The DPP attempted to recall _24_ KMT legislators PLUS 1 mayor, not just 12 legislators. In spite of the total failure to recall any of the 25 political oppositions, another DPP attempt to remove 7 KMT legislators will take place on August 23rd. People are already wondering how DPP could ever win without rigging the vote, which, despite common belief, does still happen in Taiwan.
Proof of rigging? If they did, shouldn't they have been successful in 1 of 24 recall attempts, at least... If one's gonna sling mud, the least one can do is to ensure consistency of logic...
Hsiao may be a bad choice if she genuinely alienates Trump.
But Taiwan's interest in Ukraine is awfully clear ... it doesn't want a world where big powers can erase little ones. Taiwan conceding that to placate Trump would somewhat miss the forest for the trees. 😂
Further, Christian's own policy on Taiwan vs Ukraine is an odd paradox because the principles are the same.
Taiwan is a strategic thorn in China's side as Ukraine is in Russia's and Cuba in America's.
Putin's behavior since Trump's reelection shows Russia will never be our friend. That was a foolish view in the extreme.
The Russians can only be balanced against China because China has designs on Siberia. That's our leverage.
A post Communist or possibly post Xi China is a far more natural ally than Russia ever will be. China's economic interest depends on trade; Xi has been a fool to alienate his biggest customers.
The who transgender boxing match thing is Russian propaganda. There is no test that shows the Taiwanese boxer as male. The International Boxing Association is sponsored by the Russian national gas company and lead by a Putin associate, Umar Kremlev. They made up the whole transgender boxing news after the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif defeated the Russian champion Azalia Amineva. They never produced any test reports. They then went on to further spread this disinformation about so-called male boxer in female competition to splinter the West.
Hi Christian, thank you for the analysis. I'd like to offer a small correction on a point of fact regarding the recall effort.
"Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) attempted in July to recall twelve opposition Kuomintang (KMT) members of the legislature."
The scale of the recall attempt was actually much larger. The effort targeted 24 KMT legislators, plus one TPP (Taiwan People's Party) mayor.
Furthermore, another recall attempt against 7 more KMT legislators is scheduled to take place next month, on August 23rd. The massive recall is the first ever in world history.
I believe that when the author mentions the recall of 12 legislators, it means the DPP intended to recall enough seats—specifically 12—in order to secure an absolute majority in the Legislative Yuan, not that the entire process was limited to recalling exactly 12 specific legislators.
I am Dennis Peng, the former Director of the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan University. Because I reported Tsai Ing-wen’s fraudulent Ph.D. degree from the London School of Economics, I became a wanted fugitive because of a criminal defamation charge by her administration in 2022. My passport was confiscated, rendering me a stateless refugee.
The greatest harm the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has done to Taiwan–U.S. relations is introducing a culture of lies and deceit into both domestic and foreign affairs. For example, they deflected responsibilities assigned by Taiwanese legislators onto the U.S. government. They also claimed that the trade agreement, which the public should have full knowledge of, was bound by a confidentiality agreement with the U.S. government. Such actions damage the Taiwanese people’s trust and goodwill toward the United States. This is also a big loss that is difficult to remedy.
Your recent essay, “How Taiwan Lost Trump,” argues that Taiwan’s government erred in not flattering Donald Trump quickly enough, botching trade messaging, and lacking ideological resonance with his base. I respect your diplomatic experience, but the underlying logic in your argument concedes too much ground—to transactional expectations and asymmetric pressure.
Taiwan never stood a chance. Trump’s 2025 foreign policy transformed alliances into bargaining chips. Taiwan—unlike NATO members or East Asian allies—lacks formal security guarantees and economic clout. Still, when it expanded U.S. semiconductor investment and maintained tentative strategic alignment, it received tariffs and cancellations. That outcome reveals not diplomatic failure by Taipei, but the coercive structural imbalance of Trump’s bully diplomacy.
Your suggestion that Taiwan’s progressive values alienated the New Right in the U.S. trades realpolitik for moral distortion. Taiwan’s democracy—including same-sex marriage and transparent governance—is not a liability. It’s precisely what sets it apart. Trump admires strongman behavior, not liberal values. Taiwan was never rejected for its openness but for its refusal to grovel.
Ultimately, this is not a story of diplomatic miscalculation—it’s a systemic test of whether U.S. foreign policy will treat small democracies as durable partners—or disposable assets. A global order built on leverage, not values, offers no protection to those without power. If Taiwan “lost” Trump, it was to a system that was never designed for loyalty or consistency. The real failure was on the U.S. side—not theirs.
Do you truly believe the DPP has led Taiwan towards a real democracy with its latest recall effort? If DPP had succeeded, DPP would achieve full control of every branch within the government without any check and balance. And that's good for democracy? Do you actually believe calling every political opponent a CCP sympathizer or colluder without evidence is the way to go while DPP party members are convicted for working as spies for the CCP? Do you believe equating China and the CCP is not the same tactics deployed by the CCP in their propaganda? Influencing Taiwan residents to hate everything China along with CCP is good for Taiwan, really?
