‘Lying flat’ means surrenderingBy Elliot YaoTaiwan has witnessed a stark and highly controversial shift. On the other hand, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) posted an artificial intelligence-generated promotional video touting the idea that “only with peace” could Taiwanese “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平). However, when the KMT reduces “peace” to the notion of “lying flat,” it is stripping national security issues of reality and strategic depth. The idea that Taiwanese can “lie flat in exchange for peace” effectively amounts to surrender — treating one’s own defensive resolve as a bargaining chip. As the threat has never disappeared — and is, rather, steadily intensifying — “lying flat” is not a strategy for avoiding war: It is the first step to abandoning self-defense altogether.

Source: Taipei Times April 09, 2026 17:59 UTC