Yabane Akio: Taiwanese Should Be Happy to Pay Protection Fees to the United States

The morning before yesterday, I listened to senior media figure Zhou Yukuo’s radio program "News Firecrackers." When the topic of the U.S. presidential election came up, I had this exchange with the host.

Zhou Yukuo: "But Trump wants Taiwan to pay protection fees, right?" Yabane Akio: "That’s great! Taiwan isn’t short of money. If paying secures national security, why not pay?"

Unexpectedly, these two lines were screenshot by some netizens and spread widely online today, sparking heated debate. Some agreed, some opposed.

Actually, I have some further explanation.

I said, paying the United States a "protection fee" is like paying insurance for a car. If I buy a new car and the insurance company doesn’t allow me to be insured, I would be extremely worried about an accident and might not even dare to drive. But if one day the insurance company suddenly tells me, "You should promptly pay the premium," I would be very happy because they allow me to be insured, and I can then drive with confidence.

In fact, many countries around the world, including Japan and South Korea, pay the United States various forms of "protection fees." For example, many costs of the U.S. forces stationed in Japan are borne by the Japanese government. Because of this, Japan has been able for many years to develop without fearing threats from Russia, North Korea, or China, and has created an economic miracle.

I don’t know why many people in Taiwan firmly believe that the United States should protect Taiwan but should not collect protection fees. This logic of getting a free meal and taking advantage of others is clearly unreasonable.

Many also say Trump is untrustworthy. After he takes Taiwan’s money, he might not step in to protect Taiwan at a critical moment, making Taiwan a sucker.

But on closer thought, that logic also seems flawed. The United States is like an insurance company with many customers worldwide, charging everywhere. Imagine if a customer has an incident and the insurer refuses to pay—wouldn’t that damage its own reputation? Then other countries wouldn’t pay properly.

In the past, Taiwan wanted protection but "held a pig’s head and couldn’t find the temple gate." Now the temple gate is open, and someone inside is beckoning Taiwan. Shouldn’t Taiwan’s choice be to "go in quickly"?

Then there will be divine protection.