Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan remembers a few things about the reception he attended at Twin Oaks, the Washington estate owned by the government of Taiwan, in the winter of 2022.
The ice cubes were stamped with the design of the Maryland flag. The officials there knew all about Hogan’s record, including his forceful condemnation of anti-Asian hate crimes. And Taiwan’s top diplomatic representative at the time, Hsiao Bi-khim, wanted to know if Hogan intended to run for president.
Hogan said he deflected her inquiry — “Well, a lot of people are encouraging me, I have to make a decision” — but Hsiao kept trying to draw him out.
Hogan paraphrased her prodding him: “It seems like you’d be a great candidate in a general election, you could appeal to a wider audience like you did in Maryland, but it seems like it would be tough to get through the primary.”
Partly because of the same calculus, Hogan chose not to seek the White House. Instead, he is the Republican nominee for Senate in Maryland and one of his party’s most prized recruits of 2024.
Hsiao is now vice president of Taiwan.
The conversation at Twin Oaks was more than an incidental encounter between two ambitious leaders who are still on the rise. It was a moment that captured the sophistication of Taiwan’s political outreach in the United States — a determined, yearslong campaign to win over American officials at every level and cement the island’s political standing. Though it is not even recognized as a country, Taiwan holds the status of an all-but-official ally in much of Washington.
Europe has much to learn from Taiwan.
As the leaders of NATO nations prepare to gather in Washington for a summit marking the 75th anniversary of the alliance, the specter of a new Trump presidency hangs over their deliberations. Fearful that the United States will back down from confronting Russia, they are reassessing their own defense policies, pleading with Republicans not to embrace isolationism and, in many cases, girding for a more dangerous world.
Taiwan’s example shows that sometimes the best defense against an expansionist, nuclear-armed neighbor is a vigorous program of Washington cocktail receptions, upbeat economic development events and relentless consular hopscotching through America’s unglamorous state capitals.
Years of painstaking retail politics across the U.S. political spectrum have built an expansive network of pro-Taiwan elected officials in both parties and throughout the American government. If China attacked Taiwan, there would be an outcry echoing from precincts far beyond the Beltway.
In Congress, there is no meaningful partisan divide over support for Taiwan — a monumental achievement in America’s fractured political culture. There are pro-Taiwan caucuses in more than a dozen state legislatures, in left-leaning territory like Connecticut and in MAGA bastions like West Virginia and Kentucky. Pro-Taiwan resolutions have passed in states as conservative as Utah and as progressive as Hawaii.
How many state legislatures have a Lithuania friendship caucus?
Taiwan has strategic advantages that some of Europe’s frontline states do not. A wealthy country with a powerhouse tech sector, Taiwan has money to burn and economic benefits to dangle that the countries in Russia’s shadow do not possess. Pro-Taiwan legislative resolutions often specify, in hefty dollar figures, how much commerce a state does with the island. There is no Baltic version of TSMC, the Taiwanese semiconductor goliath, to promise thousands of jobs to swing state governors.
But the gap is not merely a matter of cash and microchips. Taiwan has a different strategy, anchored in a keen read on what makes American politicians tick and an apparently boundless appetite for personal diplomacy.
Hsiao, 52, who was sworn in as vice president in May, is a central character in this story. Deployed to Washington by Taiwan’s previous president, Tsai Ing-wen, Hsiao was in some ways uniquely equipped for the mission: With an American mother, an Oberlin degree and a youth spent partly in New Jersey, Hsiao was surely better prepared than most diplomats to engage Larry Hogan and his peers.
She did not design Taiwan’s U.S. political strategy from zero, but she was a formidable field marshal in this charm offensive — wooing lawmakers in Washington, attending strategically useful conferences and chatting up officials from even the smallest of states. At a “Delaware Day” event at Twin Oaks, Hsiao made common cause with a state accustomed to living in the shadow of its own overbearing neighbor — not China, but Pennsylvania. “Like Delaware, in Taiwan we consider ourselves small but mighty,” Hsiao said, according to Delaware State Rep. Paul Baumbach, a Democrat.
