Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Key European countries, namely Britain, France, and Germany, have a moral obligation to help arm Taiwan right now, but in strictly practical consideration of Sino-Russian invasion threats that could materialize in the 2030s, the European democracies collectively should be helping Taiwan to deter a Chinese invasion.

Expressing perhaps the strongest support for Taiwan of any modern British Prime Minister, asked in a September 25, 2022 CNN interview if Britain would match United States President Joe Biden’s pledges to defend Taiwan, new Prime Minister Liz Truss stated, “What I’ve been clear about is that all of our allies need to make sure Taiwan is able to defend itself, and that is very, very important.”

Some years ago, I spent time in Taiwan as a student and then as a professor at a local university. Residents I met at that time were fascinated with the US and frequently asked me about democracy in the US, which I was happy to talk about.

In 1980, when there was an important election pending in Taiwan, I was asked to join an election observer team to discuss the events of the day and suggest what Taiwan should do to ensure a fair, honest and meaningful election. Local and foreign academics joined the group. We also met some American diplomats who shared their thoughts.