Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen speaks during the “Double Ten” address in Taipei on October 10, 2020. Photo: AFP

Netizens from the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan mocked Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen and the Democratic Progressive Party for being "grass on the top of a wall which sways with every wind" after they congratulated Democrat Joe Biden on his election victory in a stark contrast with their previous "attention" to Donald Trump. 

Just hours after Biden defeated Trump to become the 46th US President on Saturday, Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen extended her congratulations to the newly elected president and expressed her vision for working together to further the friendship with the US. 

Tsai tweeted in response to Biden's post in January, in which he congratulated Tsai for another successful election. Taiwan's "foreign ministry" also posted a tweet on early Sunday morning, saying that the "government" and people of Taiwan congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on victory in election 2020. 

"We look forward to working closely with the US in deepening bilateral friendship & exchanges based on our shared values of freedom, democracy & respect for human rights," the tweet said. 

Netizens flooded their comments on Taiwan media reports, saying that "they are professionals who bend with wind" and "such actions are making their father 'Trump' so embarrassed." 

They noted that the move showed Tsai and DPP were worried about whether they would be abandoned by the "American father." 

Some wondered if this was enough for the cooperation between the island and the US while some were concerned about how much price the island was going to pay. 

"Stepping closer to the mainland, Taiwan will get much benefit; stepping closer to the US, the island will spend much money buying obsolete US arms," a netizen warned. 

In August, Tsai announced an easing of restrictions on the imports of pork containing ractopamine, aiming to boost ties with the US and paving the way for an eventual free trade deal. Along with the defeat of Trump, former deputy secretary-general of the Kuomintang Tsai Cheng-yuan teased on his Facebook page that "if Trump cannot get re-elected, if residents in Taiwan eat pork with ractopamine, they will anger Biden. It is a double whammy!" 

The two parties in the US have similar approach to policy toward China. It will not shift along with the change in ruling party and president, Zhang Jiadong, a professor at the Center for American Studies under Fudan University, told the Global Times. 

However, after Biden takes power, he would overthrow some policies of Trump, which is also a political tradition in the US, Zhang said.

Zhang noted that overall, the relations between China and the US are embracing an opportunity of mitigation and in the big picture, Taiwan's attitude is not important.