TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes China will follow in Russia’s footsteps and “go after” Taiwan on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show on Tuesday (Feb. 22).
Trump’s prediction came after host Clay Travis asked him why Russian President Vladimir Putin would invade Ukraine while Joe Biden was U.S. president.
“I think he sees this opportunity. I knew he always wanted Ukraine,” Trump said. “By the way, China is going to be next.”
Travis interrupted him, asking, “You think they’re going to go after Taiwan?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Trump answered. “They’re waiting ‘til after the Olympics… It’s almost like twin sisters right here because you have one that wants Taiwan, I think, equally badly.”
Trump is not alone in his conviction. After Putin officially ordered military operations in Ukraine, social media users around the world have shared posts and comments referring to Taiwan as the next target of invasion by an autocratic country.
On social media platform 9GAG, a post entitled “The world right now” shows an illustration of a bear and a panda, both in military uniforms and holding sniper rifles, standing side by side and aiming at Ukraine and Taiwan respectively. The post became so popular that it made its way to the site’s homepage and was shown among video footage of missiles raining down on Ukraine.
On Youtube, Taiwan’s name and related terms appear frequently in the comment section of a livestream video of Kyiv titled “EarthCam Live: Kyiv, Ukraine.”
“China is financing and aiding Russia. Taiwan will be attacked next. Russia and China [show] that authoritarian regimes are a danger to the world,” wrote Xpedisi Nusantara.
“Capture Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) alive? Never mind that; dead or alive,” wrote “Gray Light” (灰光) in simplified Chinese.
On Sunday (Feb. 20), British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that “If Ukraine is endangered, the shock will echo around the world. And those echoes will be heard in east Asia — will be heard in Taiwan."
However, an earlier report cited a recent survey showing 63 percent of Taiwanese believe aggressive action by Russia against Ukraine will not lead China to attack Taiwan. According to the results, only 27 percent of respondents held the opposite view.