A country anxiously watching Trump’s Ukraine moves

Another Trembling Nation: Taiwan’s Fear After Seeing Trump and Zelensky

There’s a country trembling hard right now. Can you guess where? It’s genuinely terrified. Why? Because Zelensky went to the White House and was essentially mocked and berated. “Do you even have a suit?” That kind of thing.

Let’s start with some background.

As you all know, in 1994, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons under the Budapest Memorandum. In exchange, Russia, the US, and the UK promised to guarantee its security. Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin, and Ukraine’s then-President Leonid Kravchuk signed it. Ukraine had inherited an enormous nuclear arsenal from the Soviet Union’s collapse—enough to make it the world’s third-largest nuclear power at the time. They gave it all up, saying,

“Protect my safety,”

and the US, UK, Russia, and later France said,

“Sure, we’ve got you.”

So, Ukraine sent all its nuclear weapons to Russia.

But as time passed, that promise evaporated into thin air. In 2013, Barack Obama brushed it off, saying,

“This is just a memorandum, not a legally binding treaty.”

Then, in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and invaded Ukraine. The Budapest Memorandum turned into a worthless piece of paper.

Now, with the newly elected President Trump appearing closer to Putin, things have gotten weird. From Ukraine’s perspective, it’s like,

“I thought you were my friend, but are you actually my enemy? What’s going on?”

The White House even leaked to the press that “Moscow is no longer an enemy but a partner.”

Analysts are calling it a fundamental shift in the world order. For Ukraine, it’s a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

Watching all this unfold, one country is thinking,

“We’re in deep trouble, real deep trouble.” Who? Taiwan, of course.

Taiwan’s media went into a panic after seeing Trump’s meeting with Zelensky.

They saw Zelensky being treated like, “Get on your knees, beg, say you’re sorry, hand over 50% of your minerals, or get lost.

No thank you?”

Taiwan thought,

“This isn’t someone else’s problem. That could be us.”

So why? Let’s compare. In 2022, Biden answered a reporter’s question like this:

A year ago, in January 2024, a reporter asked,

“If China attacks Taiwan with force, will you stop them?”

Biden: “Of course. If China does that, we’ll send the US military to defend Taiwan.”

Back then, it was clear.

But a year later, on February 26, 2025, a reporter asked Trump the same question:

Reporter: “If China takes Taiwan by force, will you stop them?”

Trump: “No comment.”

For Taiwan, it felt like the sky was falling. The White House and cabinet rushed to say,

“US policy hasn’t changed!” But with the president saying “no comment”—and given his past boasts of being “good friends with Xi Jinping, Putin, and Kim Jong Un”—

Taiwan is sweating bullets.

Trump recently said, “Washington welcomes good relations with Beijing.” Taiwan’s media made a huge deal out of it. Trump reportedly said,

“A lot of Americans hate China, but that’s wrong. We want China to invest in the US, and we’ll invest in China. We’ll work together and have a good relationship. It’s working out with Russia right now, isn’t it?”

If Russia becomes a “good partner” and China follows suit, Ukraine gets stripped of its land and resources and is done for. Then Taiwan wonders, “Are we next?”

To make matters worse, Trump told Taiwan, “Raise your defense spending to 10% of GDP.” This came from a speech on March 5, 2025. Why? “If China invades and we have to defend you, you’ve got to pull your weight first.”

For reference, no country not at war spends 10% of GDP on defense. Russia’s at about 5-6% in 2024, Ukraine’s over 20% now, but that’s a fight for survival. In peacetime, the US is at 3.5%, South Korea at 2.7%, and Taiwan, even with one-off budgets, is around 2.5%. Trump’s demanding nearly a fourfold increase. It’s absurd.

But there’s more. Trump said, “Taiwan needs to pay us protection money.” He literally called it “protection money.” On March 7, 2025, he casually told reporters,

“There’s no free insurance in this world. We’ve been like Taiwan’s insurance company, and they’ve given us nothing? We poured money into Ukraine for their war—should’ve at least gotten some minerals out of it. Taiwan’s got to give us something too—call it insurance, defense fees, whatever. What are you offering?”

Reporters thought it was a joke, but Taiwan couldn’t laugh. From their perspective, “What do you want from us? Our semiconductors?”

And that’s when it hit them—Trump might be eyeing Taiwan’s crown jewel, TSMC (the world’s largest semiconductor company).

Just recently, on March 9, 2025, Trump said, “TSMC should take over and manage part of Intel’s chip-making business.” Intel lost $20 billion in 2024 alone, failing to produce cutting-edge 2nm and 4nm chips. Trump said, “You guys stole semiconductor tech from Silicon Valley back in the day.

Now take over Intel’s plants and make them in the US. Polish them up nice and hand them over.” Word is, Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, is pushing this deal hard.

If Taiwan refuses? Trump’s answer is tariffs. “If Taiwan doesn’t do it, I’ll slap massive tariffs on their semiconductors—20%, 50%, maybe even 100%. They’ll come crawling. No need for subsidies like Biden. A whip works just fine.” US media is buzzing.

“If Taiwan doesn’t cough up chips or cash, the US might abandon their defense.”

“Ukraine had minerals, so they gave up 50%. Taiwan’s got chips. Zelensky got humiliated at the White House—Taiwan better show up with a chip deal, a suit, and a strong mindset.”

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te and the government are scrambling, saying,

“We’ll work with TSMC and other semiconductor firms to figure out a strategy to appease Trump’s complaints.”

Meanwhile, China’s laughing on the sidelines. On February 26, 2025, a Chinese spokesperson said,

“Taiwan, planning to use TSMC as a bargaining chip for independence with the US? How’s that different from Ukraine? Nice going, DPP.”

China’s enjoying the chaos.

TSMC is called Taiwan’s “silicon shield” or “guardian mountain.” It’s not just a company—it’s a defense against China. But TSMC’s already building in the US—on January 10, 2025, it started 4nm chip production in Arizona.

On February 12, it held its first-ever board meeting in the US. If Trump demands 2nm chips too, Taiwanese people are nervous. “Ukraine lost its minerals, and now TSMC goes to the US? Are we just a bargaining chip?”

To top it off, Taiwan’s politics are a mess. The opposition KMT (pro-China) froze a defense budget increase in parliament on January 20, 2025. Taiwan’s defense spending is at 2.5% of GDP, but Trump wants 10%. The ruling DPP called it “suicide,” while the KMT said, “We’re just stopping waste.” The timing couldn’t be worse.

Taiwan’s newspaper headlines scream:

“Ukraine’s today could be Taiwan’s tomorrow.”

Amid Trump’s unpredictability, China’s threats, and internal bickering instead of unity, Taiwan is shaking.

In the end, Taiwan’s trembling—shaken by Trump, mocked by China, and fighting internally.

What’s your outlook for the future?