Taiwan is pushing back publicly against the idea that Washington and Beijing can steady their relationship over Taiwan's head — a warning aimed at allies who might treat the island as a bargaining chip.

• Taiwan's Chicago representative Lei Yen-feng argued in the Chicago Tribune that China, not Taiwan, is what destabilizes the Taiwan Strait.
• The piece answers US scholar Lyle Goldstein, who wrote about the Trump-Xi meeting and, in Taipei's view, downplayed Beijing's pressure tactics.
• The complaint centers on "gray zone" moves — military drills, threats short of war, and influence campaigns — which Taiwan says undercut the rules-based order.
• Taipei says a calm US-China relationship and a strong US-Taiwan relationship are not a trade-off, and notes Trump and Rubio have both said US policy on Taiwan is unchanged.
• President Lai Ching-te's line stays the same: peace is the only choice, and Taiwan will not provoke or change the status quo.

Outlook: Expect more Taiwanese public messaging in US media as Washington and Beijing keep talking at the leader level.