TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US Vice President Kamala Harris has confirmed her 2024 presidential running mate to be Governor Tim Walz, who has historically been a supporter of Taiwan ties, especially in his home state of Minnesota.
Harris announced Walz as her vice presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday (Aug. 7), per AP. As governor, Walz facilitated the longstanding sister relations between Minnesota and Taiwan.
Minnesota established a Taiwan Friendship Caucus in 2021, in which Walz presented Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US (TECRO) Deputy Representative Johnson Chiang (姜森) with a certificate of recognition. He praised Taiwan’s successes during the pandemic and thanked Chiang for donating 100,000 face masks.
In April this year, the Minnesota Senate passed a pro-Taiwan resolution reaffirming its commitment to “strengthen the 40-year ties between Minnesota and Taiwan, with a specific focus on enhancing economic and trade ties.” It also advocated for Taiwan's participation in international organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO).
Walz has made public statements in support of Taiwan-Minnesota business ties. In 2022, he described Taiwan as a key agricultural trading partner.
Scholars also expressed optimism about Walz as a vice presidential candidate. “Walz’s experience in China should be seen as a major positive for Taiwan,” professor of political science at National Taiwan University (NTU) Lev Nachman said in an X post on Tuesday.
Walz previously taught history in China, and reportedly can still speak some Mandarin. Nachman said Walz’s experience living in China means he will see the value in maintaining Taiwan’s democratic freedoms.
Nachman also said he believes Walz’s China experiences mean he will approach US-China relations with a “nuanced point of view, one that humanizes Chinese people and does not equate them to their government.”
Hong Kong activist and Georgetown PhD candidate Jeffrey Ngo (敖卓軒) also said he was encouraged by Harris’ decision to choose Walz. In 2017, Walz tweeted a photo of himself with now-jailed Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), saying he stands with the protesters.
By contrast, Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan (王丹) said it would take time for Walz’s attitude on China to become clear in his role as vice presidential candidate.
“Unfortunately, there are quite a few Americans who, after living in China for some time, develop subtle emotions or Stockholm syndrome,” Wang said in a Tuesday post on X. “How Walz truly views the issues related to China might require us to observe his upcoming statements,” he said.
Meanwhile, supporters of Harris’ opposition candidate Donald Trump claimed Walz’s experiences would make him “pro-China.” Conservative media outlets and commentators mainly pointed to a 2016 interview in which Walz said he does not believe the US-China relationship needs to be adversarial.
