Why Washington Wants Americans to Care About Taiwan

Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13 was closely observed far beyond its borders for one particular reason: The outcome could have triggered a belligerent response from China, which may have led to dangerous new tensions between Washington and Beijing. But that didn’t happen. The winner, the Democratic Progressive Party’s Lai Ching-te, was not Beijing’s preferred candidate, given his reputation in China as a separatist. Yet Beijing responded to Lai’s victory in a relatively muted fashion. Lai, in turn, has continued to signal that he doesn’t want to escalate tensions with his country’s bigger neighbor.