DPP's economic gambit an ill-fated gamble

After hearing a report on the impacts of the United States' tariffs on Taiwan last week, the island's Democratic Progressive Party authorities leader Lai Ching-te suggested the island should "depart from the Chinese economy for the Global North".

With this whimsical idea, the secessionist-minded DPP leader actually wanted to indicate Taiwan should rely more on the United States so it can decouple its economy from that of the Chinese mainland. Something that accords with his long-term aim of "desinicizing" the island's economy by building "non-red" supply chains with the US.

So the "Global North" here, as some Taiwan observers pointed out, is only a "fig leaf" exposing Lai's embarrassment at the fact the US has not extended any special treatment to the island in the universal trade war it has launched.