Two Myths About Taiwan’s DPP That Need to Be Laid to Rest

The DPP will not ruin cross-strait relations, and it isn’t manipulating popular protests from behind the scenes 

In his piece “Time to Review US Policy on Taiwan?” Dennis V. Hickey makes several important points about the future of the United States’ relationship with Taiwan, and there is no doubt that those should be addressed seriously to ensure continued stability in the Taiwan Strait. Unfortunately, the author presents a picture of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), currently the favorite in the January 2016 elections, and Taiwan’s civil society that is highly misinformed and which risks misleading the very American officials who will be charged with formulating a coherent U.S.-Taiwan strategy for the future. 

To begin with, Hickey writes that while the DPP has sought to “‘rebrand” itself as a “responsible” alternative to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), “U.S. defense planners cannot help but wonder if the DPP will seek to entrap the U.S. in a cross-strait crisis in an effort to achieve its dreams of independence from China.” 

My article, published today in The Diplomat, continues here (photo by the author).