John R. Houk, Blog Editor
© May 7, 2026
I watched an interesting American Thought Leaders (EPOCH TV) episode a couple of days ago entitled, “Why a Taiwan Invasion Would Trigger Trillions in Global Losses | Ambassador Alexander Yui”. It was originally posted on May 2, 2026. Typically watching EPOCH TV or reading The Epoch Times requires a paid subscription. The good news for my blog readers is I found a Youtube version which does not require a paid subscription.
As I was watching Jan Jekielek interview Alexander Yui, I pondered a bit of history memory lane about Taiwan. First of the “invasion” that is potentially concerning is from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ruled Mainland China.
The CCP has always maintained Taiwan belongs to Mainland China and cannot be an independent nation. The CCP gets extremely bent out of shape with any nation that deals with Taiwan as a sovereign nation.
I am guessing most Americans that have received an education in our Leftist-oriented education system have know idea how or why Taiwan exists as a separate entity from the Peoples Republic of China (Communist China).
I will endeavor to provide a brief (and probably inadequate) history of the situation leading up until today.
History Rise does a decent job of providing a brief history of how Imperial China ended after 2,000 years evolving to a Warlord Republic, then to fractured Nationalist (Kuomintang – KMT) government, then to Nationalist Party vs Communist Party civil war, then Imperial Japan invading China briefly uniting Nationalists and Communists against a common Japanese enemy (WWII). ENDING with the Communists (Mao Zedong) chasing the Nationalists (Chiang Kai-shek) to Taiwan. --Emperor to Republic: Governance Transitions in Post-colonial China; by History Rise; 9/4/16
The CCP-ruled China is officially the People’s Republic of China. The Nationalist Party (Kuomintang)-ruled Taiwan is still calling itself the Republic of China.
Taiwan’s independence status evolved largely due to the Korean War which pitted the U.S. militarily backing the South Korean forces vs military of People’s Liberation Army (China) backing the Communist North Korean forces. Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan in 1949. Korean War full scale fighting that also involved U.S. forces and PLA-Chinese forces was between 1950-53 (See HERE & HERE).
The Korean War allowed Chiang Kai-shek to consolidate his stand in Taiwan. AND SINCE the USA was a bit peeved with Communist China, Taiwan received the benefit of U.S. Navy protection from the then quite inferior Chinese naval forces.
A post at Brookings.edu entitled, “Thinking through America’s baseline priorities on Taiwan” is by Kharis Templeman with a 3/20/26 date has a great section spelling out why Taiwan matters to the USA. Templeman believes there are reasons Taiwan matters to the USA:
o Geography
o Symbolism
o Economic Interests
o Political Interests
Templeman provided reasoning for each subheading. In relation to the American Thought Leaders interview, I am sharing the Economic Interests subheading:
“Third, Taiwan’s economy is now vital to the United States. Taiwan in 2024 was the seventh-largest U.S. trading partner, with about $185 billion in bilateral trade.6 Taiwanese companies are dominant players in the global semiconductor industry, and today over 90% of the leading-edge chips used to power everything from iPhones to automobiles are manufactured by Taiwanese firms in Taiwanese factories. This list includes not only the globally strategic TSMC, but also a whole ecosystem of firms with specialized expertise in design, testing, and packaging, and involvement in fabricating memory, logic, application-specific integrated circuits, systems on a chip, and analog and mixed signal chips.
For all the effort Washington has made to mitigate this strategic vulnerability—subsidizing chip production, diversifying supply chains, and cajoling companies to build factories in the United States—the changes that have resulted have been only at the margins. American companies still rely heavily on Taiwan-made chips, and this dependence has only increased in recent years with rapid advancements in artificial intelligence; in December 2025, the value of Taiwan’s total exports to the United States surpassed those of the PRC for the first time in many years, driven mostly by surging demand for semiconductors.7 As a consequence, access to Taiwan’s tech products is now a central element of U.S.-China tech competition.
The potential economic costs of a military conflict over Taiwan are enormous. Taiwan’s dense tech ecosystem would probably not survive military action, and the impact on the United States of this destruction has been conservatively estimated at $2 trillion.8 Conversely, if the PRC were able to assert control over these world-leading industries without significant economic disruption, Beijing would acquire a massive new chokepoint to exploit in its economic competition with the rest of the world. The PRC’s willingness to use its dominance in rare earths to exert leverage over trading partners offers an ominous preview of what this world would be like.”
AND NOW the Youtube version of American Thought Leaders:
Youtube VIDEO: Why a Taiwan Invasion Would Trigger Trillions in Global Losses | Amb. Alexander Yui
Posted by American Thought Leaders - The Epoch Times
Premiered May 2, 2026
An island nation only one-third the size of Virginia, Taiwan produces over 90 percent of the world’s most advanced chips and more than 90 percent of the servers powering the AI revolution. And last year, Taiwan became the United States’ fourth largest trading partner—after Mexico, Canada, and China.
Over one-fifth of global maritime trade goes through the Taiwan Strait, according to a CSIS analysis, and any conflict over Taiwan would be devastating for the global economy—and likely far worse than the economic disruptions caused by the Iran War.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be ready for a successful Taiwan invasion by 2027, the PLA’s 100th anniversary.
In this episode, I’m sitting down with Taiwan’s representative to the United States, Ambassador Alexander Yui, to understand why Taiwan matters, and what’s at stake as the Chinese Communist Party has ramped up its campaign to isolate, intimidate, and encircle Taiwan in recent years.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s recent visit to Eswatini—Taiwan’s only African ally—had to be abruptly postponed when Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius revoked overflight permissions—presumably due to pressure from Beijing.
“They are constantly harassing our naval and air surroundings, trying to create panic and uneasiness,” Yui says.
Since 2013, Beijing has built over two dozen militarized outposts in disputed waters in the South China Sea and has recently been militarizing yet another artificial island known as Antelope Reef.
History Further Reading:
o Starting Anew on Taiwan: In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek faced both utter defeat and a second chance. What he did next; By Ramon H. Myers and Hsiao-ting Lin; Hoover Institution; 4/16/08
o TAIWAN UNDER CHANG KAI-SHEK AND THE KUOMINTANG; Facts And Details; Last updated June 2015
o Taiwan in Time: The great retreat - The KMT’s massive transportation of people, goods, artifacts, military and government institutions to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese Civil War was mostly complete by the time the central government started operating in Taipei; By Han Cheung; Taipei Times; 12/4/16
o The KMT Retreat to Taiwan: An Unexpected Collapse. A Race Against Time; By Jon Y; The Asianometry Newsletter (Substack); 8/18/21
o The Fraudulent UN Resolution 2758 and the Courage to Recognize Taiwan: The resolution is a legal farce that left a vacuum China has filled with propaganda; By Miles Yu; Hudson Institute; 5/28/25
JRH 5/7/26
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