TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former US Representative Mike Gallagher on Monday said the Republican Party’s support for helping Taiwan defend itself remains firm and that Taipei will not become a bargaining chip in any US-China deal.
While speaking at the China Forum 2025 in Washington, D.C., Gallagher, former chair of the House Select Committee on China, said the Republican position toward Taiwan remains unchanged, per CNA. He said the official US policy can be summarized as “we're committed to helping Taiwan defend itself.”
Gallagher said there is bipartisan support behind the goal of helping Taiwan “porcupine itself" in terms of bolstering its defenses for deterrence. He emphasized that he sees no signs or interest within the US in using Taiwan as leverage in a potential “grand bargain” with China.
However, he said American leaders must continually explain why defending Taiwan matters and how it aligns with US interests.
“The Las Vegas rules don't apply,” Gallagher said, referencing the phrase, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” He warned that what happens in Taiwan “won’t just stay in Taiwan” and would mark the first step in China’s bid to dominate the region and eventually the world.
He said no country is more experienced than Taiwan in countering foreign interference and political warfare. Taiwan, he added, plays a vital role in exposing how China uses non-military means to pursue unification, and leaders from the president to the digital minister must continue to speak out.
“I have no doubt that Xi Jinping would prefer the fruits of war without having to go to war,” Gallagher said. “If he were to be able via political warfare and ideological warfare, to capture Taiwan, that would be his preferred strategy. And I fear that's a strategy he's pursuing very aggressively," he added.
The former lawmaker said Taiwan plays an indispensable role in telling its own story and recent history to the world. “But it is incumbent upon us in America to listen and echo what's happening there and not to turn a blind eye,” he concluded.
