Taiwan's pivot away from China offers a lesson for democracies

Tsai Ing-wen's trade shift reduced Beijing's leverage and made Taiwan indispensable to the US

Taiwan's former President Tsai Ing-wen, left, and new President Lai Ching-te wave to people during Lai's inauguration ceremony outside the presidential office building in Taipei on May 20, 2024. © Reuters

Chris Horton is a Taipei-based journalist and author of "Ghost Nation: The Story of Taiwan and Its Struggle for Survival," published by Macmillan in 2025.