The friendships Hsaio built in Washington have already been on display in Taiwan since she became vice president: During a congressional delegation visit this spring, Senator Tammy Duckworth came bearing a Washington Nationals jersey with Hsiao’s name on it.
Few U.S. political relationships are as valuable to Taiwan as its bond with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the right-leaning political network that brings together state lawmakers around conservative policy priorities. Tsai addressed ALEC as president in 2020, and Hsiao visited an ALEC conference in Salt Lake City in 2021. The group has embraced Taiwan’s cause, drafting sample text for pro-Taiwan legislation that members have advanced all over the country.
Karla Jones, ALEC’s senior director of international relations and federalism, said Taiwan was highly engaged with her group: “Definitely in the top 10 of countries that are very responsive,” she said.
“Taiwan has done an excellent job of having the diplomatic infrastructure you need to communicate not just in the Beltway, but outside of Washington,” said Jones, describing a remarkable state-level consensus around supporting Taiwan: “When I go to state legislatures, I can talk to any state lawmaker about Taiwan and 9 times out of 10 they’re going to agree with me, I’m going to agree with them.”
China has been all but impotent to counter Taiwan in this respect. The mainland government is so politically toxic in the United States and anti-China policies are now so mainstream here that Chinese diplomats can only register their disapproval for the record. Jones told me that Chinese representatives had contacted ALEC to voice displeasure when the group invited Tsai to address one of its conventions; after ALEC shrugged off that scolding, China didn’t try again when the group hosted Hsiao.
When I contacted the Chinese embassy about this column, a spokesperson sent me a general statement reiterating that China “firmly opposes the US having any form of official interaction with Taiwan and interfering in Taiwan affairs in any way or under any pretext.”
Taiwan’s government talks about its outreach in America in earnest, even flattering terms. A spokesperson for Taiwan’s office in Washington said in a statement that the U.S.-Taiwan relationship was anchored in shared values and economic interests, “forming the bedrock of unwavering partnership,” including at the state level and with groups like ALEC.
That partnership is also grounded in an unsentimental assessment of the American political character.
Many American officials — perhaps most of them — have limited interest in the rest of the world and only fuzzy familiarity with the places where a new World War is likeliest to ignite. The average state legislator today is unlikely to know any more about Taiwan than his forebears knew 110 years ago about the corner of the Austro-Hungarian empire where World War I detonated. This is equally true of the voters these lawmakers represent.
Where Europeans often seem to see this as troublesome American narrowness, Taiwan has treated it as an opportunity: After all, if lawmakers know little to nothing, that represents a chance to educate them.
Some share of those students will turn out to be helpful allies later on — either because they wind up in the House or Senate, or just by reinforcing the strength in numbers of America’s loose pro-Taiwan coalition.
Rex Rice, a state legislator in South Carolina, is emblematic of this brand of American politician. A conservative Republican who is an active member of ALEC, Rice was an author of the ALEC resolution encouraging states to back the endangered democracy.
When I asked Rice why he decided to get involved in supporting Taiwan, he offered the broadest of reasons, praising Taiwan as a “good business partner” and citing Taiwan’s “David versus Goliath” struggle with China.
“They’re in a world by themselves down there — pretty much by themselves,” Rice said. “They’ve got a struggle, and I’d like to support them.”
Rice added that he had found Taiwanese products reliable over time, including a set of impact wrenches that were a “good product.” The Taiwanese government had reached out to him, Rice said, but those conversations hadn’t gone too far.
“They’ve invited me to come visit Taiwan,” said Rice, sounding ambivalent about the idea. “I hate to say this, but I don’t know how long my seat — I’m talking about the one I’m sitting on — can tolerate an airline flight.”
