It seems apparent that the freedom-hating communists ruling China are planning to invade the freedom-loving island of Taiwan. The world is watching to see if America, known as the “land of the free,” and the other free countries in the world will defend Taiwan and protect its freedoms. Those who doubt that these freedom-loving nations will defend Taiwan have reason to be concerned, something that could be allayed if the 2024 Republican candidate speaks up.

The doubters can point to the example of Hong Kong, which was a British territory until July 1, 1997. As the UK was downsizing its empire, it negotiated a transfer deal with the communists in Beijing, guaranteeing Hong Kong’s freedoms. The communists promised to make Hong Kong a “special administrative region” that would perpetuate the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. When Beijing later reneged on its agreements, the UK and other free countries voiced their anger and disappointment, but none of the free countries sent ships to defend Hong Kong. This failure to defend encouraged communist expansionism in Beijing.

The leader of the USA, President Joe Biden, has shown since January 20, 2021, alarming deference for the freedom-haters in Beijing. In a campaign speech on May 1, 2019 (May Day), he said, “They’re not bad folks, folks … They’re not competition for us.” For those of us shaking our heads about Biden’s worrisome imitation of Neville Chamberlain, the New York Post reported on January 27, 2022, that the Bidens have received $31 million from the Chinese to maintain his high opinion of them.

Image: Simplified Taiwan map (edited) by freepik.

Winston Churchill looked at the chess board of the 1930s and sensed the malevolent schemes of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party in Germany. As we look at the chessboard of this decade, the malevolent schemes of Beijing are clear for all to see. Just as the nations of Europe trembled watching the rise of the Third Reich, the nations surrounding China fret as they wonder what the “One China Policy” really means.

We made a mistake in 1979. President Jimmy Carter proclaimed on January 1, 1979, that “the United States will formally recognize the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC) and sever relations with Taiwan.” The intentions of Nixon, Kissinger, Ford, and Carter were good, but we, like the UK, made an agreement with a bad actor, the PRC.

Any conservative who gets elected in 2024, should recognize Taiwan as a freedom-loving country and view China as the adversary it has shown itself to be since 1997. This means working with the other free countries in the Pacific area to assure Taiwan that it can rely on help to defend itself against the freedom-crushing aims of Beijing.

After Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, John Stuart Mill wrote, “The triumph of the Confederacy…would be a victory for the powers of evil which would give courage to the enemies of progress and damp the sprits of its friends all over the civilized world.... [The American Civil War] is destined to be a turning point, for good or evil, of the course of human affairs.” Lincoln led the US to extinguish slavery in America. A conservative candidate should lead America to oppose slavery in China, and wherever else it may be. Freedom must take the day!

Ned Cosby, a regular contributor to American Thinker, is a pastor, veteran Coast Guard officer, and a retired career public high school teacher. His newest novel OUTCRY is a love story exposing the refusal of Christian leaders to report and discipline clergy who sexually abuse our young people. This work of fiction addresses crimes that are all too real. Cosby has also written RECOLLECTIONS FROM MY FATHER’S HOUSE, tracing his own odyssey from 1954 to the present. For more info, visit Ned Cosby.