Taiwan watches Ukraine for lessons on possible war with China

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Ukraine’s existential war for its sovereignty from Russia is giving inspiration to Taiwan, an island thousands of miles away, as it hopes to deter its own authoritarian invasion by China.

While their cultures and geography are vastly different, nowhere does Ukraine’s struggle resonate more deeply than on Taiwan’s shores. The Taiwanese people see themselves in the Eastern European nation’s struggle — a comparison made even more stark by the growing alliance between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The situation in Ukraine has been a wake-up call for a lot of people, the Taiwanese included," Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., told Fox News Digital in Taipei. "I think that we live in this sort of post-World War II, post-Cold War mindset, that somehow that was in the past… There’s sort of this axis of Iran and China and… Russia that is reminiscent of history that we've seen before… what I've been hearing more from the Taiwanese people who we've met with, is a realization or recognition that there's definitely been a bit of a pivot, and they also have to pivot."

It has inspired a shift in both military and social policies in Taiwan, which is faced with an increasingly aggressive China, and even a road map on how to navigate U.S. support. In particular, American political infighting on Ukraine aid has raised existential questions in Taiwan about the durability of U.S. support in a time of long-term conflict.

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"The lesson for Taiwan is that we do know that [an] asymmetric defense, that works well for the defense of Taiwan…as well as the the importance of building up a resilience among society to increase the