Why is the United States staunchly committed to defending Taiwan from attack by Communist China?
We revoked our 1955 defense treaty with Taiwan in 1979.
We aggressively supported Taiwan when governed by dictator-invader Chiang Kai-shek, including the infamous February 28, 1948, massacre of native Taiwanese. Our support did not dwindle under Chiang successor son Chiang Ching-kuo.
Taiwan evolved into a thriving democracy after the latter ended martial law in 1987. But the United States has never conditioned its support for Taiwan on honoring democracy or human rights. Think of this anomaly. We had a defense treaty with Taiwan when governed by a dictator, but we have no defense treaty notwithstanding its democratic evolution.
Sherlock Holmes is not necessary to figure out that we are currently supporting Taiwan with ample weapons and joint military exercises as part of a global strategy to contain China’s ambitions for the world hegemony that we now enjoy. Protestations that we care deeply about democracy in Taiwan should be taken cum granis saltis.
The United States has never been fastidious about befriending only democracies. In 1953, we overthrew of the democratic government of Iran’s Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in favor of the brutal Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The following year we overthrew the Social Democrat Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in favor of genocidal military dictators. We supported the overthrow and murder of Chile’s democratically elected President Salvador Allende in favor of military dictator Augusto Pinochet. We supported Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Garcia because he would do our bidding.
We support Saudi Arabia’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman notwithstanding his assassination of United States journalist Jamal Khashoggi and contempt for every human rights covenant conceived or concluded.
During the Vietnam War, we supported South Vietnamese military dictators. When the war was lost, we eagerly befriended Communist Vietnam to arrest China’s ambitions.
The United States has no moral standing to lecture other countries about doing business with dictators or despots. We began making pacts with the devil when we abandoned our Republic for Empire and commenced racing abroad in search of monsters to destroy. It was a Faustian bargain that has begotten pointless unconstitutional wars and a debasement of our national soul.
Whom the Gods would destroy they first blind to their own sins.