Taiwan's De-Sinicization Drive As Geostrategic Leverage

Latest stories

The tiny Philippine island denying and defying China at sea

US plans nuclear buildup to check and deter China, Russia Russia's war on Ukrainian children

While understandable domestically, these measures have consistently provoked sharp reactions from Beijing, feeding its narrative of Taiwan's irreversible drift toward independence.
For the United States, de-Sinicization poses a strategic paradox. On the one hand, it reflects democratic agency. On the other, it may undercut regional stability by giving Beijing a perceived justification to escalate.

Importantly, Taiwan's cultural trajectory does not directly impact US national security priorities such as freedom of navigation, semiconductor supply chains or military deterrence.
Therefore, Washington could - discreetly - signal to Taipei that a soft pause or reframing of the de-Sinicization drive could serve broader strategic goals. This could manifest as a period of“consolidation” rather than reversal, buying time to focus on national resilience, defense and external alignment.
Such a move would not require a formal public endorsement. Instead, it could surface through Track II dialogues, think tank publications or behind-the-scenes diplomatic conversations. Allies like Japan or South Korea could reinforce this approach by advocating for cultural moderation as a path to regional confidence-building.
This approach offers several advantages. It provides the US a symbolic concession to offer in potential high-level US-China discussions without undermining core deterrence postures. It demonstrates to Beijing that the US-Taiwan relationship is not driven by ideological maximalism.

And it reinforces Washington's image as a responsible power seeking balance, not confrontation, in the Indo-Pacific.

Public emotion variable

While most Western observers tend to focus on the Chinese government's calculated use of nationalism, what is often overlooked is that the Chinese state itself is restrained by popular nationalist sentiment, especially on issues like Taiwan.

On matters of cultural sovereignty and national unity, it is often the Chinese public-not the leadership-that demands hardline responses. This dynamic creates a powerful incentive for Beijing to avoid appearing“weak” in the face of perceived provocations, even when the government itself may prefer strategic patience.