China and Taiwan: What’s Ukraine Got To Do With It?

The war between Russia and Ukraine is reverberating in Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as its own and has threatened to invade if Taiwan declares independence.

Residents of the island are watching intently as Ukraine defends itself against a much larger and more powerful adversary. And they are thinking about what it takes to galvanize international support.

The U.S. has a longstanding policy of ambiguity when it comes to talking about Taiwan and independence, not wanting to risk a conflict with China. So it was surprising last month when President Biden said the that U.S. will defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion by China.

We speak to journalist Chris Horton, who is based in Taiwan. His recent piece in The Atlantic is headlined, “The Lessons Taiwan is Learning from Ukraine.”

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