Taiwan: Macron's about turn and diplomacy
15 April 2023 By Abiodun Kareem Giwa
Ursula Von De Layen and Emmanuel Macron (Courtesy: Daily Express)
Honduras was the first that pull the plug, ending a diplomatic relationship with Taiwan in favor of China. And that immediately prompted President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan on a trip to the United States to cement her country's association with countries in America's hemisphere. However, before counting whatever gain from her journey, another country and the one least expected decidedly abandoned Taiwan in the cold.
France's Emmanuel Macron's travel and embrace of China to Taiwan's chagrin shocked the world. Only Macron could explain why he has taken France towards a relationship with China against what analysts say undercuts the United States and that his decision places the allied countries in jeopardy over the ongoing War in Ukraine.
However, France has yet to learn to ditch freedom and encourage the lack of it. We all can remember Lady Liberty in New York Harbor as a gift from the French people to commemorate America's gain after the War of Independence.
The French love freedom. History records how the people threw away the yoke of monarchism, leading to a revolution from the high bread prices over the king's carefree attitude. Therefore, the country has since encouraged every person to earn their freedom, and that does not mean France is a country to place the second fiddle careless of the situation. The stomach matters too. Reports of protests in France inundate the news over the dire economic situation there.
No one can blame the French people for dissent, especially the challenging economic situation, which experts say arises from the Ukraine War. President Joseph Biden blamed Vladimir Putin and the War in Ukraine when Americans complained about the unwelcome high gas prices and inflation. Americans are complaining their tax money goes to Ukraine, and the government does not seem to care since defeating Putin seems more important than providing for the people. European countries are in the same situation as Americans.
Is Macron seeking a better alternative economic condition for the French to save his government? Is there anything wrong with that? Is his first mandate not to the French before any other? Right now, European countries and America are head-deep in the Ukraine war, unlike the African countries, whose people are used to bitter economies. Their leaders need not play a game of embracing and abandoning friends in a relationship. Macron knows the history of his country and the instability an economic situation can cause.
Should Macron call the bluff of his people to satisfy America? He will do so at his peril, remembering the revolution. America's history is different from France's. Americans are used to working and working with the government emphasis always on taxation and the money taken to other countries rather than benefit Americans. The money to Ukraine is just a good example of how American government spends money. The same is not applicable in France.
China benefits from the economic confusion from the Ukraine war regarding gaining friends and possible plans to annex Taiwan. But unfortunately, China's game plan is solid as it appears. It is a case of two elephants fighting and the grass suffering. America and China are elephants, and Taiwan is the grass.
Can America help Taiwan from the grip of China with its focus and expenditure tied to Ukraine? Some American lawmakers say the country is ready to defend Taiwan if China dares to annex it. But they fail to explain what will happen further to the economy, with people already in trouble over entanglement in Ukraine. Will it not be a case of pursuing two rats simultaneously and losing both?
A lesson here is that Macron was not alone in his embracing China. Ursula Von da Layen, the president of the European Commission, was also in China during the same period as Macron, though on a different itinerary. So, is the European Union also going to China?
France's Emmanuel Macron's travel and embrace of China to Taiwan's chagrin shocked the world. Only Macron could explain why he has taken France towards a relationship with China against what analysts say undercuts the United States and that his decision places the allied countries in jeopardy over the ongoing War in Ukraine.
However, France has yet to learn to ditch freedom and encourage the lack of it. We all can remember Lady Liberty in New York Harbor as a gift from the French people to commemorate America's gain after the War of Independence.
The French love freedom. History records how the people threw away the yoke of monarchism, leading to a revolution from the high bread prices over the king's carefree attitude. Therefore, the country has since encouraged every person to earn their freedom, and that does not mean France is a country to place the second fiddle careless of the situation. The stomach matters too. Reports of protests in France inundate the news over the dire economic situation there.
No one can blame the French people for dissent, especially the challenging economic situation, which experts say arises from the Ukraine War. President Joseph Biden blamed Vladimir Putin and the War in Ukraine when Americans complained about the unwelcome high gas prices and inflation. Americans are complaining their tax money goes to Ukraine, and the government does not seem to care since defeating Putin seems more important than providing for the people. European countries are in the same situation as Americans.
Is Macron seeking a better alternative economic condition for the French to save his government? Is there anything wrong with that? Is his first mandate not to the French before any other? Right now, European countries and America are head-deep in the Ukraine war, unlike the African countries, whose people are used to bitter economies. Their leaders need not play a game of embracing and abandoning friends in a relationship. Macron knows the history of his country and the instability an economic situation can cause.
Should Macron call the bluff of his people to satisfy America? He will do so at his peril, remembering the revolution. America's history is different from France's. Americans are used to working and working with the government emphasis always on taxation and the money taken to other countries rather than benefit Americans. The money to Ukraine is just a good example of how American government spends money. The same is not applicable in France.
China benefits from the economic confusion from the Ukraine war regarding gaining friends and possible plans to annex Taiwan. But unfortunately, China's game plan is solid as it appears. It is a case of two elephants fighting and the grass suffering. America and China are elephants, and Taiwan is the grass.
Can America help Taiwan from the grip of China with its focus and expenditure tied to Ukraine? Some American lawmakers say the country is ready to defend Taiwan if China dares to annex it. But they fail to explain what will happen further to the economy, with people already in trouble over entanglement in Ukraine. Will it not be a case of pursuing two rats simultaneously and losing both?
A lesson here is that Macron was not alone in his embracing China. Ursula Von da Layen, the president of the European Commission, was also in China during the same period as Macron, though on a different itinerary. So, is the European Union also going to China?
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