此美國人不會幹這種傻事,中國也不會上美國的當。

談及他過去在以色列的外交經驗,來借鏡台灣,張國葆說,以色列猶太人習慣戰爭,聽到警報都躲在防空洞,飛彈常常飛,但以色列的鐵穹防空系統很厲害,電腦駭客也非常強,所以能打贏巴勒斯坦、伊朗,且與美國關係良好。特朗普政府敢宣布以色列耶路撒冷是首都,唯獨特朗普政府把大使館駐進耶路撒冷這塊有爭議之地。

他指出,以色列去年10/7日遭哈馬斯突襲死亡一千餘人,受傷5000人。以色列是無差別攻擊。而台灣是不可能與以色列類比,以色列後面是美國,美國無條件支持,因美國福音教派有1億多人,這些人都是特朗普的鐵票,力量大。而現任美國駐以色列現任大使是麥克‧赫卡比(Mike Huckabee)就是福音教派,猶太人福音教派支持美國政客的力量很大,所以特朗普會幫以色列打伊朗。

張國葆說,以色列人很強,但台海不同,全球都支持一中,大部分都與中國大陸建交,並認為台灣是中國大陸一部分,台灣與以色列力量差太多。

他認為,賴清德的幕僚團隊在處理對美、兩岸關係真的要加強,賴清德去年9月還出包,竟批評大陸應在璦琿條約拿回被割讓給俄羅斯的土地,使得俄羅斯外交部都笑賴清德像是在“狗吠”。建議賴仍必須加強兩岸溝通交流,民進黨是否為選票不敢有兩岸和緩政策?和平相處才不會有戰爭風險。以色列有2天動員30萬軍力的韌性,台灣能嗎?打得贏嗎?
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