Polls will close on the night of November 8 in America’s crucial midterm elections. The direction of America is at stake, as well as Joe Biden’s future. This U.S. midterms, all 435 House of Representative seats are up for grabs and 35 Senate seats, one-third of the total, as well as 36 governorships.
Slim Democrat majorities in both Chambers mean U.S. Congress could be looking at an overhaul, making it hard for Joe Biden to pass laws over the next 2 years. The other major factor is Donald Trump’s influence within the Republican party and whether he could make a comeback in the 2024 presidential elections.
Our panelists Yen Chen-shen, National Chengchi University Professor of Political Science, and Vincent Chao, former Political Division Director for TECRO, Taiwan’s Representative Office in the United States and currently Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Asia Program and China Power Project, discuss how the triangular relationship between the US, China and Taiwan will change if Republicans control the House or Senate.
We also speak to Michael Fonte, Director of the Democratic Progressive Party U.S. Mission and Craig Kafura, Assistant Director at Chicago Council Public Opinion and Foreign Policy.
Topics discussed:
- Which governors and lawmakers of interest to Taiwan could lose or gain seats, including Congressman Steve Chabot (Rep) and Senator Marco Rubio (Rep)
- Big issues of the midterms including abortion, and economy and inflation – and how they compare to Taiwan
- U.S. voters turning away from abortion to the economy
- How this election has become a referendum on not only Joe Biden, but also Donald Trump
- Trump’s message of the 2020 election being “stolen”
- Biden’s message that “democracy itself is at stake”
- Is there an issue with American democracy?
- If Trump-backed candidates win, will the ex-President have greater argument for 2024 comeback?
- Taiwan’s democratization and Taiwan miracle
- Why Taiwan’s democratization is important for not only Asia, but world
- What difference would a Free-Trade-Agreement make to US-Taiwan trade relations?
- Are Democrats “softer” on China?
- Are Republicans more likely to push Cross-Strait issues to war?
- How important is symbolism – e.g. of renaming the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office to Taiwan Representative Office?
- Will U.S. support for Ukraine continue if there is a swing to Republicans in Congress?
- Should Taiwan be watching carefully?
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