A spooked and lonely Taiwan looks for new friends

BBC News:

The words “democratic Taiwan” appeared more times in the island’s national day celebrations this year than any other – by far.

“We have brought the international spotlight to Democratic Taiwan,” declared President Tsai Ing-wen last week, in her last national day address before she steps down as the first democratically elected female president.

“The people of Taiwan will remain a democratic and free people for generations to come,” she added. It was both an assertion of the island’s identity and a call for the world to take note and not allow this vibrant and open society to disappear.

The head of Taiwan’s legislature, You Si-Kun, had touted those same credentials in his opening remarks: “The UK’s Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Taiwan the number one democracy in Asia and number 10 in the world.”

The importance of these words to Taiwan, which feels increasingly threatened by Chinese claims to its territory, cannot be overstated.

“Democratic Taiwan” has become its brand – its pitch to the world for why this self-governed island of 23 million people matters, and why it should be protected from being gobbled up by China. And yet for an $800bn chip superpower Taiwan has very few official friends.

There was a time when Taipei had a military alliance with the United States and a seat on the UN security council. It was run as an anti-Communist dictatorship and could count on support from like-minded regimes from Seoul to Santo Domingo, Pretoria to Panama City.

Now those Cold War-era friends are almost all gone. The threat to Taiwan is more severe than ever and Taipei is in desperate need of new allies.

That challenge was on sharp display at Tuesday’s ceremony.