Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

These days, international public opinion has been buzzing with discussions about "the US backstabbing Ukraine." The incident stemmed from the US announcing that it will partially suspend sanctions on Russian diesel exports, allowing Russia to supply large quantities of diesel to global markets including the US to ease energy cost pressures ahead of the midterm elections. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he felt "betrayed," while US President Donald Trump openly declared, without mincing his words, that Ukraine "should get a new president."

The US-Ukraine friendship seems to have capsized overnight. This has panicked the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces who have pinned their hopes on "leaning on the US to seek independence." Many scholars and commentators on the island hold the view that the "America First" principle means that once the interests of its "allies" conflict with Washington's policy goals, those allies may be abandoned at any time. The Taiwan region's United Daily News commented that shortly after Lai Ching-te proclaimed Taiwan's version of the "city upon a hill," Ukraine, once described as the "city upon a hill" by Western media, has been betrayed. "How absurd and ironic!" Some commentators have suggested that if Washington believes the leader of the Taiwan region cannot bring peace, it may publicly demand a change of leader.

While skepticism toward the US is growing louder on the island of Taiwan, it is worth noting that theories of "abandoning Taiwan" and "non-intervention" are also gaining more traction in the US. In an article titled America's Commitment to Taiwan Is a Liability, American scholar Jennifer Kavanagh argued that the "great threat" to US interests is a "US-China war fought over the island." She suggested Washington "rule out the direct intervention of US military forces to defend the island in case of a confrontation with China." A report by the US think tank Defense Priorities also called on the US to abandon its long-held "strategic ambiguity" on the Taiwan region and shift to "a clear non-intervention policy." Multiple US polls also show a sharp drop in the share of people supporting US troops to go to war in the Taiwan Straits. Earlier this year, when talking about the cross-Straits situation, Trump clearly stated that he is "not looking to have somebody go independent," and the US has no desire "to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war" over Taiwan.

It must be emphasized that the Taiwan question is completely different in nature from the Ukraine crisis. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair. This enjoys universal consensus in the international community. Precisely because of this difference in nature, Lai and his ilk should wake up to reality. Ukraine still has the cloak of state-to-state games, but the island of Taiwan is an inherent territory of China. Resolving the Taiwan question falls within China's sovereign scope. External forces have no right to make irresponsible remarks, much less back "Taiwan independence".

The fundamental nature of all US external commitments is always "America First." Allies are merely tools to serve US interests. They are used extensively when useful yet can be discarded at any time once they become a burden. The world has seen this clearly, from the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan to the shift in its policy on the Ukraine crisis. This is the cold reality facing the "Taiwan independence" forces. "Leaning on the US to seek independence" was a dead end in the past, is a dead end now, and will remain a dead end in the future.