Thank you for your reply! I appreciate your input, but I feel you may have read more into my comments than intended. If everything you outlined were true, I’d absolutely agree. However, I believe these are separate issues and would prefer to address them one at a time.
I’d like to clarify that I did not mention or defend the DPP or its domestic policies in my post. My support is for the sovereignty and national interest of Taiwan, regardless of which party is in power—that is my sole concern.
Additionally, I have not referenced China or the CCP. My perspective stems from sympathy and support for Taiwan as a whole. Even if the KMT were in charge, my stance would remain unchanged.
If supporting Taiwan’s progressive policies implicates me, then I accept that. Take care.
Thank you, Dr. Tang. Democracy on this planet, as of late, has been on a bad trajectory as seasoned politicians have gradually figured out ways to manipulate narratives to slowly brainwash constituents. Views can lean left or right, progressive or conservative. However, leveraging media to cloud objectivity is terrible for democracy. It is no different than what authoritarian governments are trying to do to their people. Taiwan, like the U. S. and most of Europe, has been on that same path under DPP rule. If that does not change, things can only get worse.
Taiwan, under DPP rule, has quietly enacted a new rule that requires all foreign passport holders with a birthplace of China to obtain an officially notarized citizenship renouncement document from China in order to qualify for residency visa and/or permit. This is blatant discrimination against foreign nationals who were born in China. It erects a huge wall for Chinese dissidents to reside in Taiwan. Not sure what their logic is for the rule. If such a document can easily be produced by someone holding a foreign passport, that would be a likelier CCP spy or sympathizer, right? This rule is also a birthplace discrimination against foreign nationals. And the DPP is arrogant to think that the US Department of State or the US Senate Intelligence Committee is not aware of this...
Interesting article but seems to lack unbiased analysis and basic research, and also seems to have forgotten the pre-Xi days in China where both the Dems and GOP were happy with China investment. There's this amnesia that has taken hold.
Blaming President Lai on the defense budget is odd because he doesn't write and pass the defense budget. His party doesn't even control the legislature. This takes one Google search to look up. Also special budgets which aren't part of the defense budget do also have defense spending when it comes to procurement from the US.
The backlog queue of US arms deliveries to Taiwan is 20 billion USD now and many years delayed, you probably should look into that.
If you want to export the right-wing U.S. culture war, at least dress it up better is my advice.
The DPP attempted to recall _24_ KMT legislators PLUS 1 mayor, not just 12 legislators. In spite of the total failure to recall any of the 25 political oppositions, another DPP attempt to remove 7 KMT legislators will take place on August 23rd. People are already wondering how DPP could ever win without rigging the vote, which, despite common belief, does still happen in Taiwan.
Proof of rigging? If they did, shouldn't they have been successful in 1 of 24 recall attempts, at least... If one's gonna sling mud, the least one can do is to ensure consistency of logic...
Sometimes Christian is in left-field.
Hsiao may be a bad choice if she genuinely alienates Trump.
But Taiwan's interest in Ukraine is awfully clear ... it doesn't want a world where big powers can erase little ones. Taiwan conceding that to placate Trump would somewhat miss the forest for the trees. 😂
Further, Christian's own policy on Taiwan vs Ukraine is an odd paradox because the principles are the same.
Taiwan is a strategic thorn in China's side as Ukraine is in Russia's and Cuba in America's.
Putin's behavior since Trump's reelection shows Russia will never be our friend. That was a foolish view in the extreme.
The Russians can only be balanced against China because China has designs on Siberia. That's our leverage.
A post Communist or possibly post Xi China is a far more natural ally than Russia ever will be. China's economic interest depends on trade; Xi has been a fool to alienate his biggest customers.
The who transgender boxing match thing is Russian propaganda. There is no test that shows the Taiwanese boxer as male. The International Boxing Association is sponsored by the Russian national gas company and lead by a Putin associate, Umar Kremlev. They made up the whole transgender boxing news after the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif defeated the Russian champion Azalia Amineva. They never produced any test reports. They then went on to further spread this disinformation about so-called male boxer in female competition to splinter the West.
Hi Christian, thank you for the analysis. I'd like to offer a small correction on a point of fact regarding the recall effort.
"Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) attempted in July to recall twelve opposition Kuomintang (KMT) members of the legislature."
The scale of the recall attempt was actually much larger. The effort targeted 24 KMT legislators, plus one TPP (Taiwan People's Party) mayor.
Furthermore, another recall attempt against 7 more KMT legislators is scheduled to take place next month, on August 23rd. The massive recall is the first ever in world history.
I believe that when the author mentions the recall of 12 legislators, it means the DPP intended to recall enough seats—specifically 12—in order to secure an absolute majority in the Legislative Yuan, not that the entire process was limited to recalling exactly 12 specific legislators.
Yes
Thank you! Correction made.
So true.
This piece deserves more attention.
I completely agree!
I am Dennis Peng, the former Director of the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan University. Because I reported Tsai Ing-wen’s fraudulent Ph.D. degree from the London School of Economics, I became a wanted fugitive because of a criminal defamation charge by her administration in 2022. My passport was confiscated, rendering me a stateless refugee.