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Tim Walz and JD Vance will face off on the debate stage tonight in a matchup that both parties are hoping will demonstrate their vice-presidential candidate’s ability to connect with voters in battleground states that will play a critical role in deciding November’s election.
“They will both be trying to connect with those key Midwestern voters, that’s part of why each one of them was chosen,” said Matthew Lebo, a specialist in U.S. politics at Western University in London, Ont.
“Thinking about especially male voters in those key Midwestern swing states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.”
Those states swung Republican when former president Donald Trump won the 2016 election, and in 2020 they helped put President Joe Biden in the White House.
Walz, the 60-year-old Democratic governor of Minnesota, has embraced his folksy, plain-spoken demeanour since he joined the ticket earlier this summer. He’s leaned into his Midwestern roots and the title “coach Walz” from his former football coach days.
The strategy has seen him garner high favourability in polls but he will be facing a formidable opponent in Vance, the Republican senator from Ohio.
The 40-year-old has become a mainstay on cable news shows since he was announced as Donald Trump’s running mate in July.
Formerly a Trump critic, Vance was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022 after becoming one of the former president’s loudest supporters.
Before entering the political sphere, Vance rose to fame with the 2016 publication of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
The Republican campaign released a video ahead of the debate to show Vance’s “hillbilly energy.” In the video, which features photos from his childhood, Vance talked about jobs disappearing from communities and the sense of hopelessness that left behind.
Both men are expected to play on their working-class narratives during the debate to give credibility to their party’s plans for the economy and inflation.
Political experts have said Vice-President Kamala Harris dominated the presidential debate last month by prodding Trump into tirades that strayed far from his intended goals of focusing on immigration and the economy.
Aaron Kall, the director of debate for the University of Michigan, said it’s unlikely Vance will fall for the same strategy, and he expects Tuesday night’s debate will lean more into policy.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be barbs.
Walz was given credit for coining the label “weird” to describe his Republican opponents and the attack has stuck to Vance, with numerous viral videos and memes targeting the senator’s past comments and encounters with voters.
“They really couldn’t be more diametrically opposed, kind of like Harris and Trump,” Kall said.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of fireworks, given their personalities.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.
British Columbia’s Green Party has released an election platform that’s heavy on taxing the wealthy to support people’s wellness, while the provincial Conservatives have unveiled a plan for making B.C. energy-independent.
Green Leader Sonia Furstenau says her party’s 72-page platform, which includes doubling existing property tax rates and adding a new two-per-cent tax on homes over $3 million, is aimed at creating “an economy that serves the people” instead of “delivering harm.”
The platform is the first to be released by a major party for the fall provincial election and includes an 18 per cent proposed tax for corporate profits over $1 billion, while there would be investments of $650 million annually in “municipal infrastructure to support new housing” and $250 million to expand child care.
Meanwhile, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad says his party will reverse course on provincial policies on vehicle electrification and heat pumps under the New Democrats.
Rustad says those policies are “pushing B.C.’s energy system to the brink,” adding that a Conservative government would look at building the infrastructure needed to support B.C.’s electricity demands, including conducting a feasibility study on nuclear power.
In Castlegar today, NDP Leader David Eby pledged a re-elected New Democrat government would cover the travel costs for cancer treatments and extend employment protections for people with serious illnesses from eight days to 27 weeks.
Eby told a campaign event in the southeast B.C. city that rural residents face “unique challenges” accessing health care, and bolstering travel assistance would allow them to be reimbursed for mileage if they can’t get a flight to access treatment.
The New Democrats say in a statement that changes to the province’s travel assistance program would allow people to receive “up-front payments.”
Rustad said during an announcement in Brackendale outside of Squamish that the NDP’s energy mandates on vehicle electrification and heat pumps are “pie-in-the-sky.”
The Conservative leader also says his party will support alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal, but only when the projects “make practical, economic sense.”
Furstenau says she wanted her party platform to “lead by example” in getting away from the back-and-forth politics she says is demonstrated by the NDP and the Conservatives.
