China and Taiwan: What's Ukraine Got To Do With It?
Workers are seen by a row of armored vehicles at a military base in Nantou county, central Taiwan, on June 16, 2022. Taiwan says it could defend itself from an attack by China — but only with help from the international community. Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Workers are seen by a row of armored vehicles at a military base in Nantou county, central Taiwan, on June 16, 2022. Taiwan says it could defend itself from an attack by China — but only with help from the international community.
Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty ImagesThe war between Russia and Ukraine is reverberating in Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as its own and has threatened to invade if Taiwan declares independence.
Residents of the island are watching intently as Ukraine defends itself against a much larger and more powerful adversary. And they are thinking about what it takes to galvanize international support.
The U.S. has a longstanding policy of ambiguity when it comes to talking about Taiwan and independence, not wanting to risk a conflict with China. So it was surprising last month when President Biden said the that U.S. will defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion by China.
We speak to journalist Chris Horton, who is based in Taiwan. His recent piece in The Atlantic is headlined, "The Lessons Taiwan is Learning from Ukraine."
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This episode was produced by Brent Baughman and Matt Ozug. It was edited by Bridget Kelley and Nishant Dahiya. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.