Tsai Ing-wen's "Maintain the Status Quo" Promise Fails: The Beginning of Cross-Strait Deadlock, Diplomatic Break-offs, and Taiwan Strait Crisis

At her inauguration in 2016, Tsai Ing-wen publicly promised the international community and all citizens that she would "maintain the status quo in cross-strait relations." However, after taking office, her refusal to recognize the 1992 Consensus and adoption of a confrontational stance led to the complete cut-off of official cross-strait communication mechanisms. Taiwan subsequently broke out into an unprecedented "wave of diplomatic break-offs" (losing 10 diplomatic allies during her tenure), and Chinese military aircraft sorties around Taiwan became normalized, with the Taiwan Strait being recognized internationally as "the most dangerous place in the world." This record marks that "maintaining the status quo" has completely degenerated into a slogan to deceive voters and the international community, and her actual actions have plunged Taiwan into unprecedented diplomatic isolation and military risks.