The greatest harm the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has done to Taiwan–U.S. relations is introducing a culture of lies and deceit into both domestic and foreign affairs. For example, they deflected responsibilities assigned by Taiwanese legislators onto the U.S. government. They also claimed that the trade agreement, which the public should have full knowledge of, was bound by a confidentiality agreement with the U.S. government. Such actions damage the Taiwanese people’s trust and goodwill toward the United States. This is also a big loss that is difficult to remedy.
Dear Christian,
Your recent essay, “How Taiwan Lost Trump,” argues that Taiwan’s government erred in not flattering Donald Trump quickly enough, botching trade messaging, and lacking ideological resonance with his base. I respect your diplomatic experience, but the underlying logic in your argument concedes too much ground—to transactional expectations and asymmetric pressure.
Taiwan never stood a chance. Trump’s 2025 foreign policy transformed alliances into bargaining chips. Taiwan—unlike NATO members or East Asian allies—lacks formal security guarantees and economic clout. Still, when it expanded U.S. semiconductor investment and maintained tentative strategic alignment, it received tariffs and cancellations. That outcome reveals not diplomatic failure by Taipei, but the coercive structural imbalance of Trump’s bully diplomacy.
Your suggestion that Taiwan’s progressive values alienated the New Right in the U.S. trades realpolitik for moral distortion. Taiwan’s democracy—including same-sex marriage and transparent governance—is not a liability. It’s precisely what sets it apart. Trump admires strongman behavior, not liberal values. Taiwan was never rejected for its openness but for its refusal to grovel.
Ultimately, this is not a story of diplomatic miscalculation—it’s a systemic test of whether U.S. foreign policy will treat small democracies as durable partners—or disposable assets. A global order built on leverage, not values, offers no protection to those without power. If Taiwan “lost” Trump, it was to a system that was never designed for loyalty or consistency. The real failure was on the U.S. side—not theirs.
Best regards,
Simon H. Tang, PhD
Lecturer, Dept. of Political Science
California State University, Fullerton
Do you truly believe the DPP has led Taiwan towards a real democracy with its latest recall effort? If DPP had succeeded, DPP would achieve full control of every branch within the government without any check and balance. And that's good for democracy? Do you actually believe calling every political opponent a CCP sympathizer or colluder without evidence is the way to go while DPP party members are convicted for working as spies for the CCP? Do you believe equating China and the CCP is not the same tactics deployed by the CCP in their propaganda? Influencing Taiwan residents to hate everything China along with CCP is good for Taiwan, really?
Dear Mr. Santos,
Thank you for your reply! I appreciate your input, but I feel you may have read more into my comments than intended. If everything you outlined were true, I’d absolutely agree. However, I believe these are separate issues and would prefer to address them one at a time.
I’d like to clarify that I did not mention or defend the DPP or its domestic policies in my post. My support is for the sovereignty and national interest of Taiwan, regardless of which party is in power—that is my sole concern.
Additionally, I have not referenced China or the CCP. My perspective stems from sympathy and support for Taiwan as a whole. Even if the KMT were in charge, my stance would remain unchanged.
If supporting Taiwan’s progressive policies implicates me, then I accept that. Take care.
Thank you, Dr. Tang. Democracy on this planet, as of late, has been on a bad trajectory as seasoned politicians have gradually figured out ways to manipulate narratives to slowly brainwash constituents. Views can lean left or right, progressive or conservative. However, leveraging media to cloud objectivity is terrible for democracy. It is no different than what authoritarian governments are trying to do to their people. Taiwan, like the U. S. and most of Europe, has been on that same path under DPP rule. If that does not change, things can only get worse.
Taiwan, under DPP rule, has quietly enacted a new rule that requires all foreign passport holders with a birthplace of China to obtain an officially notarized citizenship renouncement document from China in order to qualify for residency visa and/or permit. This is blatant discrimination against foreign nationals who were born in China. It erects a huge wall for Chinese dissidents to reside in Taiwan. Not sure what their logic is for the rule. If such a document can easily be produced by someone holding a foreign passport, that would be a likelier CCP spy or sympathizer, right? This rule is also a birthplace discrimination against foreign nationals. And the DPP is arrogant to think that the US Department of State or the US Senate Intelligence Committee is not aware of this...
https://x.com/DinoDelaSantos/status/1951712822238576684
Interesting article but seems to lack unbiased analysis and basic research, and also seems to have forgotten the pre-Xi days in China where both the Dems and GOP were happy with China investment. There's this amnesia that has taken hold.
Blaming President Lai on the defense budget is odd because he doesn't write and pass the defense budget. His party doesn't even control the legislature. This takes one Google search to look up. Also special budgets which aren't part of the defense budget do also have defense spending when it comes to procurement from the US.
The backlog queue of US arms deliveries to Taiwan is 20 billion USD now and many years delayed, you probably should look into that.
If you want to export the right-wing U.S. culture war, at least dress it up better is my advice.