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.”
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
