Taipei’s dilemma over history deepens with Xi-Trump praise of WWII Flying Tigers
Por Lawrence Chung — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement 2026 Xi-Trump summits China Politics Taipei’s dilemma over history deepens with Xi-Trump praise of WWII Flying Tigers
Taiwan’s ruling party uneasy that what could have been a valuable historical connection with the US has ended up benefiting Beijing’s ties
4 -MIN READ 4 -MIN Listen
Lawrence Chung in Taipei Published: 6:00pm, 4 Oct 2026 Taipei’s dilemma over its history during World War II appeared to deepen as Beijing and Washington looked to the Flying Tigers as a source of connection and goodwill during last month’s Xi–Trump summit . US President Donald Trump’s description of China as an American ally during the war has raised concerns in Taiwan that what could have been a valuable historical connection with the United States ended up benefiting Beijing’s ties with Washington. The dilemma resurfaced after Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping repeatedly invoked wartime Sino-US cooperation during Xi’s visit to Washington last week.
Trump described China and the US as World War II allies and praised the Flying Tigers – a unit of American military personnel who helped defend mainland China against Japanese air attacks – while Xi recalled the two countries fighting “side by side” against Japanese militarism.
Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
