1220: Would the Biden Administration trade Taipei for a climate deal with the PRC? @ChristianWhiton, @GordonGChang,
Image: At Kelung, Formosa (Taiwan) Christian Whiton: @ChristianWhiton, Center for the National Interest; and Gordon Chang, @GordonGChang, Daily Beast, in re: Xi Jinping thinks if he recaptures Taiwan he’ll be seen as bigger than Mao. The PLA is moving toward that in many places and dimensions. Now the new Biden adm gives mixed signals on whether or not he’ll confront China at this. Tsai Ing-wen continues to assert [relative independence]; with Biden, [she’s weakened]. A new person at the _______ Council. State Dept hasn’t yet shown nakedly anti-Taiwan feelings; Kerry wants a climate deal from China, which will give it to him at high cost. In Taiwan, the DPP: Biden/Obama endorsed its opponent, the Kuomintang/KMT [which is in bed with Beijing —ed.]. . . . Kick Confucius Institutes out from college campuses, spotlight Hollywood’s extraordinary accommodations to China, and focus on the many depredations in the US. Will the Biden team trade Taiwan for peace in the South China Sea? Maybe yes. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3122793/taiwans-new-mainland-affairs-council-chief-may-signal-shift