Taiwan’s 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Hualien County about two weeks ago, during which at least 13 people died and over 1,000 were injured. Not only did the quake cause direct damage to residential buildings and water towers, it also precipitated landslides which destroyed numerous roads and other crucial infrastructure. As of right now, the estimated cost to repair Hualien is NT$3 billion (US$92.37 million) and will take years. In spite of this, however, Taiwan continues to reject aid from China.
This earthquake is the most significant Taiwan has endured since 1999. During the last earthquake, the island nation swiftly accepted financial assistance from China but rejected their offer for relief services and supplies. Nevertheless, China assumed a position of authority over Taiwan; specifically, China continuously intervened with regard to international attempts to deliver aid to the Taiwanese on their own soil. Furthermore, since the UN does not officially recognize Taiwan, China was able to control and block humanitarian aid from the international community “on behalf of the Taiwanese people.”
In response, Taiwanese officials accused China of taking advantage of their disaster for the former’s “political gain,” and insisted that this was an “extremely inappropriate” response to such a grave situation.
Now, in an attempt to avoid the same scenario, Taiwan is rebuffing any and all relief offers from China. In a statement following the aid rejection, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council noted, “There is no need for the Chinese side to assist in disaster relief due to this earthquake.”
There is good reason for Taiwan’s apprehension. In a post on the “X” social media platform, the official Chinese state media referred to the location of the earthquake as “China’s Taiwan,” implying that Hualien belongs to China.
This tense exchange, of course, is just a minor byproduct of a much larger territorial dispute between China and Taiwan. Though tensions were high even before Taiwan’s 1999 earthquake, the increasingly polarized condition of the geopolitical stage is pushing the dispute to its brink.
In the wake of the earthquake, Taiwan is once again in a vulnerable state. However, the island is much stronger now than it was a quarter century ago. It not only enjoys a stable political regime but also sports an enviably thriving economy due to its role as the world’s largest exporter of advanced computer chips. Perhaps even more significantly, the island is supported with unconditional fervor by many international allies, including the U.S.
In discussing Taiwan’s aid rejection, Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore, Ja Ian Chong, conveyed the obvious to the Time Magazine in noting, “Aid from China is always conditional.” He explained that in Taiwan, there is an ever-increasing threat from China, exemplified by The People’s Liberation Army’s “military intimidation” tactics of aircraft flyovers and ubiquitously stationed military vessels pervading life on the island.
This might explain why in Taiwan’s recent legislative elections, the pro-independent Democratic Progressive Party secured victory over the more moderate Kuomintang Nationalist Party. Such constant military threat from China indeed serves to reaffirm the Taiwanese people’s desire for autonomy.