Trump threatens Taiwan’s representative office, sparking debate over island’s US policy
Ahead of expected Xi-Trump summit, some in Taiwan question whether Taipei’s funding of American think tanks has become a political liability
Trump named the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (Tecro) in a social media post on Monday attacking the Centre for American Progress, a prominent left-leaning Washington think tank, over a report disputing his claims about the effect of National Guard deployments on violent crime.
Trump called the think tank a “radical left scam” and threatened to seek US$5 billion in damages, adding that he was “strongly considering” including some of its donors in the lawsuit.
Chen I-hsin, head of the culture and communications committee of the Kuomintang, Taiwan’s main opposition party, described Trump’s remarks as an “unusual diplomatic warning”.
