(OPINION article) -- After former Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-Tsan was fired for alleged bribery, the factional struggle within the DPP finally kicked off. In fact, before Cheng Wen-Tsan was fought, Taiwan's representative to the United States, Alexander Yui Tah-ray, was exposed for devastating things. He was suspected of being betrayed by his subordinates and colluding with them. In just half a year since he took office, his moral integrity was exposed to be rapidly deteriorating. Various rumors of misusing public resources for private purposes and extravagant waste were rampant. It was obvious that the previous personnel struggle of the Green Camp faction had already started in the United States. However, when the DPP was fighting Alexander Yui, it also triggered another chapter in the DPP's full bet on the Republican Party of the United States.

Alexander Yui is a professional diplomat. He was fortunate enough to take over the vacancy of the US representative vacated by Bi-khim Louise Hsiao at the end of the Tsai Ing-wen era, which led to the joint attack by various factions of the Democratic Progressive Party. This is undoubtedly the case where many Green Camp factions are competing for this lucrative position. Therefore, the exposure of Yui is just the prelude to the internal struggle of the y Green Camp, which may never end in the future.

Alexander Yui Tah-ray 's surplus value was on “school probation”

However, Lai Ching-te and Premier of the Executive Yuan Cho Jung-tai have never spoken out about the scandal about Yui and they may be still on "school probation." After this diplomatic scandal came to light, the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan announced that they would "set up a rigorous investigation," and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also immediately "whitewashed the situation." Lai Ching-te ordered the Executive Yuan to understand the truth and handle it in accordance with regulations. Premier of the Executive Yuan Cho Jung-tai asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to understand the facts. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung directly stated that he had requested to write a report. It could be seen that although Yui was facing embarrassment from all sides, the DPP still wanted to use his remaining value. So they were in not rush to deal with his dirty information.

The surplus value that Yui can be exploited is mainly because the DPP is optimistic that the Republican Party of the United States will return to power. The Republican Party will hold a national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 15 to 18, at which Trump will be formally nominated as the presidential candidate. The convention will invite more than 60 countries and international organizations, as well as more than 40 consulting and lobbying companies, to pave the way for contact with Trump and his team to facilitate the election. Among them, Taiwan’s representative office in the United States is an important party invited.

Taiwan can be valued by the Republican Party, which is also an important goal of Lai Ching-te to gain the trust of the United States. To this end, under his command, Sammi Fu Hiu-lam, deputy director of the Taiwan Representative Office in the United States, went to Milwaukee to meet with people from the Republican National Committee (RNC) many times. To return the favor, the RNC also arranged 10 rooms for the Taiwan Representative Office at the Residence Inn Downtown Hotel under strict restrictions on the number of participants. The Taiwan Representative Office in the United States also plans to invite other friendly people to hold seminars during the meeting and strive to meet with Michael Whatley, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Of course, Yui also contributed to Taiwan’s attention from the Republican Party. During the early communication process, on April 19, Watley and Yui met secretly at the Republican National Committee headquarters and took a group photo. During the meeting, they discussed "what the US and Taiwan can do to benefit both people’s and constituencies." Also attending the meeting were Richard Walters, senior adviser to the Republican National Committee, and Jeff Wu, political director of the representative office.

Therefore, although Yui was exposed for his serious extravagant lifestyle, the DPP has temporarily let him off lightly. Even in the face of serious factional struggles, Yui can still continue to hold his official position. It is simply that he still has surplus value to the DPP. As long as he does a good job of making the DPP bet on the Republican Party, he should not be executed for the time being.

Yui is a diplomat who was trained for a long time during the KMT era, but he changed his stance to "Republic of China Taiwan" during the term of former President Tsai Ing-wen. Therefore, even though he angered the blue camp legislators when he returned to Taiwan for questioning, he was still able to keep his position as a representative. Obviously, it is not easy for the DPP to find a representative who can take over his position and maintain good relations with the Republican Party. However, in the factional competition of the green camp, he has to be cautious if he wants to keep his position under the Lai’s Dynasty.

