6. Taiwan Amid the US–China Rivalry: From the Perspective of a Two-Level Game

US–China–Taiwan relations have undergone significant changes in the past several years partly because of the increasing tensions between the US and China and partly because of the changing attitudes of the Taiwanese toward the two big powers. Overall, the positions of the US and China on the Taiwan issue have been relatively stable even though the rising tensions between the US and China set the two countries apart and add a certain degree of urgency to each country’s attitude toward Taiwan. However, Taiwan’s policy toward the US and China has been more volatile depending on which political force gains the governing power on the island. Therefore, a two-level game is warranted in the discussion of the US–China–Taiwan relations with the domestic situation in Taiwan to be treated as a nested game. It is shown in this chapter that Taiwanese attitudes toward the US and China have indeed been divided, and coupled with the changing attitudes of the US and China toward each other, Taiwan may or may not be a median voter in all directions, thus affecting its leverage in the US–China–Taiwan relations.