Tsai-Trump call will do Taiwan no good

Ties between Taipei and Beijing were already frosty since China-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen took power in Taiwan in May. This marked the demise of eight years of cross-strait rapprochement.
But Taiwanese leader’s unprecedented phone call to US President-elect Donald Trump further angered Beijing. Tsai’s call was the first between a Taiwanese and US leader since Washington switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. Beijing has since cut off all official communication with the self-ruled island, which it still views as part of its territory.
Soon after the call, there were fears of possible fallout. China protested to Washington at Trump’s breach. The incoming president responded with a Twitter broadside accusing China of currency manipulation and militarising the South China Sea.
Fearing harsh retributions from China, Taiwan embarked on a damage-control move. Taiwan’s China affairs minister Chang Hsiao-yueh urged Beijing to consider the matter with a ‘calm attitude’.
“The government values ties with (China) and the president has reiterated time and again that Taiwan will not go back to the old way of confrontation… I don’t think there is an act of provocation,” Chang said.
Tsai herself has made no comment but the presidential office has insisted there is “no conflict” between Taiwan maintaining relations with the US and with China.
A short phone call is not going to help Taiwan that much in the long-term. But has infuriated China and they have begun to take vengeful moves against Taiwan. China welcomed Sao Tome and Principe’s decision to sever ties with Taiwan. Beijing re-established diplomatic ties with Sao Tome and Principe, cementing the small West African island nation’s shift in allegiance from Taiwan. It will isolate Taiwan even more in the international community.
The switch highlights Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s growing risk of isolation amid tensions with China. It cuts to 21 the number of nations that recognize the government in Taipei, rather than Beijing.
This is a win-win situation both for Beijing and Sao Tome and Principe. It will bring economic benefits to African nation as China is willing to provide support to the economic and social development of Sao Tome and Principe. For Beijing it is a big diplomatic victory.
Sao Tome and Principe established ties with China in 1975 only to switch to Taiwan in 1997. Now more and more Chinese interests will invest in Sao Tome and Africa. More Chinese tourists will visit.
Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada said that breaking relations with Taiwan “was the most correct decision” because “we have a commitment to the people to improve their living conditions.
In March, Beijing also reestablished relations with Gambia—another former Taiwanese partner in West Africa—and has stepped up communications with others, such as Panama and the Vatican.
China had previously refrained from any move that would have dented Taiwan’s diplomatic ties with allies.
But Trump’s phone call with Tsai and his attacks on China on Twitter, have sparked friction between Beijing and Taiwan and US. After the call, China flew a bomber around Taiwan in what it called a normal flight operation.
Beijing has also shown a willingness to use its economic and military might to pressure Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party. It considers the self-governed island a province and has criticized Tsai’s refusal to accept that both sides belong to “One China,” its precondition for ties.
And China’s actions in the wake of phone call make it evident that it will not leave the matter at that. It could do Tsai more harm than good.