00:00You recommend that the U.S. keep engaging with both sides of the political spectrum here in
00:04Taiwan. But when it comes to the special defense budget and the ongoing deadlock, clearly it's
00:09frustrating many in Washington. How do you think the U.S. can adjust to dealing with the political
00:13realities of Taiwan? The only way to approach this issue responsibly is to recognize the United
00:20States has such important interests at stake here. This has to be above politics. It cannot be allowed
00:27to become a partisan issue. Look, the people of Taiwan have to make their own decisions. And I'm
00:32not a Taiwanese. All that I can say is the American people and American policymakers ought to understand
00:39that the KMT and the DPP and other political parties in Taiwan have different ideas of what
00:45Taiwan is, what one China is, what the island's future ought to be. And the United States can't
00:53make those choices for Taiwan. We can only support Taiwan as it makes its own choices. And we
00:59can learn more about Taiwan's democracy so that we can send messages of encouragement and support
01:06that have the intended effect. Your book mentions the hellscape plan for how the U.S. and Taiwan
01:11could fend off a Chinese attack using asymmetric weapons and Taiwan's natural geography. But do you
01:16think that when it comes to the average person, branding a defensive plan as hellscape instead
01:20that communicates the wrong idea to Taiwanese people?
01:24China is developing a range of options to move against Taiwan. If you want to deter an
01:29adversary like that, you need to develop similar kinds of capabilities. And you have to display
01:35them. And at some point, you have to tell your own people that you have them. The United States
01:40has to have respect and empathy for people in Taiwan who are just trying to live their lives, who
01:47don't want to see any of these scenarios come to pass. Taiwan is a vulnerable democracy. It's under threat
01:53from an authoritarian regime that wants to extinguish it. And the people of Taiwan have to be able to
01:59bear that pressure or the United States can't help them. But the U.S. can offer reassurances
02:06and it can issue its threats in a more respectful and careful way.
02:11In the times that you finished the book, is there anything that's happened either domestically in
02:14the U.S. or Taiwan or internationally that you think impacts some of the recommendations
02:18and policy proposals that you put forward?
02:22Well, the Trump administration has pursued a very different approach to China as the Biden
02:29administration or even Trump won. And I think you can date that change of approach not to January of
02:362025, but to April, Liberation Day, where we essentially rolled the dice on a rapid decoupling
02:44from China with tariffs of over 100%. And then it didn't work. And since then, the administration
02:50has been treating China very differently, aiming for a deal. And at the same time, it has strained relations
02:59with allies. It's gotten the United States into a war in the Middle East. And it's taken a number of
03:04other steps that make the allied cooperation that I talk about in the book harder to visualize. But
03:11I don't think that the last year of the Trump administration has invalidated the core claims
03:16of the book. In fact, I think it's confirmed them.
Comments