She says the Green platform is aimed at presenting a “vision” to take B.C. forward, and urged everyone to “all start voting for what we want” instead of compromising their expectations on an elected government.
As part of the second week of the election campaign, all three major party leaders are expected to come face-to-face for multiple events on Wednesday.
They will debate live in the morning on Vancouver radio station CKNW, followed by an event hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
– With files from Darryl Greer in Castlegar
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe kicked off the provincial election Tuesday, promising broad-based tax relief to help residents battle the rising cost of living.
Moe told cheering supporters in Saskatoon that, if re-elected on Oct. 28, his government would launch a four-year plan to reduce personal income tax rates across the board.
He said given those rates are already adjusted for inflation, a family of four is set to save more than $3,400 over four years.
“It’s the largest income tax reduction since 2008,” Moe said to cheers and shouts of “well done!”
Carla Beck’s Opposition NDP, in the run up to the campaign, promised to suspend the 15-cents-a-litre gas tax for six months and scrap the provincial sales tax from children’s clothes and ready-to-eat grocery items, while not raising other taxes.
She has said the gas tax suspension would save families $350 over six months.
Moe ridiculed those changes as narrow and capricious.
“(Our plan) is significantly more than any temporary gas tax reduction that the NDP (is promising),” Moe said.
“It’s not temporary. It will remain in place, saving each and every Saskatchewan person money each and every year.”
Moe also promised a fully costed platform would be coming in the days ahead and challenged the NDP to explain how it would pay for its promises.
Beck was to launch her campaign later Tuesday in Regina.
Earlier in the day, Moe met with Lt.-Gov. Russ Mirasty to dissolve the house and issue writs directing the election.
The four-week campaign is expected to focus on the cost of living, the economy, health care and education.
Moe, who took over as premier in 2018, is seeking his second mandate in the top job.
He is expected to rally support around his government’s record on growing the economy, creating jobs and increasing the population.
Moe, representing Rosthern-Shellbrook, has also said his government’s decision to not pay the federal carbon levy on home heating has saved people money.
Beck has been the NDP’s legislature member for Regina Lakeview since 2016 and is running for the first time as the party’s leader.
Recent polls suggest a tight race between the two parties, but the breakdown on constituencies means an uphill fight for the NDP.
Polls indicate the New Democrats are stronger in the cities and the Saskatchewan Party is dominant in the rural areas. To win a majority in the 61-seat legislature, the NDP would need to sweep the 28 seats in the three largest cities – Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert – and hope for help elsewhere.
Moe has warned voters that an NDP government under Beck would return Saskatchewan to the days of hospital and school closures, people leaving for other provinces and a stagnant economy.
The NDP last governed in Saskatchewan from 1991 to 2007. It made cuts after the former Progressive Conservative government nearly bankrupted the province.
Moe took over as leader of the Saskatchewan Party in 2018 after former premier Brad Wall retired. Moe won his first mandate in the 2020 election during the COVID-19 pandemic and has feuded with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals over the carbon levy and natural resource policies.
His pre-election budget forecasted a $354-million deficit with more spending on education and health care.
Beck has said Moe mismanaged the province’s finances while failing to appropriately fund health care and education.
She has also pointed to recent problems in the Saskatchewan Party caucus — including criminal charges, retirements and rebuffs — that reduced it from 48 to 42 members at dissolution. Sixteen of those members are not running again, including eight who served in Moe’s cabinet over the last four years.
The NDP had 14 members at dissolution. There were four Independents and one vacancy.
Recent Saskatchewan Party caucus turmoil has seen members turning on one another.
In the spring, Speaker Randy Weekes accused the governing caucus of bullying. He accused Jeremy Harrison, the trade and export development minister, of taking a gun into the legislature in 2016.
Moe backed Harrison, who denied the incident but later admitted to it. Harrison was removed as government house leader but kept his cabinet position.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.
