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GWYNNE DYER: Can Taiwan keep its independence as US ditches its commitment?

Trump appears to be walking back the US military commitment to Taiwan, which leaves many to wonder if it will face a Chinese invasion

On Donald Trump’s flight home from his visit to China, all the journalists wanted to know was whether he had talked to President Xi Jinping about Taiwan.

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China has been pushing hard for the United States to cancel its military commitment to the island state, and Trump has been hinting that he may at least downgrade it.

So the journalists popped the question, focusing on the $14 billion US arms sale to Taiwan that is currently awaiting approval. He must have known that question was coming, but he replied as follows: “I have to speak to the person that right now is, you know, you know who he is, that’s running Taiwan.” (The president of Taiwan is Lai Ching-te.)

Trump couldn’t even remember the man’s name — and he also seemed to say that he was in two minds about delivering on the previous $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan.

Why the US committed to defend Taiwan — and what Ukraine has to do with it

The following few days have seen a noisy debate in the US about whether Trump is selling Taiwan out to China, but it’s a bit late. Any US commitment to........

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