Opinion | Alas! U. S. President is playing with fire despite someone setting fire on America's backyard

By Augustus K. Yeung

Introduction

First sensitively detected by Dot.dot.news agency: Ever since Harvard University had announced that it would be moving its Language Programme Centre from Beijing to Taipei, the traffic flow between Washington and Taipei has become politically flooded, with one pressure-ladened significant event after another.

How provocative?!

The latest event is the Washington-led democracy summit, which would invite some parties such as Taiwan, a renegade province—and exclude some others such as Beijing.

How picky?!

The content is one of ideology, pitching the American version of degenerated democracy against China's socialism with Chinese characteristics, bad-mouthed by Washington as, "authoritarianism".

How fiery?!

Alas! America's backyard is on fire: Given all these hardly coincidental events, is US President Joe Biden playing with fire?! For example, voter discontent is at its highest level…

Is Taiwan Invited to the Democracy Summit?

"Taiwan is among 110 invitees to a Washington-led democracy summit next month, the US State Department has said, in a move that is expected to enrage Beijing." ("Taiwan invitation confirmed for US democracy event." South China Morning Post, November 25, 2021.)

US President Joe Biden is to host the first of two Summits for Democracy early next month, bring together leaders from governments and civil society.

Beijing has long frowned upon the summits even before confirmation of the inclusion of self-ruled Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province.

Instead of sending its leader Tsai Ing-wen, Taipei yesterday (Wednesday, November 24) said Digital Minister Audrey Tang and de facto ambassador to the US Hsiao Bi-khim would represent Tsai at the summit.

Tsai's spokesman, Xavier Chang, added that since mid-November, the US and Taiwan had held high-level meetings—including the third Indo-Pacific democratic governance consultation on November 15 and the second Taiwan-US Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue—representing deeper US-Taiwan exchanges and cooperation.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called on Washington to "stop providing any podium for pro-Taiwan independence forces".

"Joining the pro-Taiwan independence forces to play with fire could only lead to burning oneself," he said during a regular press conference in Beijing.

Biden and Xi are Talking at Cross-purposes

Biden said the US opposed unilateral changes to the status quo over the Taiwan Strait, while Xi said that if Beijing's red line were tested or crossed, "we will have no alternative but to take drastic measures".

During that discussion, Xi said the Taiwanese authorities had repeatedly sought to use the United States to seek independence, while some in the US intended to use Taiwan to contain China.

Early this month, Jiang Jinquan, a senior Communist Party ideology official, sought to discredit the democracy summit, calling it "a huge irony" given that Western democracies faced "mounting problems".

The White House has said that the summit, which is to take place virtually on December 9 and 10, is aimed at defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption and promoting respect for human rights.

Invitees from the Asia-Pacific region include Japan, South Korea, Australia, Pakistan, India and the Philippines. Most European countries are invited, including Serbia, but not Bosnia and Herzegovina nor Hungary.

What did the experts say about it?

"The official invitation to Taiwan was in line with Biden's policy and underlined the limitations of the Xi-Biden summit," said Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing.

"The US has been vaguely talking about inviting Taiwan, and doing so is consistent with Biden's Taiwan policy, which is to deepen and broaden comprehensive support for Taiwan in terms of security, diplomacy and ideology," Shi said. "It also shows how insignificant the outcome of the Xi-Biden summit was—Taiwan was the prime focus, but the confrontation is getting more intense."

Li Da-jung, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taipei, said it appeared Taiwan had chosen its representatives after coordination with the US, to avoid further provoking Beijing.

"Tang is a minister and Hsiao is Taiwan's representative in the US. This arrangement largely reduces the political sensitivity that would have been caused by President Tsai attending," Li said.

(China has increased its pressure on Taiwan in recent months, placing Premier Su Tseng-chang, legislative speaker Yu Shyi-kun and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on a blacklist, accusing them of inciting cross-strait confrontations. Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office, said yesterday the blacklist included other besides the trio.)

Conclusion

After his long expected foreign policy setting, so this is what Biden's strategy against China looks like, which characterizes the architect as a downright small-time politician, who will go down US history as some kind of "urban guerilla" leader--way behind Mao Tze-dong who charted and navigated China's Long March, successfully leading the impoverished and broken nation to a resounding victory.

But what would US President Joe Biden leave as his legacy? Metaphorically, a bruised body plus a sick mind, characterizing the broken old man and his deep blue sea: America as a body is divided by its two major political parties, the Republican and the Democratic Parties--with the two rival factions fighting tooth and nail, on the Capitol and in Congress, which is weakening a great nation, now known as De-United States of America.

Faced with this broken family, it is a great pity that this fragile old man is foolishly not resorting to an all-out "focus strategy" to fix America economically, socially and inter-culturally to ward off its compounding problems at home--before the nation's structural collapse!

After all, this is an American infrastructural and superstructural phenomenon that belittling, bashing and demonizing China won't help.

The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.

 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

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