Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

According to the press release of Taiwan's external affairs department on Wednesday, the US State Department has "mercifully" approved the potential sale to Taiwan of equipment, training and other items to support the Patriot Air Defense System in a deal valued at up to $95 million. This is the third arms sale announced since US President Joe Biden took office. It takes place not long after Biden, during a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping in March, reiterated that the US does not seek a new Cold War with China and does not aim to change China's system; the revitalization of its alliances is not targeted at China; the US does not support "Taiwan independence," and it has no intention to seek a conflict with China. The US government has abandoned its promise and seriously violated the one-China principle and the three joint communiqués. 

The office of Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's external affairs and defense departments all expressed "gratitude" to the US, showing a minion's flattery gesture as always.

However, the attitude of the people on the island has changed significantly. Taiwanese netizens said, "It is already possible to subsidize the monthly loss of health insurance. Buying those scraps of iron will not save so many people." "The wise should avoid war instead of provoking war." "This is pure extortion!" Many netizens also quoted the recent speech of Sun Ta-chien, former Kuomintang legislator: "The people who incite you behind your back are very likely to be those who destabilize the world."

These vivid folk expressions reveal the essence of US arms sales to Taiwan. After experiencing so many rounds of US arms sales to Taiwan and imports of US beef and pork containing ractopamine, and after closely observing the real performance of the US from the "Kabul moment" to the "Ukraine crisis," more and more Taiwan people have truly realized that the US is unreliable, and the second-hand weapons sold by the US to Taiwan are even more unreliable. They have become more and more immune to the political deception of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). This is a positive change in the right direction of the political ecology of the island. The story that the DPP has carefully fabricated over the years is almost impossible to continue.

A survey conducted by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation in late March showed that the Taiwan public's expectations toward "US intervention" once a military clash occurs in the Taiwan Straits decreased 30.5 percentage points compared to half a year ago. A total of 55.9 percent doubted the US will directly intervene. Another poll in the US showed that only 8 to 18 percent of US elites being surveyed support a direct military action against the People's Liberation Army to defend Taiwan. Even former politician Lu Hsiu-lien known for her pro-secession stance recently questioned Tsai's move of dispensing large amounts of money to buy weapons and called for peace through demonstrations. 

As the dream of "the US sending troops to help defend Taiwan island" is about to wake up, the DPP authority is telling the story of "self-defense." They pretended to discuss the reform of the military service system, and also carried out intense propaganda to ramp up investment in weapons research and development, as if they could really engage in a "decisive battle" with the Chinese mainland. However, these cannot shake the cross-Straits strength situation. In other words, these tricks are not played for the Chinese mainland, but to fool the people in Taiwan. This deception looks more like a burned-out candle, with only a faint flame swaying, while the unwilling DPP authority is trying in vain to keep out the wind by tugging at the curtain.

Washington certainly hopes Taiwan island "holds on," and will repeatedly express that it "stands with Taiwan." In the absolutely unequal relations between the US and Taiwan island, the US has always been the absolute beneficiary. The US not only can sell arms to Taiwan island at a higher rate, but also can gain the gratitude of the DPP authority who is willing to be a pawn in Washington's game against China, and create mutual consumption across the Taiwan Straits. In a bid to court the US, the DPP authority has repeatedly betrayed the interests of Taiwan residents' livelihood: US beef and pork containing ractopamine has been on the dining table of Taiwan people, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company had to hand over the core data to the US. The one that the US has by the short hair is not Taiwan, but the DPP authority.

It is the DPP authority that feels jittery and insecure most at the moment. This is because it has placed all its bets on the US. When it finds its backer is not reliable and "the pawn" will be discarded at any time, its panic can be imagined. But the facts will eventually prove that the so-called "guarantee" for which the DPP authority paid high "protection fees" to "seek independence" is nothing but "poison" to quench its thirst.