Report by Tibet Rights Collective
In 2026 President Donald Trumps military operation in Venezuela removing Nicolas Maduro and asserting United States control over the countrys oil and resources has shaken the international order and raised serious geopolitical risks. Critics warn that this use of force without clear international backing undermines the principle of sovereignty and sets a dangerous precedent that powerful states can intervene unilaterally when it suits their interests.
By signalling that great powers can act without consequences Trumps Venezuela gamble may influence Beijings calculations on Taiwan. Chinese analysts and commentators have already drawn parallels between United States actions in Caracas and how China could justify the use of force against Taiwan arguing that global constraints on military intervention have weakened.
Taiwans global importance is not ideological but geostrategic and economic. The island produces nearly ninety percent of the worlds most advanced semiconductors which are essential for smartphones artificial intelligence critical infrastructure and defence systems. This silicon dominance has long acted as a deterrent but it has also made Taiwan a prime target in strategic competition.
If China were to seize Taiwan by force Beijing would gain control over the worlds most advanced chip manufacturing capacity. This would place the future of mobile technology AI systems and global data flows under Chinese influence allowing China indirect leverage over the global technological ecosystem far beyond traditional military or economic power.
Trumps Venezuela policy combined with unclear commitments on Taiwan weakens deterrence rather than strengthening it. His statements suggesting that Taiwans fate is up to Chinese leadership are widely read as strategic ambiguity bordering on weakness encouraging authoritarian actors to test boundaries.
While Trump portrays his actions as strength and even speaks of peace prizes the broader geopolitical impact points toward instability. International norms are eroded rivals are emboldened and the risk of China moving to absorb Taiwans semiconductor power grows steadily.
Tibet stands as a clear warning. Once a distinct nation with its own language culture and spiritual traditions Tibet was taken over by China under the promise of peaceful liberation. What followed was militarisation mass surveillance cultural erasure family separation and the systematic dismantling of identity. Today Tibetans live under constant repression and their homeland functions as a strategic colony for Beijing.
The same pattern now looms over Taiwan.
For Taiwan the lesson from Tibet is stark. Delay is dangerous. Once China consolidates control resistance becomes impossible. Identity fades families are broken culture is rewritten and freedom disappears gradually and then completely.
Trump may claim credit for strength or peace but the geopolitical reality of his decisions points to coercion instability and the quiet expansion of authoritarian power. What happened to Tibet must not be allowed to happen to Taiwan.
History has already shown the cost of inaction.