The "Latin American Gang" from the diplomatic system

In fact, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has long been rumored that Yui used to be a "habitual ambassador" in other small countries, and was subjected to malicious intelligence searches by his subordinates. Externally, Yui was exposed for putting his right hand on his left chest to show his "loyalty to the United States" when the American national anthem was played; internally, Yui was also exposed for buying small items such as carpets, sofas, and coffee machines. This systematic and destructive exposure has made Yui extremely embarrassed. He can only make achievements to consolidate his position. After all, Yui is not a diplomatic expert from the North American Department of the "World's No. 1 Department". He is mainly affiliated with Central and South America, which has more diplomatic allies. As a member of the "Latin American Gang", how should Yui lead and control the "World's No. 1 Representative Office"?

Therefore, Yui's subordinates never responded to the revelations about the scandal, and did not follow the system to report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a thorough investigation. It can be seen that when he took over as a representative to the United States last year, the representative office was already divided, and there was even a third party secretly fanning the flames. However, he had no idea that the enemy was within the representative office. His lack of political sensitivity also made Yui's American dream full of nightmares.

To make up for his political achievements, Alexander Yui Tah-ray, who had never responded to VOA's invitations in the past, took the initiative to be interviewed this time and talked about the friendly relations between the United States and Taiwan. Robert Anthony Bob Paduchik, a close friend of former President Trump, former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), and former Ohio campaign director, also talked with Yui about US-Taiwan relations when he visited Columbus, the capital of Ohio, on May 22.

On the same day, Yui also visited Ohio for the first time and met with the governor of Ohio to exchange views on economic and trade relations between Taiwan and the United States, and between Taiwan and Ohio. Both sides hope that Taiwan and Ohio will further deepen their interactive exchanges in the future. Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman and Senate Minority Leader and "Taiwan Friendly Connection" Co-Chair Nickie Antonio also delivered a welcome speech to Yui on behalf of the Republican and Democratic parties in the parliament, and handed over the parliament's Taiwan friendly resolution in person, and also personally guided a tour of the Ohio State House of Representatives. It can be seen that Yui is cooperating with the Lai’s government to bet heavily on the Republican Party in order to achieve political achievements, hoping to win the trust of the top leaders.

In July this year, the Republican National Convention will be held in Milwaukee, the largest city in Wisconsin. The Taiwanese delegation will be arranged to build momentum and support the event. To prevent the spread of false information from China, the Republican Party also promised to deepen bilateral relations between Taiwan and the United States, deepen military exchanges between Taiwan and the United States, and allow Taiwan to participate in US militia military exercises. The Republican Party also promised to help Taiwan and has an obligation to protect Taiwan's security.

Strive to realize Lai Ching-te's dream of "entering the White House"

Therefore, Yui stepped up his work with the United States to show his loyalty to the Lai’s government and fully demonstrate his surplus value. Although Yui has not yet entered Lai's power core, as long as Lai's dream of "entering the White House" can be realized in the future, his position as the representative to the United States will not only be retained, but also a new chapter in the history of Taiwan-US relations can be written.

Therefore, although the "intra-party palace fighting" led by Lai has intensified and has formed a murderous atmosphere within the party. Especially on the eve of the DPP's 721 National Congress, the National People's Congress expelled legislator Chen Ting-fei for violating a major faction resolution, and Cheng Wen-Tsan was detained by the court. It is not difficult to see that Lai is building a "trust team" within the party, gradually clearing out comrades who lack trust one by one, and his intention to control the party, government, and military is clear at a glance.

Of course, the DPP’s “Yui” storm cannot shake his position, which can also prove the DPP's original intention of betting on the Republican Party. During Trump's previous term, the DPP had high hopes for him. This time, seeing Biden's aging appearance in the debate, the DPP's confidence in betting on the Republican Party has deepened. However, if Trump comes to power, whether Taiwan-US relations will be better is probably just a dream.

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This opinion submission was intended to be a translation of THIS ARTICLE (https://www.chinatimes.com/opinion/20240713003140-262110?chdtv) and does not specifically represent the views of TOBJ.ca or its agents.